Ep 195 | Adaptive Exercise for Special Needs Students

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We work with individuals with physical, mental, and cognitive challenges. So, I mean, it's a very wide range. Autism is a big one. We work with those with Angelman syndrome, Fragilex, Williams, PTSD. We have individuals with Parkinson's. So there's a lot that we tend to dive into.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every child in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support your child's success. Even for the most fit and the most neurotypical among us, the gym can be intimidating. But for those who have sound and sensory sensitivities, PTSD, or mobility challenges, gym goals can feel like an impossibility. My next guest is working to change that. She's the owner of Special Strong, an adaptive fitness company removing barriers to healthy living. Today she's going to share how the program works and who it's helping. Training bodies and unlocking independence, Christina Guadagnoli. Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Hello, thank you. Thanks for having me. This is exciting.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

It is exciting. I find it so interesting that your background is actually criminal justice. It is. So can you tell us what inspired you to get into adaptive fitness?

SPEAKER_01 1:31

So I guess my whole entire life I've just wanted to help people. So that's where law enforcement criminal justice comes in. But then after I married my husband, which we were both in law enforcement, that's how we met, he encouraged me to stop being in dangerous places and do something that was safe and made me happy and pursue my dream. So I went into health and fitness and then I started training neurotypical individuals. And it was through that that kind of led me to where we are today.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

And didn't your pregnancy have something to do with that as well?

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Yes, I got into fitness after I had my daughter when I realized that the numbers on the scale do not reflect reality, you know, weighing something prior to having a baby and then getting back to that number afterwards, yet feeling and looking completely different really woke me up to realize, okay, there's way more to this than just numbers.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

Yeah, isn't there? And it's like once you open up that path of thinking, you can't unsee it. No. And it's so fascinating. It is, it is. Everything about the body is fascinating. Isn't it though? One of the surprising things that I learned about Special Strong is that it isn't a brick and mortar fixed location. Can you talk about that?

SPEAKER_01 2:44

So we want to make life easier for everybody. We want to help people. So instead of having a brick and mortar, our business model is just to partner with local gyms and different agencies to make us more accessible. So we work in a large territory, but we have different locations within that territory that allow us to be closer to different people.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

So you're contracted with gyms that know what you're doing and what's going on. Yeah. Who are you contracted with in the area? Is it too long of a list to share?

SPEAKER_01 3:13

No, at first when we opened, I tried to spread myself very far and realized that's not doable in the beginning. So right now I'm just trying to work on Pensacola, PACE, Milton. This year I'd like to branch out and get some more gyms in Navarre. But right now we have a gym over on Mobile and Fairfield, Get Fit Fitness. We have Champion Fitness over in PACE. And then we also partner with the Art Gateway. They're actually allowing us to utilize and renovate a space that we can use for our own. Wow. So that's pretty fascinating.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

It's a slow process, but it's it's great. You're making a lot of headway considering that this only opened in what January of 2025?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yes, last year. We've been open a little over a year.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

That's amazing. Do you have to go to a gym business or could a trainer come to a home gym? Yeah, we could do that also.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

We work in gyms because we also like the inclusive aspect, right? We want our individuals to be alongside, you know, neurotypical, neurodivergent. But we also, if the need is in home, we can come to the home and we can do virtual too. Granted, virtual is not quite the same, but we try again to help and support people where they're at. What about pool work? We do that as well. We do aquatics. Granted, in the summer, we don't have any pools indoors. So we've gone to individuals, we have clients who have pools at their homes or at their apartment facilities. And so we'll use that pool there. Um, I'm working on getting a couple actual pools, like gyms with pools. Right now we don't have any, but that is in the works. So, what's the scope of abilities of your clientele? So we work with individuals with physical, mental, and cognitive challenges. So, I mean, it's a very wide range. Autism is a big one. We work with those with Angelman syndrome, Fragilex, Williams, PTSD. We have individuals with Parkinson's. So there's a lot that we tend to dive into.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

How does it work for people who have autism and sensory sensitivities? Because the gym is usually really echoey. There's music, there's lots of people. How do you dampen that stimulus, but still be in that same gym?

SPEAKER_01 5:29

The gyms that we partner with have a lot of classes. So if we have an individual that has a lot of sensory overload with sound and people and whatever, then we can also train them at a time when there's not a bunch of people in the gym. Basically, we're the only people in there. But for the most part, there's actually they they adapt really well to the sound and to the environment around them. We haven't actually had any issues with individuals who just can't. We also, I mean, if they need it, there's headphones, you know, things of that nature. But we really haven't struggled with that too much.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Can you tell me about any specific clients who have had great success in your program?

