Where do disabled people fit in

Where do disabled people fit in the Government’s new sport and movement strategy?

Business Disability Forum’s Head of Policy Angela Matthews reflects on the possible chasm between movement and sport.

By Angela Matthews, Head of Policy, Business Disability Forum businessdisabilityforum.org.uk

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Sport England recently published its ten-year strategy, titled “Uniting the Movement”. The strategy states: “We need to collectively reimagine how we keep movement, sport, and activity central to the lives of everyone.”

I considered how ‘movement’ and ‘sport’ are so far apart for many people. I used to work in a movement clinic in the NHS where I would see people as part of their rehabilitation after an injury or illness. Their circumstances were diverse and could include being recently injured from having a life changing accident, having a heart attack or stroke, a ‘relapse’ with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), or the onset of Parkinson’s Disease.

‘Movement’ for many people who came into my clinic was often about learning how to use their body again, becoming aware of the movements they can do or re-learn to do, and learning to ‘trust’ the movements their body makes. A successful movement ‘session’ often consisted of walking three to five metres aided by support bars, holding a large physio ball with both hands for five seconds, or sitting in a chair while raising arms up and down slowly. ‘Sport’, on the other hand, was so very far off at the point people entered my clinic and, for many, it would be that way for the rest of their lives.

We find ourselves in a fitness-hungry world of competitive apps, being encouraged to exercise outside, and fitness technology that congratulates us when we meet a certain amount of steps in a day. But many people with disabilities and managing long-term conditions are living lives far from this level of activity.

COVID has brought this into sharper focus. For disabled people lucky enough to find inclusive exercise classes, when lockdown came, many of those classes continued online. However, for many other people with disabilities or conditions, exercising alone is dangerous, particularly if living alone. Part of an inclusive exercise class for many is for a trained professional to be there if you fall or if you get into a position you cannot get out of.

The Sport England strategy team has committed to ensuring that “we all have everything we need to be active”, and they are listening to what those things are.”

Remote and online activities are therefore not a safe option for many. It is those types of nuances about many disabled people’s activities that the strategy must uncover and address. Phrases used in the strategy such as “if movement were a medicine, we’d call it a miracle cure” or “regular exercise reduces the risk of illness” are so dependent on our individual bodies and the conditions we have.

In addition, I worry that the emphasis of the strategy seems to be about sport and activity ‘outside’ of the house. Aside from this being out of reach for many disabled people who will be continuing to shield for a while yet, the strategy references sport and exercise environments being “pitches, courts, pools and leisure centres”. If we are going to focus an inclusive strategy on these environments, the businesses who provide these built environments must ensure they are accessible.

This aside, many local authority leisure centres remain based in legacy buildings with inaccessible doors, layouts and changing areas. And then pools, pitches, courts. Ever tried to get in or out of a swimming pool with one weak side after having a stroke, holding a tennis racket with poor manual dexterity, or tried kicking a football with challenging core balance and an essential tremor? The activities that take place in pitches, courts, pools, and leisure centres are far from reality for many.

In addition, the reference to increased exercise equating to reducing risk of illness only goes so far. The statement which overlooks the danger of unassisted activity and movement for many; for example, people with complex conditions reliant on mobility or breathing apparatus as well as conditions such as haemophilia and brittle bone where injuries that may seem ‘minor’ to many can be incredibly serious. The strategy also references a reduction in illness helping the NHS; yet a key element missing from many rehabilitation programmes and services in the NHS is teaching people recovering from injury or illness the best and safest ways to keep active and moving to suit them the other side of recovery. The focus is instead often getting people to the point of being ‘well enough’ to be discharged from hospital or from a rehab service and does not go as far as equipping people with appropriate advice on keeping moving and active beyond ‘recovery’. The NHS is a huge enabler and ideally placed to equip people with long-term conditions to keep active and moving in a tailored way to suit them.

Many people managing a disability or longterm condition increasingly see ‘sport’ as something of a luxury and for ‘other people’. This strategy seeks to undo that myth. The Sport England strategy team has committed to ensuring that “we all have everything we need to be active”, and they are listening to what those things are. If you would like to share your thoughts, I will relay them to the “Uniting the Movement” team. You can email me at policy@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk

Angela Matthews is Head of Policy at Business Disability Forum, a not-for-profit membership organisation that exists to create a disability smart world by linking businesses, disabled people, and government.

To find out more about Business Disability Forum, go to businessdisabilityforum.org.uk