Shaping up at Cushing

Cushing students are gaining new enthusiasm when it comes to exercise, thanks to a partnership with ASD Fit Boston, a leader in the adaptive fitness community.

The partnership is helping to expand students’ access to physical fitness at school and in the community. The program is being offered thanks to three-year grant funding from the One Step Forward Education Foundation. 

“One Step Forward Education Foundation is proud to collaborate with Cushing and ASD Fit Boston to bring this program into the school. It is important for all kids to have access to physical fitness and to have a healthy body that will help them reach all of their potential,” said foundation president and founder Julia Casady. “The foundation strives to positively impact the process of education—a lifelong journey that can take many forms.” 

Coaches come to the school weekly, bringing new and innovative ways to engage each student, at their level, to become more physically fit. They have been working with more than 60 students. 

“They love new people coming in. It gets them excited,” said Kristen Scalata, Cushing’s adaptive physical education instructor. “We’ve already had so many success stories, like one person with arthritis who comes in and works for 30 minutes, start to finish.” 

Based in Brockton, ASD Fit Boston offers one-to-one personal training, group classes and satellite programming. It was founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle. Coaches strive to build confidence and increase the quality of life for individuals who have varying cognitive, physical and emotional disabilities, that they can carry throughout their lives. 

“We believe in meeting people exactly where they are and giving them the tools they need to go out and live a healthy life,” said Ryan Feeney, the founder and owner of ASD Fit Boston.

“Ryan is phenomenal with our kids,” said Scalata. “Some will even go to their gym in Brockton after school to get more training in. They’re really working on gross motor skills, with things like basic box jumps and obstacle courses or kettlebells and medicine balls.” 

Scalata is excited to see how students are benefiting physically, while also practicing daily living skills like following multi-step directions.

In addition to the new ASD Fit Boston classes, Scalata also works with students at the middle- and high-school levels twice weekly, and vocational students have a class once a week.