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Recognising World Autism Awareness Day 2015 in sport and physical activity

Today (Thursday 2 April 2015) is World Autism Awareness Day. To recognise the day, the English Federation of Disability Sport is highlighting the opportunities for people with autism to take part in sport and exercise across the country. 

World Autism Awareness Day is an annual celebration. It aims to increase and develop world knowledge of autism, celebrate the unique talents and skills of people with autism. The day is also a great occasion for the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) to publicise the fantastic opportunities available across the sport and fitness sectors.

Around 700,000 people in the UK have autism. Together with their families, they make up around 2.8 million people whose lives are touched by autism every day.

Autism affects people in different ways and to different extents, so the difficulties and behaviour you see in one person may vary to that which you see in another. This is why autism is known as a spectrum condition. You will often see it referred to as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The National Autistic Society writes:

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.

Watch a video on autism

In EFDS’s Lifestyle Report released in September 2013, the findings showed that disabled people with social and behavioural issues are:

  • significantly less likely to think of themselves as competitive (35% compared to 63% disabled people overall)
  • more likely to find ‘expense’ a barrier to participation (67% compared to 29% disabled people overall)
  • more likely to find the fact that they need support a more significant barrier to taking part than other disabled people (50% compared to 25% disabled people overall)
  • significantly less likely to take part to get fit (34% compared to 60% disabled people overall)
  • significantly less likely to use the internet to find about new hobbies and interests (54% compared to 78% disabled people overall)

Active for Autism

In January 2015, the National Autistic Society launched Active for Autism to help more people with autism take part in sport and physical exercise.  This is a UK-wide training and consultancy programme for coaches, PE teachers and volunteers who may work with people affected by autism.

Participation in sport can often be a challenge for people with autism due to factors related to the condition, including heightened fear and anxiety in social situations, difficulty understanding body language and metaphor, and sensory challenges.

The face-to-face training courses and online modules were developed to give coaches the skills they need to understand autism and to adapt their coaching style to enable more people with the complex condition to enjoy the many benefits of sport and physical activity.

Active for Autism has already been piloted at a series of sessions delivered to coaches at the National Badminton Centre, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, St George’s Park and The Copper Box Arena located at The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The programme is funded for an initial three year run, thanks to financial support from the Peter Harrison Foundation, Sylvia Adams Trust, HiT Entertainment, and the Weinstock Fund.

Amy Webster, Coordinator of the NAS’ Active for Autism, said:

“The benefits of sport are well documented - it can help people increase self-esteem, develop social skills, and improve their physical and mental health, as well as general wellbeing.  But far too many people with autism routinely miss out on these benefits due to the social and sensory difficulties they can experience.

“The pilot training sessions we ran last year showed in practice the profound difference the right understanding and support from sports coaches, PE teachers and club volunteers can make. Over the next two years, we hope to reach at least 1,200 coaches, teachers and volunteers, and increase participation in sporting activities by over 7,000 for people with autism, across the UK.”

AutismAbility

Each week hundreds of adults with autism take part in sports thanks to Wirral Autistic Society’s (WAS) comprehensive day services programme. Activities include horse riding, rock climbing, swimming lessons and keep fit in the gym. In 2014, they formed AutismAbillity – a new trampolining and gymnastics scheme following a successful bid for Sport England Inclusive Sport funding.

The WAS funding has been used to recruit an activity leader and two coaches, develop disability coaching and purchase new equipment including six trampolines. Ten lessons a week will take place at The Drill sports centre on Grange Road West in Birkenhead.

You can find out more about Wirral Autistic Society website here

Support for coaches and leaders

  • Sportscoach UK has produced fact sheets on coaching people with specific impairments alongside the National Disability Sport Organisations. There are also further fact sheets which have been developed in conjunction with the National Autistic Society and provide coaching awareness on autism, asperger syndrome and ADHD. You can download the fact sheet on coaching people with autism here.
  • EFDS is working in partnership so more disabled people can enjoy sport and physical activity. Sainsbury’s Active Kids for All offers training for schools and community groups to develop inclusive activities for disabled people.
  • The EFDS Inclusion Club Hub is a free online toolkit for providers to access better practices and resources. Created to support clubs to include more disabled people at a local level in sport and physical activity, the toolkit has been an overwhelming success with other providers too. 

Opportunities for people with autism to be active

There is a huge array of opportunities available for people with autism. Many National Governing Bodies of sport provide opportunities for everyone to enjoy their sport in different ways.

Follow the Day’s campaigns

Ambitious about Autism is marking the day by asking people to share what autism means to them. They want #AutismIs to be bigger and better in 2015. You can join in by sending a tweet or Facebook post containing the hashtag #AutismIs and some words about what autism means to you.

They are also on a mission to dissolve some unhelpful #AutismMyths.

To mark the Day, the Independent newspaper has published an article to help debunk some of the myths regarding people with autism. You can read the article here.

EFDS would like to hear from providers who are recognising the day in sport or exercise opportunities. Please email your stories to Sarah Marl or call 07764 291671.