We (James and Becci) are blessed to be parents to our gorgeous boy, Jayden. Jayden is an almost 5 year-old non-verbal autistic bundle of joy! He is gentle and funny and cheeky with the most beautiful soul we’ve ever met. He loves to run. We often marvel at the way he can just keep going, without getting puffed! Running was his first real connection with other children. With a smile on his face, this is a time we often hear his beautiful laugh.
We all know that exercise has many benefits, including improved physical health, mental wellbeing, motor skills, and social connection. This is true for all of us, but the benefits are even more stark for people with autism – or perhaps the negative impact of not being active is greater. Either way, we believe our children deserve the same opportunities to participate as their non-autistic peers.
A recent study by the Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice (ARCAP) found a glaring unmet need and a strong desire within the autistic community for more accessible and inclusive opportunities for physical activities, with 74% of autistic children desiring to participate in more organised physical activities than they currently were. That is huge!
However, there are significant barriers that prevent our children with autism from participating in physical activities. Some of the biggest ones are lack of inclusive opportunities, insufficient awareness about autism, sensory difficulties, and communication challenges. This has absolutely been our experience.
We have really struggled to find kids activities for Jayden that are truly welcoming and inclusive, with no pressure to comply with a set program and the distress this causes. We have encountered some lovely kind people who have welcomed him and met him where he’s at, but sadly not many. Even places that say they are inclusive of neurodiverse children either don’t understand practically what that means or just aren’t set up to be able to support him.
And so Active Autism was born!
Each Active Autism session has a mini obstacle course (soft play, balance beams, small climbs etc). There is space to run around it, and we spend a little time doing a weekly sport/game such as softball, mini basketball, cricket etc. We have a beautiful big room to operate in so there is lots of space. We also have access to a range of breakout areas, if needed.
The key is we provide opportunities to participate in a safe and welcoming space, with facilitators to support our children to participate in being active, but nobody is pressured to join in with anything.
What we provide
Designed space and activities – an environment that is intentional but flexible with no pressure to conform: a mini “obstacle course”, space to run, and a weekly sport such as footie, tennis, or basketball
Encouragement – our facilitators are there to inspire, reassure, and reinforce with the care and attention our children deserve, but we will never force interaction if autonomy is what’s needed
Consistency – slight changes in the course layout and focus sport each week, but the overall setup and session flow remains the same
Opportunity – above all else, the chance for our children with autism to take part in activities that other children can, with no judgement and no expectation
What we don’t provide
Childminding – this is a parent (or other carer) participation program
Therapy – whilst we are fortunate enough to benefit from a multitude of therapy-related experience within our team, we are a community activity program, not a therapy provider
Tailored advice – we will absolutely support the children to grow within our group environment, but providing one-on-one programs or advice to parents is not within our scope of practice
James Clarke has spent over a decade in the fitness industry with a significant focus on integrating mental health support alongside physical training. He has a passion and a heart for helping people. James’s greatest joy is being a dad, and it is where he truly shines. Not far behind that is the time he spends helping guys in recovery. He has coached kids’ basketball teams for almost 15 years and is a private coach too. James brings fitness qualifications and experience, is a qualified counsellor, and he is a trainer and assessor delivering regular courses for the Diploma of Counselling, Certificates 3 an4 in Fitness, and Mental Health First Aid. James’s primary roles in Active Autism are activity design, and facilitator leadership and mentoring.
Becci Clarke is a management consultant and entrepreneur who loves organising things, designing new ventures, and bringing people together. Since becoming mum to Jayden and learning how to advocate for him in a world that is not always kind, she has become passionate about helping other families to pursue opportunities too. She is passionate about countering the walls often faced of lack and smallness and negativity with love and encouragement and empowerment. She continues to study and to work as an independent consultant on a vast range of projects. Her role in Active Autism is leadership, business planning and management, community connection, and everything else behind the scenes!
Summer Vlahov is our other key leader. Summer comes to us with 5 years’ experience as a senior therapy assistant specialising in care for children with autism and has had numerous other children’s entertainment and support work roles. She is an autism big sister, so has first-hand lived experience too. Summer is passionate about helping people and has completed over 200 hours community service in addition to her paid employment. Summer enjoys spending time with her family, travelling, and being creative including writing, painting, drawing, music. Summer’s role in Active Autism is leading the group activity sessions, with her primary focus being on the children’s experience and interaction. She will also support Becci with administration and management of the program.
Our activities are conducted in a group environment with individual support provided by our senior therapy assistant and support facilitators who have a range of early childhood intervention, early childhood education, group and personal fitness training, and therapy provider experience. All our facilitators hold Working with Children checks and Police Clearance certificates. The delivery team is overseen by a panel of qualified and experienced therapists and other professionals who design the programs, mentor the team, quality assure our models and processes, and provide additional support and training as required.
If being a support facilitator is an opportunity that interests you, please click the button below to apply to join the pool!
The design and delivery of Active Autism sessions is undertaken by a multidisciplinary team that includes therapists, personal trainers, early educators and mental health practitioners.
Active Autism 