There’re many different aspects of personal training that we must account for when working with people with autism. One of the most important however remains the same whether working with clients on the spectrum or working in the general population, that is rapport. Rapport enables a personal trainer and client to feel comfortable so that other strategies over the course the training may be utilized. There’re many different strategies that our personal trainers use at Adaptive Exercise, from visual supports to ABA strategies, but none of them can work unless there is rapport between the client and the personal trainer.
Rapport is defined as a close and harmonious relationship in which people or groups of people can understand and communicate each other’s ideas and feelings. Rapport is also based around trust. This is important for a personal trainer to develop with any client. Many children, adolescents and adults with autism do not have a lengthy history of exercise or physical activity. Some may not have any experience at all. So beginning an exercise program can be stressful, confusing or seem overwhelming to some. By building and establishing rapport from the start, the client can feel more comfortable and trust the trainer. If rapport is not established early, it may seem impossible to get the most out of your client in your personal training session.
Developing rapport does not come naturally to many people with autism. This means that it is the personal trainer’s responsibility to go out of their way to establish and maintaining this rapport. There’re many different ways a personal trainer can go about establishing this. It begins in the initial consultation of our intake process. Trainers are devised to greet the client and learn as much about them as possible the interview. Whether they are asking the client’s parents or the client themselves they must learn about their interest, learning styles, struggles, preferences and what they find motivating. This way at the time of the first personal training session, the trainer can have strategies in place and can help make the client feel comfortable early on.
In order to utilize many of the different ABA strategies we use at Adaptive Exercise, rapport must be established. ABA strategies like physical prompting, redirection and shaping are not as effective without rapport. Other strategies used in ABA like behavior specific praise and positive reinforcement can help build and establish rapport with a client. When I first began my career in the field of ABA this strategy of developing rapport early on was taught to me. Often times the first few sessions with the client, we placed very few demands on and instead focused on building a relationship with the client. This way when the teacher was pushing the client to learn new skills or dealing with problematic behaviors, the teacher was not seen as an aversive person to the client.
Report is not something that can be established solely in the first session and then not addressed again. This is a fluid process that must be established early on, constantly addressed hand worked on over the course of an exercise program. We emphasize building this relationship early on, because coming into the clients home representing new foreign task to them may seem overwhelming. By building this relationship early on we hope that the client will be excited to see the personal trainer and hence be excited to exercise. This positive relationship can make teaching difficult task less stressful. We must constantly be aware of the standing of our rapport over the course of the personal training programming. It is not outside the realm of possibility that the relationship between a client in a personal trainer can go up and down as task and expectations change. Teaching new, more difficult movements can cause frustration with both the trainer and the client. It is in these times that we must take a step back and make sure that it is not negatively impacting the relationship between the personal trainer and the client.
Many strategies we use in our personal training like physical prompting and positive reinforcement help clients progress to their exercise programs. These strategies are far more effective when a trainer has established a good sense of rapport with their client. Putting your hands on anyone to help them learn or master a new skill is an intrusive way of teaching. This ABA strategy has been proven to be effective, which is why we use it in our adaptive personal training. Positive reinforcement also lets the client know when they’re performing well we’re doing something correctly. Both of these strategies do not work and unless there is trust from the client.
As clients progress through their fitness programs, continuing to foster rapport between the personal trainer and client is critical. As our clients learn new exercises and master previously taught movements the trainer sets new goals based off their performance. As with any exercise program struggles will arise. Some days the client may not feel exercising, may lack energy or may have other things going on in their lives that affect the performance. With a strong rapport between the personal trainer and their client, the trainer can get the most out of each personal training session.
Personal trainers serve as coaches for our clients at Adaptive Exercise. Their role is to motivate, assist and push their clients to achieve the highest level of performance they’re capable of. In order to reach this level of performance and continued progression, there must be rapport. Think back to you’re the best teachers and coaches, in odds are you probably had a sense of rapport with them. This is why we focus on establishing this early in the training process and do our best to keep this level of rapport over the course of their fitness programming. This can help and improve their physical performance, social performance and allow them to achieve the most benefits from their training. If you’re looking to get your child moving, Adaptive Exercise is here to help.