The ABCs of Motivation: How to Inspire Your Child with Special Needs to Exercise

Exercise is a crucial life skill that can benefit our children (and ourselves) with physical development, cognitive functions, anxiety reduction, mobility, and more. Learn how to motivate your child to move.

Exercise might be one of the most essential life skills we can teach our children, especially those with special needs. 

As parents of a child with special needs, we are often busy with appointments, medications, therapy, school meetings, behavior challenges, and more. 

Exercise or even general physical movement is easily overlooked.

Don’t worry if you don’t feel like reading; you can enjoy the podcast by listening below on YouTube.

[Click to Listen to Podcast]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The benefits of exercise are well-known in the typically developed community. 

These benefits include muscle development, mobility, weight management, sleep, cardiovascular health, anxiety reduction, self-esteem, brain functions, disease reduction, and more. 

However, it’s often difficult for us to find the time to exercise, much less force our children to do it.

With the ABCs of Motivation, you will learn how to motivate your child with special needs to exercise. 

By building a positive relationship with movement, your child can build self-esteem and experience many physical and mental benefits. 

Keegan Johnson and his son, Dante, are co-founders of Let’s Go Fitness, an online fitness and career community for people with special needs. 

Dante has Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects numerous body systems. 

Children diagnosed with this disorder suffer from growth delays, low muscle tone, insatiable appetite (leading to obesity), delayed developmental milestones, cognitive challenges, and increased anxiety. Keegan shares his journey with Dante and us.

The Birth Of Movement: From Hobby To Passion

Let’s Go Fitness was born during the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home. 

Whether you want to call it the birth of movement or the birth of “A” movement, Dante’s discovery of his life’s passion began with an uncle’s visit to borrow some workout weights. 

Dante was there when his uncle came by, and we told him about the workouts. 

We asked if he wanted to try a bicep curl, and he did it. Our cheering excited him, and he thought it was “kind of cool” to do, so he decided to work out online with his cousin. 

The days passed, and the workouts continued to the point where he was waking us up in the morning wanting to exercise. We had to tell him we still needed more sleep. 

Sharing With A Community

We’ve been part of the Prader-Willi Syndrome community for some time and shared the story of Dante’s workouts. 

Other parents messaged us and asked if their children could work out with him. 

Before we knew it, 100 days in a row of workouts passed. We told him to take a break, but being in high school, and having that structure and support around him, got him thinking about what would come after graduation.

The Covid pandemic also had an effect, especially trying to figure out what would come next. 

You want your child to be able to get a job and find something meaningful to do with their life. 

My wife and I were concerned about the future, and Dante kept asking what he would do next. 

We told him to focus on helping people, and everything else would take care of itself.

He came to me one day after working out online with some of his friends and asked, “Dad, if I’m helping these people, what sort of job is that?” I told him it was a fitness trainer. 

He thought that was amazing and asked if it was a good job. I said it was, and he said, “I think I want to be a fitness trainer.”

Career Opportunities Are Born!

That’s when Let’s Go Fitness was started, as we needed to create something that would help him become a successful fitness trainer. 

In addition to being a fitness community, it is now a career pipeline offering a career path for individuals with special needs as an online fitness trainer. 

We also run online fitness classes for schools, mostly in special needs classes, but also for some typically developed kids. 

The classes are led by a trainer who has special needs and a typically developed, certified fitness coach. 

It allows students in special needs classes to see and relate to a trainer leading the exercise class. 

The program also allows us to hire individuals with special needs to teach these classes. 

Schools are excited to see students with disabilities employed as trainers, creating representation, purpose, and real job opportunities.

The ABCs of Motivation: How to Inspire Your Child to Exercise

The three fundamental components of motivation, the ABCs, drive us in our accomplishments: Autonomy, Belonging, and Competence. 

A – Autonomy: Let Them Make Decisions

Children with special needs have limited ability to make their own decisions due to the many structures in place for their lives. 

Allowing them to make decisions and chart their own course, including through exercise, motivates them and builds autonomy. We build choices into their exercise program, such as:

Would you rather do a side row or a front row?

This creates a preferred choice but still leads to them working out. 

Over time, as children gain autonomy, they can start designing their own workouts—just like Dante, who now independently plans his Saturday fitness sessions. 

This results in being self-motivated to work out. 

B – Belonging: Being Part Of a Supportive Group

Belonging is huge, it’s a powerful motivator. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. 

Having a mentor to look up to, who is exercising, that the child can relate to and feel part of that group will help. 

As parents, we are excellent role models when we also exercise. Our children see it as that’s what our family does. 

Being surrounded by people with similar values, such as valuing exercise, fosters a sense of belonging. 

When you become part of a group, you want to feel needed. That’s why in Let’s Go Fitness classes, introductions are part of each class, so the students and trainer get to know one another and relate as individuals. 

We encourage the students to get involved and take active roles, whether through counting repetitions, choosing the next exercise, or leading one, it lets them know they are part of the group and that the group needs them. They feel essential and stay engaged.

 You can give your child a sense of belonging by making exercise a social activity:

• Work out together as a family.
• Connect them with peers they can work out with.
• Encourage them to participate in group activities like fitness classes (online or in person) or adaptive sports.

C – Competence: Being Good At Something

We enjoy doing things we’re good at and like to know that we can and are getting better at something. Some exercises can be challenging, especially when physical form is necessary. 

Breaking it down to the smallest level can help with accomplishments, and each achievement is cause for celebration. Even starting with one bicep curl is an accomplishment. 

Traditional exercise can feel intimidating for children with special needs if presented as an overwhelming challenge. Break it down into achievable steps and celebrate every win. 

Dante began with a single bicep curl with a 5-pound weight. We cheered that small success, which made him feel accomplished. He progressed from 5 to 10 and then 25-pound weights. 

He’s able to be more active and even plays pickleball. Along with the physical benefits, he has less anxiety and sleeps better. 

Knowing he has a job as a fitness trainer as he graduates from high school helps him feel excited about the next phase of his life. He has meaning. 

After finishing his level one certification, he’s excited about taking level two classes and progressing in his career. 

I advise parents of children with special needs that their child can exercise even though it may look different from everybody else. 

Once you’re moving your body, you’re exercising, and that’s the level we’re going to recognize success at. 

Final Thoughts: Movement Is Fun for Everyone

Moving your body in any way, shape, or form is fun. Surround yourself with the ABCs and get started. By exercising yourself, you can set the best example for your child. 

Remember that it does not have to be traditional exercises—any movement will do. 

Exercise is probably the most important life skill you can teach your child. Let’s all get back to having fun moving our bodies. 

Let’s Go Fitness is here to help. Children can exercise with peers and trained professionals in a motivating and inclusive environment. 

About Expert

Keegan Johnson

Founder, Let’s Go Fitness

Keegan is the father of an aspiring fitness trainer (Dante) with Prader-Willi Syndrome and founder of Let’s Go Fitness, an online fitness and career community for people with diverse abilities.  www.letsgo.fit

X: @keeganj @letsgofitness2

Instagram: @letsgofitnessonline

Facebook: @letsgofitnessonline

Prader-Willi Syndrome USA (www.pwsausa.org)