World Autism Awareness Day - 2nd April
World Autism Awareness Day falls on Thursday 2 April this year. Now in its thirteenth year, the focus of 2020’s WAAD is ‘the transition to adulthood’. We thought we would take this opportunity to look at how climbing and Volume 1 can assist with this universally challenging period of life.
Climbing and autism in childhood
Climbing is an activity known to be helpful for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) due to the requirement for employing balance and refined movements – children and adults with ASD often find the rich sensory engagement both enjoyable and beneficial for helping to develop motor skills. In addition to this, the structure and routine of a regular club can work well for children who like routine and predictability. Climbing also increases resilience, lowers stress levels and improves overall fitness – bouldering in particular has been linked to improved mental health.
Our mission statement is to provide ‘a modern, premium bouldering centre that is accessible and inclusive for everyone’. It’s hugely important to us that we can offer a fun and challenging bouldering experience for those with autism and related disorders including ADD, PDA and Asperger’s. Below are some of the things that we can do to help here at Volume 1:
Overstimulation – in order to help lessen the effects of overstimulation and therefore being overwhelmed, we will amend the soundtrack playing in the centre to something calm and will lower the volume of the music. Customers are welcome to bring and make use of ear defenders. On Friday mornings we will also offer a quiet hour from 10am–11am during which we will have no music playing, in order to help create a more accommodating environment.
Experienced instructors – we are lucky enough to have a team that contains some exceptional instructors with a vast body of experience teaching children and adults from a variety of backgrounds. A confident, knowledgeable instructor can put the parent/person themselves at ease and feel supported to enjoy the session.
Continuity – Those with autistic spectrum needs often do not enjoy too many changes and new things, and so we are can arrange our instructing rota so that where possible you or your child will receive the same instructor for each session, in order to maintain a routine.
One-to-one sessions – a group scenario can sometimes be too overwhelming and so we are able to offer private coaching sessions with a familiar coach, tailored in length and content to the individual’s needs.
Moving into adolescenceBecoming part of the climbing community may at first feel daunting, however we are a friendly team and well known for our inclusivity and passion. As children transition away from school the need for regular social interaction is really important, and climbing is the perfect sport with which to build their own network of support during this time.
For adolescents who are already integrated in the climbing community it can provide a fantastic buffer for this period of time, and adults recently getting into the sport will find an accessible community and a sport that meets many physical and psychological needs.
You can read more about the benefits of climbing and one woman’s story of Asperger’s and climbing on the UK Climbing website.
We are also very proud to be a Compass Card Partner. Compass Cards offer those with disabilities and special needs reduced entry fees. For more information about this please see the Compass Card website.
If you or your child have ASD or a related condition and would like to know what we could do for you, take a look at our website or drop us an email at reception@volume1climbing.co.uk. If you'd like to find out more about ASD, visit the National Autistic Society website.