Special needs families are urged to work out together by help group

LEADING experts in special educational needs and exercise are coming together to stage one-off sessions in Derby – to encourage families to start getting fit together.

Sunshine Support, a national organisation that supports parents and teachers of children with additional needs, has organised the events in its new Spondon headquarters.

The classes, called Emotions in Motion, are being led by special educational needs personal trainer Laura Carr, personal trainer specialising in chronic illness and trauma Mitch Hanson and chartered psychotherapist Jackie Brierley.

The hour-long sessions on Monday are designed to teach gentle movement and exercises whilst explaining why the body feels a certain way and what emotions they are likely to experience.

Sunshine Support founder Chrissa Wadlow said: “As parents many of us struggle with our emotions, we weren’t taught about them like we were taught maths and English.

“So, this is a really fantastic opportunity to break that cycle and teach our children about their emotional health and how important physical activity is in doing that.

“We can’t do this magic alone, so we have hand-picked a tried and tested team. They’re super friendly, so incredibly gentle and all well versed in the world of special educational needs and disabilities, trauma, mental health and chronic illness.

“We will practice activities to help emotional health that can also be done at home, this sort of approach to support children with their emotional health is very impactful, the parents are going to see a huge benefit too.”

The benefits of engaging in physical exercise are wellestablished, but research shows that the advantages for children with additional needs are even greater with improved mental well-being, the development of problem-solving skills, and increased concentration.

As well as encouraging physical activity, the classes will also support emotional health, explaining why the heart starts beating faster and what that might feel like.

Chrissa added: “Life is so fast paced these days, parents and children don’t get time to spend time together very much. Coupled with the mental health crisis we are going through, we hope that families will take an hour out of their day to connect and have fun together.”

If the sessions, which are being held at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm, are successful the classes will be run on a more regular basis. The cost is £30 for a family of five.