Sport
How to read the stories

Sport

Anyone can help himself or herself keep fit and feel well by taking part in weekly exercise or sport. Taking part in sport and exercise can help you to cope with your worries, can help you to sleep, and can help you lose weight (if you also change the way you eat!). Taking part in exercise and sport can help you meet people outside your home and have fun. It can help a lot if you feel down, angry or sad. Some people have heart problems, some have breathing difficulties and many are overweight. Many people also smoke and eat a lot of fatty food with too much salt. Many people don’t walk anywhere or do any exercise. Regular exercise can help with all of these problems.

Many people will have taken part in exercise at some time in their lives but do not do so at present. They may have moved, lost friends or groups of support. Previous activities may not have been taken up again and new activities not pursued or set up.

People also forget how much fun they had when doing sport and they forget other benefits like learning new skills, or having better concentration and self-confidence. Remember that it is going out of the house, meeting people and having fun in exercise and sport that makes people want to keep coming back, not just the exercise or keeping fit.

Where do you go and who do you ask?

When you ask about sports for people with a learning disability at the town hall, in libraries or elsewhere, you may only be provided with a list of activities for disabled people and not a list of all the activities available. Often the variety and number of activities for people with disabilities is low. But you should ask for a full list of what sport and exercise classes are available in your area, so that you have more choice. You have the right to be included. There could be more than a hundred different types of exercise and sport sessions in your community!

Making sessions accessible for you

Anyone new to sport or exercise needs coaching to learn the basic skills so they can take part.

Meet the instructor or coach before attending the first time to discuss what they can do to help you take part successfully. Often they will need some information about you to include you fully in a sports session. You can help them yourself by telling them what you can do and how they need to communicate with you to help you learn the rules and play the game.

How to read the stories

There is no right or wrong way to read the stories.

Some people are not used to reading stories. Start at the beginning and read the story in each picture. Encourage the reader to move through the pages at their own pace.
Encourage the person to tell the story in their own words. You will discover what they think is happening, what they already know, and how they feel. If you are using the pictures to help explain a procedure to someone, you may need to describe or clarify the actions being shown in each picture to help them understand. Try not to challenge the reader(s) or suggest their ideas are wrong.
Some pictures may be more difficult to understand. It can help to prompt the people you are supporting, for example:
• Who do you think that is?
• What is happening?
• How is he or she feeling?
• Do you feel like that? Has it happened to you/ your friend/ your family?
Allow people enough time to follow the pictures at their own pace. Allow time for discussion of each picture.
Some people may benefit from reading the larger story from which the extract has been taken. This will allow them to explore their feelings and experiences in more depth. To buy the complete book, follow the link to the bookshop that appears at the end of the story.