Okay, so I know last week I said I’ll move on to the next step in my series on my client with Parkinson’s (C), but then I remembered that today is dedicated to my Top 5. Thus far, I mentioned my work with C, but I didn’t mention that I also started working in a Special Needs school. I train two sets of students: the younger students (aged 6-8) all seem to lie somewhere along the Autism Spectrum and the older ones (aged 13-15) have varying behavioural issues. Therefore, I’m going to share with you the top 5 things that seem to have worked with all 3 categories of clients so that maybe, if you are a trainer and meet up with a client who has special needs, you might be able to use a couple of my tips to help you (and your client) along your way.

5) Trial and Error — You can read all the literature, both online and in print, both layman and academic that exists, and there is one thing that stays constant. Every single client is different. This means that no singular technique will work for everyone, so you are going to have to go through a period of trial and error to see what your client(s) would respond to best. However, please do some research before starting.

4) Make it Count — Find a way to make every single session count. That doesn’t mean that every session has to be sweat-inducing, knock-them-out workouts. In fact, you might find that many of your sessions may not be that strenuous. However, go with a plan (and a contingency, just in case) and keep your overall goal in mind when you meet with your client(s) so that anything you do is geared towards that. Training for the sake of training isn’t helping anyone.

3) Patience — Every day won’t be your best and every day won’t be their best. Keep this in mind whenever you go to meet your client(s). Your client may not always respond to your training. A bad day in Parkinson’s could mean that he/she is completely off-balance and can’t even stand to do the workout. A bad day with autism means that they may never internalise anything you tell them. A bad day with someone who has behavioural issues could be the result of a fight he/she got into (verbal or physical) and you have to find a way to bring that person back to a calm space. Regardless of the issue, you need to have patience as you work with them because things don’t always go as planned.

2) Research — As mentioned in 5 above, please do your research. You may have a degree in the specific field, but since everyone is different, nothing you learned may prepare you for what is to come. Research different scenarios, different techniques, different degrees of difficulty; just do your research. Make sure that you have as much info as possible (and even that may not be enough), so that you can be as prepared as possible to serve your client to the best of your ability.

1) Listen — I cannot stress this enough. If a client is in pain, if a client is off-balance, if a client is making strange noises or screaming for (apparently) no reason, it is important to internalise this and work with it. This goes for training ANY client, not just those with some form of special needs. It is one of the golden rules of being a trainer and it is doubly important when dealing with any kind of special situation.

So there you have it. These are the top 5 rules of training someone who needs any kind of special attention that have, so far, worked for me. I hope this helps. Stay tuned next week for the next phase in my work with C.