TYPICALLY, ICE SKATING IS JUST VIEWED AS A FUN ACTIVITY TO DO WITH
FRIENDS OR A COOL EVENT TO WATCH AT THE OLYMPICS. WHILE YOU MAY HAVE CONSIDERED THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF SKATING — I KNOW I’VE CERTAINLY LEFT THE RINK WITH MORE THAN A FEW BRUISES — STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE ACTIVITY ALSO HAS MANY BENEFITS, ESPECIALLY FOR NEURODIVERGENT CHILDREN.
AT JUST 16 YEARS OLD, AMY JI COMBINED THE KNOWLEDGE OF FIGURE SKATING SHE ACQUIRED AS A MEMBER OF THE TEAM USA SYNCHRONIZED SKATING TEAM WITH HER PASSION FOR NEUROSCIENCE, AND FOUNDED GLIDE TO GROWTH, A NONPROFIT THAT OFFERS FREE ICE SKATING LESSONS TO NEURODIVERGENT CHILDREN.
AMY: I did some research about the intersection of neuroscience and figure skating and I found it really interesting because there were a lot of therapeutic advantages from skating. And I was really inspired to start a program with neurodivergent kids to skate on the ice.
NOW, THREE YEARS LATER, GLIDE TO GROWTH HAS EXPANDED THROUGHOUT THE US AND OTHER COUNTRIES ACROSS THE GLOBE. RYAN AZADAPOUR FOUNDED THE OREGON CHAPTER.
RYAN: I was always teaching Learn to Skate, which is part of US figure skating’s skating program as a junior coach. Starting to teach kids who are neurodivergent or have autism was kind of a big change for me because typically most kids I would teach in Learn to Skate would be very quiet, very shy and listen to whatever you said, but I feel like it was more of a challenge in a fun way to deal with these kids is it was great to communicate with them with sensory
details.
JI ESTIMATES SHE HAS WORKED WITH AROUND 15 CHILDREN THROUGH GLIDE TO GROWTH, AND — LIKE AZADAPOUR — SHE SAID SHE HAS LEARNED NEW WAYS TO CONNECT WITH THEM.
AMY: Because I was already familiar with coaching upon more research, I found out that there are other that there’s a whole set of a curriculum for neurodivergent kids. And so kind of going across or using my knowledge from past lessons with other kids, I kind of integrated this new curriculum with my new kids. And so they were able to do more simple tasks and ones that were
more focused on what they wanted to improve.
ONE OF THE CHILDREN AZADAPOUR TEACHES IS LEIKO MCRAE’S YOUNGEST SON, WHO HAS AUTISM.
LEIKO: We put the younger son in a group lessons, but it was a little difficult for him because it’s a large group and, you know, like one or two each us and then it was difficult for him to focus for 30 minutes in a large group environment. And so I thought a private lesson would be nice, you know, he can get more personalization from the coach, and maybe, you know, maybe more fun and so we decided to, you know, do that. we put the younger son in a group lessons, but it was a little difficult for him because it’s a large group and, you know, like one or two each us and then it was difficult for him to focus for 30 minutes in a large group environment. And so I thought, I would be nice, you know, he can get more personalization from the coach, and maybe, you know, maybe more fun and so we decided to, you know, do that.
MCRAE SAID THESE LESSONS HAVE HELPED HER SON IMMENSELY, BOTH IN AND OUTSIDE THE RINK.
LEIKO: It’s not just fun, but also, my son is learning the actual, you know, like real skills. And so that’s amazing. And we can see him improving and also, you know, while having fun. And so that’s a really great experience.
WHILE YOU MAY NOT IMMEDIATELY THINK OF ICE SKATING AS A FORM OF
THERAPY, GLIDE TO GROWTH CONTINUES TO POSITIVELY IMPACT MANY
FAMILIES, INCLUDING MCRAE’S.
