# 2 It’s good to talk: improving communication with family members

In the video clip for Activity 2, Tony refers to a range of professionals including teachers, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists among others. He talks of the challenges of being told to have low expectations and feeling the need to push back against this. These experiences are common among families of neurodivergent children (Billington, 2023), making it a key consideration when working with neurodiverse athletes.

Talking to family members like Tony about their experiences can reveal important information about the strengths their child can bring to sport and exercise, rather than just talking to the athlete. Research also suggests that parents and carers express a strong desire for children to find a degree of challenge in their lives, as well as discovering things they can excel at and master (Streatch et al., 2023). As Tony says in the clip, ‘we had to exist in his [Sam’s] world and learn how he was thinking to maximise on his life opportunities’. This reinforces the practice of treating each athlete as an individual and the importance of communication with parents and carers as part of this.

The next activity explores parental experiences even further.

## Activity 3 A parent’s experience

Allow 30 minutes

Listen to a section of the podcast episode below created by students of Tettenhall Wood School in England, which is a school for autistic young people and adults.

This episode is presented by a staff member and student who interview the former professional footballer, administrator and author Pat Nevin about his experiences of parenting an autistic child.

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Pat Nevin: Football and autism
Transcript

While you listen to the audio, consider the questions below to explore how Pat describes his experiences supporting his son.

1. What is the impact of changing routines for Simon, and the subsequent implications of this for Pat?
2. How can the experiences of parents like Pat help inform coaching practice, especially in how an autistic athlete can achieve ‘happiness’?

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### Discussion

1. The role of predictability and routine is key for families, alongside the idea that plans can change and the importance of supporting someone through that. The experiences of Simon demonstrate the importance of this consistency and can help you reflect on how to maintain this within your own practice.
2. As Pat suggests happiness isn’t what society tells you it is, happiness is just happiness! This relates strongly to Chris Packham’s experiences in Week 2 where he spoke about finding ‘joy’ in his sometimes overwhelming sensory experiences. These comments can prompt coaches to identify where their sessions focus on creating more ‘fun’ drills and activities for athletes to find their own joy. Practical tools like visual timetables can be useful for neurodiverse people to help them prepare for different situations, feel more relaxed, and therefore enjoy their participation more.

The importance of consistent routine, coaching environments and low levels of external distractions are considered important by parents and carers (Streatch et al., 2023). As part of their research on quality of experience for autistic children in sport, Stretch and colleagues (2023) further stress the importance of consulting with caregivers, alongside involving athletes themselves and providing choice within sessions where possible. Two simple examples of this in practice are outlined below.

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OpenLearn - Coaching neurodivergent athletes
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