Turns out the environment made all the difference...

For years, I would attempt to start strength training at the gym and wind up throwing in the towel after a couple weeks each time. Having other people watch me fumble as I practiced new movements was stressful. The lights, the smell of other people's sweat, and all of the other movement happening around me was always mildly disorienting at best. I'd have to adjust my plans for my workout based on how busy the gym was and what equipment was available, which made a consistent routine always feel elusive.

And then, a few years ago, my husband found a weight rack to put on our porch at home... and lifting became a totally different experience.

[Image description: Iris, a white person with short brown hair, getting set up for a squat underneath a barbell, looking to the side to check hand placement on the bar, because sometimes shoulder/arm positioning is hard to feel]

Being outdoors in a shaded area, all of the sensory stressors were gone. There was no one around to judge me as I started out with VERY light weights, easing into things as I could and taking my time to really feel where my body was in space. I could know that I'd have the equipment available to do what felt right for me on any given day.

I've had to be ever so gradual in progressing. Like for many autistic people, I've had to manage various types of chronic pain issues over time, and coordinating new movement patterns is a challenge for me. But the opportunity to practice strength training in a predictably comfortable sensory environment, without a crowd of other people around, allowed me to finally be able to stick with it - and I'm getting stronger.

I'm certainly not alone in having experienced gyms as inaccessible. Research indicates that for many autistic people, sensory stressors, lack of predictability, pain, and unpleasant social demands (basically... the way a lot of gyms are set up) can be barriers to accessing physical activity (Arnell et al. 2018, Blagrave et al. 2021). But when we have the opportunities to engage in movement and physical activity in ways that jive with our sensory, executive functioning, and physical needs (especially important for those with chronic pain and/or hypermobility spectrum conditions), things can be so much easier.

If you're a physical therapist or movement professional working with autistic people and giving recommendations for general exercise, it can make all the difference to support people in exploring a range of options for environments and routines, without judgement if any given form of exercise doesn't work for someone. Sometimes it takes a while of trying different things out to discover what we need in order to feel good when exercising, and sometimes the environment can make all the difference.

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P.S. Ready to learn more that can help you as you work to provide affirming support for autistic patients? Here's where to get in touch, and on-demand webinars are available here.