Flex your independence muscle

Short breaks and holidays can be a lifesaver for many young people with disabilities and their families. As our holiday choices open up again, increasing numbers of people are turning to specialist residential outdoor activity centres for a truly unique and memorable experience. Schools access these organisations for educational purposes, while families visit for a short break or holiday. Whichever group you're visiting with, these experiences offer benefits beyond what we get from a standard short break or holiday for both disabled and non-disabled people alike.

Outdoor residentials usually involve going away for a weekend or week and taking part in adventurous outdoor activities throughout the stay. Centres often have on-site activities such as archery, a zip wire or a climbing wall, but others will also use accessible minibuses to provide adventurous activities in the countryside, such as outdoor climbing, caving or canoeing.

Going to an outdoor centre can be a bit like going to a hotel. There are family rooms, cleaners and meals are provided. However, it is a little different. There is often a sense of community living, and everyone is encouraged to muck in and help out where they can. There might be dining tables to lay, tidying up to do, kit to collect or a round of tea to be made.

Whatever you're doing during your visit, whether on activity or relaxing, there are numerous benefits to be had from visiting a specialist outdoor centre. In this article, I'll outline the three main reasons that I see why going on an adventurous outdoor activity break should be an essential part of anyone's life experience, no matter who you are.

Connecting with nature

Most of us spend too much time indoors, particularly young people. Most young people spend less time outdoors than someone serving a prison sentence. This is a shocking statistic, particularly because it is widely accepted that getting outdoors significantly boosts our mental health and wellbeing. I suspect the figures have risen since the pandemic, most especially for young people with disabilities. We know that being outdoors in nature has real benefits, a real calming effect. It is a place where we can escape screens and technology and focus on something different, something natural. It gives our brains downtime, and time to switch off from our everyday lives. This is essential for all members of the family, not just the young.

As well as the calming effect of being outdoors, daylight has also been found to be a key factor in helping our sleep, our mood and our overall mental health and wellbeing. Unless we live in a greenhouse (unlikely), opting to undertake our leisure activities outside rather than indoors should certainly contribute to maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.

We also hear about the sensory benefits of being outdoors. If you have a child or student who benefits from using a sensory room, then I would recommend spending some time outside; some would say it's the best natural sensory room there is. With the wind in your hair, things to touch and unusual smells to explore, nature stimulates the senses.

Whether you have a disability or not, I would encourage everyone to get outdoors, feel the sun, wind or rain on your face, and breathe. Breathing is the best stress buster there is.

Young people with disabilities lead more sheltered lives compared to their non-disabled peers. This can be due to many reasons, but I believe it's essential that we give all young people the best opportunities we can to prepare them for adult life.

Putting young people in a position where they can flex their independence muscle is vitally important. Enabling people to choose how or whether they participate in certain activities can be incredibly empowering and can help prepare them for making other decisions in life.

As well as independent decision making, learning how to manage risk is a skill that many young people with disabilities miss out on. Risk is a word that often scares people or puts