SPEAKER_01 6:16

We have an individual who when she first came to us, she struggled with balance, which a lot of our individuals do. A lot of our clients struggle that way. But she wouldn't lift or really use the left side of her body. So, you know, stepping up onto just the curb or using stairs, that was always a really hard issue for her and for her family. So it would cause emotional dysregulation, it would cause stress, it would just take time getting places sometimes. But we worked with her and we ended up putting hurdles next to a wall so that she would have to step over them, of course. And with having that structure, with having the wall right next to her left leg, she couldn't swing it out and around. So we we started obviously the ground floor with that. And she was able to learn to pick up her leg like so. And then we ended up working on, you know, of course, a small little step, step up, step down, step up, step down, and then make it a little higher, and then add a couple at a time. And so now she's actually walking up and down stairs, and she doesn't have that nervous system overload that she normally would. It's not causing chaos. She still is struggling to do it without, you know, using a handle of the rail. Our trainer tried to have her put her hands in her pockets and walk up the stairs, and she was not having that. But um, so we learned, okay, we need to slow it down. She's not ready for that. That's okay. Because we've been working with her on that for six months, you know. So this stuff takes time. It's not like that.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

So is it normally very specific with the clients? They come to you with these very specific goals, like I want to use my left side of my body to go upstairs without having to think a lot about it. Is it usually that specific?

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah, I think when individuals come to us, the typical questionnaire registration form they're putting, they want their kids to experience new things, have fun, lose weight. I mean, just generic goals. But when we get down to it, when I talk to a parent or I talk to a caregiver, I'm asking them, okay, so let tell me about your loved one, tell me about your kid. What is it that you struggle with, the day-to-day activities of daily living? And that's what we really try to hone in on because if we can help individuals with something so simple, of course, to us, you know, neurotypical individuals that don't struggle with those little things, if we can help families with that, then we can create such a bigger impact. And it's just like this ripple effect. And I don't think we really pay attention to it so much because unless you get injured, you don't recognize how much you use parts of your body or your brain. You know, you have, I had a an appendectomy in 2011, and I did not realize how much I used my core. I mean, to cough, to laugh, to breathe, to sit up, to sit down. Like, and core is a vital part of what we do. I mean, it's in our training model, and we just don't realize it. So we really try to get down to okay, what is going to have the most benefit for the family and give the most freedom? Because we're all about independence and abundant life. And if we can help our individuals that we're working with in training have that independence, then the whole family and other people, even in schools, right? When we look at the brain, when we look at the body, we have to connect everything. Otherwise, it's not going to function properly. And there's with the individuals we work with, there's a lot of issues between hemispheres of the brain. So, in order for bilateral coordination and smooth movements and just processing effectively, like you have to work on all of that and you have to get really detailed. And so trying to find out those very almost sometimes it seems sensitive parts of their life, that's where we affect real change. Because when we can talk to a mom, which it's usually the mom, when we can talk to a caregiver or a mom and figure out, okay, if we can help your child with this specific goal, how does that impact you? You know, I mean, we're talking helping carrying groceries, getting their child in and out of a bathtub. I mean, little things that we overlook every day, but like those are big monumental tasks to a parent that lives with this day in and day out and they're everything to their their loved one. So we really try to get into what is going to affect the most change and pain points. What's hard? What's the struggle?

SPEAKER_00 10:48

So this isn't about taking your child who has autism and making them an athlete. This is about quality of life. It is. That's interesting. It's really deep. It is, it is really deep. Well, the gym. Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of people have a complicated relationship with the gym. This is true. You know, and so it's like a love-hate thing. And they don't usually think about their child going to the gym. And I think a parent with a child who has a disability would understandably struggle with infantilizing them for an extended period of time. And so picturing that child as an adult with agency may be difficult. For one, it may not be a reality. We don't know, depending on the scope of the disability. But for two, you're just in the weeds when you have a child who has needs outside the scope of a typical kiddo, right? Have you, what kind of impact have you seen with parents? Have they given you any feedback about the dynamics of the parent-child relationship changing or the impact that it has on the parent's quality of life, maybe?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

When we work with these individuals, number one, even just the session itself is giving the parent and the caregiver a break. So they're not overstimulated. Go sit in your car, read a book, listen to music, take a nap. I don't care, you know, or you can sit there and watch. So you can just get more invested, see what we're doing. Again, attempt things at home if you want. But we want to give them a break. And then we also want to give them the ability to, as I said earlier, have that freedom and have that more abundant life as well. And so we've really seen that when we can create that with the individuals, that parents just, hey, I have time to myself. I'm free. Like this is great. You know, you've helped with the smallest thing, and now I don't have to stop what I'm doing every 10 minutes and pick something up or get something for them because they're capable of doing it themselves. So I think it's been very impactful for the families.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

So walk me through kind of the client journey. Let's say they hear about you at Westgate. You have a booth sometimes at their resource fairs or whatever. So they hear about you there. What's the intake? Take me from that point on of what it's like. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

So when we meet someone, we try to schedule a phone call with them because I want to get to know, again, like, how does your child interact? How do they move? You know, what are they all about? I ask, how can I create something, a program session in the gym that's fun and that's relatable? Because we don't want this to just be boring or hard or another, you know, doctor's appointment kind of feel.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

So that first conversation is where the program begins. You're starting to form it.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

And then are you playing matchmaker with both the location that the parent and child can go to and the trainers that work in that area?

