Looking for a personal trainer to help my ND teen with stretching and weight training

[Anonymous]

I’m looking for recommendations for a physical trainer or therapist who can work with my teenage son to develop a consistent stretching and mobility routine and guide him in safe, effective weight training. He enjoys swimming, tennis and lifting but is very tight through his legs and back, and stretching isn’t something he’ll take on independently without structure and guidance.

Ideally, I’d love to find someone who has experience working with teens with ADHD or mild autistic traits and who can make sessions engaging and motivating while focusing on flexibility, strength, injury prevention, and building good movement habits.

We live in Kensington and are open to nearby options in Montgomery County. If you’ve had a great experience with a personal trainer, adaptive fitness coach, or physical therapist who works well with teens, I’d really appreciate your recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked into Fitness 4 Health in Rockville? They have experience working with ASD/ADHD traits. While they are OT/physical therapists, their whole set up is basically a gym and may be willing to work with your son. Also pretty close since you are in Kensington.

[Anonymous]

We just signed up my DS for Neural Movement. 5 sessions in and I am already seeing significant changes in his behavior and approach to fitness. Love how they are just super knowledgeable with overall compassion with the person he is, asperger‘s, anxiety and ADHD

[Anonymous]

My son has had personal training sessions at OneLife and they have been successful and productive. If you are looking for 1:1 in a non typical gym setting maybe talk with Mike Krivka at Krossfit Koncepts. It’s near Kensington. May or may not be a good fit but he is good if it is.

[Anonymous]

I suggest looking into hypermobility / possible Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. It is very commonly comorbid with neurodivergence. With hypermobility, the collagen is compromised, which results in loose joints. The muscles and fascia get tight everywhere, in the body's attempt to stabilize. This can then pull on bones, and it's a delightful little cycle where things are unstable, the muscled stabilize and make something else unstable.

While it often feels great, stretching can actually destabilize things further. It's important to know what you're working with and have someone who understands hypermobility. I did years of yoga and PT with people, before I knew I was hypermobile. It typically makes things worse.

There's a fairly straightforward assessment called the Beighton Scale, but it doesn't tell the entire picture. Basically, if he can put his hands flat on the floor, hyperextends knees or elbows, he may have some manner of it and it's worth looking into.

Hypermobility also has destabilizing impact on the nervous system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just signed up my DS for Neural Movement. 5 sessions in and I am already seeing significant changes in his behavior and approach to fitness. Love how they are just super knowledgeable with overall compassion with the person he is, asperger‘s, anxiety and ADHD

Can you please share more about this? I'm very interested.