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Yeah. So when we first, when I first communicate with them and try to get that going, I normally do at this point, I do the initial consultation, the free sessions myself because I want to see for myself. And then that's after we actually meet in person and do a session. Then that's when I try to figure out, okay, this is your availability. These are the trainers I have that's available, this is the location you're closest to. And that's when I try to pinpoint and mesh everything together. But initially it's just communication and finding out interests, dislikes, pain points, and then creating something from that. And then we go from there.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Can I just say I love how human that is? Thank you. Because in all of the automated systems of just, I mean, put yourself in the position of a parent with a child with a disability. You're calling the doctor's office, nobody's answering the phone. You've got to press this number and then press that number and then wait on hold, and then you're probably transferred. And you've probably already explained yourself once. Now you're up to twice. And that's just for you know, follow-up, perhaps. So I love that this is so in our, you know, AI automated phone recording world that it's like, hi, this is Christina. That's great. Yes, yes, 100% personable. That's so good. What kind of education and training do the trainers get?

SPEAKER_01 15:15

So I hire individuals who already have a background in personal training. They're already certified, you know, first aid, AED, CPR, because obviously that's vitally important. Safety is our top priority, fun comes second. But I hire those individuals and then we put them, special strong puts them through an adaptive fitness course so they can learn about a general overview of different common disabilities that we work with. And then it's from there, it's just deep diving into, you know, when you're assigned to a client, like, okay, how can I better help them? That's when continued education really comes into play, um, learning more and deep diving into what is gonna work or what new studies are out. I mean, we're constantly learning. I mean, technology is constantly evolving, healthcare is constantly evolving. I mean, we're coming out with new stuff all the time. 2026 is a year of neuroplasticity. Like it is fantastic. I am so I have a daily briefing that comes across my phone and it tells me all these new things and neuroplasticity and what to look for. And we incorporate those into the lives of our clients.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

That's so cool. So special strong, the franchise is also it's backing you up. It's giving you all of the extra education.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yes, yes. They provide that.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

That's incredible. What about the ages of the kids? Is there like a cutoff on too young or too old?

SPEAKER_01 16:37

So up until this year, we have always said that we work with individuals from the age of eight to 80 or older, obviously, if that's the case. But this year we're implementing a new program specifically for kids because of course we know the earliest detection, the earliest signs, the earliest, you know, preventative measures, you know, the earlier we can jump on these things, it's it's going to create the most help for the individual in the long run. So I'm not sure the exact date we are going to be implementing that, but I know that is in the works for a specific kid's special strong program.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

So for younger than eight years old, you're saying? Okay. So but for at this very moment, as of the day of this recording, it's age eight and up, essentially. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Children, adolescents, and adults.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

And when I think about special strength training for kids who have disabilities, I don't know, my brain goes automatically to physical therapy for some reason. But I imagine this is a supplement to that. Like, can you help make that distinction? When how as a parent, how would you know I need to send my kid to a physical therapist versus I should just enroll them in some of this? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

So physical therapy normally comes into play after an injury or a surgery. That's typically when that arises. So it's more acute. Yes. And I'm thinking like we're more preventative, if you will, or we come on board and we, you know, we last. Like we'll stop when you're ready to stop, or if you have a specific goal, we hit it, you know, okay. But for most of our, you know, individuals we work with, it's a lifelong ongoing process. Um, there's always things to work on.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

But you know, and that's not to be discouraging, it's just fitness. It is, it is.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

I mean, we should all be involved in taking care of ourselves and health and wellness.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Well, because the the mind-body connection part of it that you were kind of alluding to with the connection, also the neuroplasticity, that is an immense tool for the child once they become an adult. Oh, it's a tool for anyone, because when you go to the doctor and they're like, tell me what's going on, and you're like, it's not the body isn't working, or I hurt to be specific and oh, well, I think I'm I'm having some torsion problems. Like, like how how what great that would be to be able to advocate for yourself at a doctor's office that much better. Sure, sure. Yeah. Yeah. What's the cost compared to a regular gym membership?

SPEAKER_01 19:10

So a regular gym membership, obviously, you have private training and you have group training. Group training is always going to be more financially feasible in any sector, whether it's you know neurotypical or neurodivergent. Um, and so that's where we're at as well. So we'll start at $140 for a month of group sessions. So that's four or five, depending on the month. Once a week is how we have our group session set up. And then from there, I mean, we have 30-minute one-on-one private sessions, 50-minute, and those range from once a week, twice a week, three times. So, I mean, obviously the pricing depends on how often, how long your sessions are when they're one-on-one. But, and depending on what the need is, you know, some people are not ready to be in a group setting. Sometimes we need to work a little bit more on boundaries and social skills, which group does help with soft skills and social skills. But sometimes, I mean, I had a client who, you know, no personal boundaries, he would walk right up into you, like get in your face. I mean, not in a, you know, mean way, but he just didn't understand that. And so now, like he's at the point, just I believe it was in December, that we were able to transition him from twice a week, 30-minute one-on-one sessions, to now he's coming once a week because we still have specific goals we want to work on, targeting, you know, just those goals for him personally. But he's now also in a group and he can maintain those boundaries and he can have fun and interact with other people that are like him.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Interesting. I don't think I want to put that together. How many people is a group session? How many clients?

SPEAKER_01 20:43

So, I mean, we'll do groups anywhere from two to 10, generally speaking. I do work with a group home out in Jay, my father's arrows. I mean, we'll have anywhere from 10 to 16. So that is a little bit more difficult because I mean, you're working with a lot of different variables, obviously, but in the general setting in in the gym, it's normally anywhere from two to 10 is what we usually go by.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

And there'd be one trainer for that group.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Okay. And again, trying to match trainers and people in a group, I try to do the same thing. I don't want to put someone who is a stroke survivor, for instance, in a group with a 10-year-old and a 16-year-old with autism. Like to me, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Now, we could do that, but I just think it would be better to, again, you know, mesh people together that that flow and and blend better. Not that they couldn't, but I want everyone to have a fun, enjoyable experience that that is tailored somewhat to them, even in a group setting.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Do parents have to have a membership to the gym in addition to paying the membership fee with Special Strong? No. So when we

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Get our gyms. We have all of that worked out between myself and the gym. So some gyms will say, for instance, you know, hey, just a one-time facility fee. So we charge that when we sign them up for their membership. And then we pay the gym and that's that. We have another gym where they're like, hey, you know, $10 a month. So we just go ahead and add that and we'll take care of that. So there's not so many, again, moving pieces. We want to make it simple and easy for people.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Yeah. Are there trial options where a parent could bring their kid and kind of like test the waters?

SPEAKER_01 22:35

We always have a first free session so they can see what it's like because we want to be a good fit for them, just like we want them to be a good fit for us. Obviously. I mean, there's sometimes you just it's not a good dynamic. Yeah. And that's okay. And having to recognize that is important too. But yeah, we always do a free session to see, again, how they interact, how they move, where they're at, and go from there.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Fitness goals kind of live in the background of everyone's mind. But for the work to actually happen, there's usually a push, like a health scare or like an event you want to look really good for. What about for your for your clients? What pushes them?

SPEAKER_01 23:13

For some of our clients, it's lack of support in other areas in the community. We are another resource, but it's hard out there. I mean, they're not getting the support that they deserve from everywhere that they deserve it. Sometimes it's just we need something else. Sometimes it's there's a specific goal. And so they want, you know, parents are just exhausted. They want help, they want support, and that's what we try to provide. So it just depends. It's not normally the health scare on our end with our individuals.

SPEAKER_00 23:45

And what about you? What pushes you to do this?

SPEAKER_01 23:48

I just want to help people. I've worked in law enforcement, which let's be real, the justice system is broken. It is. It has its moments, just like anything else. But I want people to be confident. I want people to live abundantly. I want people to enjoy their life while they're here, whatever that looks like. So if I can help facilitate that, then that's that's my goal. Working with neurotypical people when it's more about aesthetics, you know, that's one thing. And that's great to see results. It's always great to see progress and results. It's very validating. However, working with this population is so much more fulfilling than anything I've ever done in my entire life, outside of being a mom, you know. But is it's just the reward in of itself is like none other.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

I love that. How can parents get in touch with you if they want to have a conversation and maybe explore the options of having their kid enroll in some fitness programs?

SPEAKER_01 24:55

Sure. So you can call me 850-418-1859. We have Facebook, Special Strong Emerald Coast, Instagram. To be completely honest, I don't have that handle memorized, but online you can also go to specialstrongemeraldcoast.com and there's a form on specialstrongemeraldcoast.com where you can fill it out, you know, just the basic name, age, phone number, email, and I'll get back with you. Personally, not an automated message.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

I mean, you will get one of those too, but I love it. Thank you so much. This was really cool. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.