Topics Approved By

Topics

Approved By

Many fitness professionals want to coach more inclusively but feel underprepared when working with individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). While motivation is high, access to practical, real-world strategies that translate directly to personal training and group fitness settings remains limited. This engaging live webinar, led by Leigha Cummings, CPT, GFI, PN1, and Fitness Specialist at Special Olympics International, fills that gap by providing evidence-informed, actionable coaching and communication tools that support engagement, autonomy, safety, and long-term participation for individuals with IDD.

Leigha brings extensive experience designing and delivering inclusive fitness programs. With a background in Health and Human Performance, she specializes in translating inclusive fitness principles into practical strategies that empower professionals to create safe, engaging, and accessible movement experiences.

Designed for health and fitness professionals seeking to expand their inclusive coaching skills, this webinar goes beyond awareness to focus on practical application. Attendees will learn adaptable coaching frameworks, effective communication techniques, programming considerations, and session structures that create psychologically safe and accessible training environments. By strengthening inclusive coaching competencies, professionals can better serve diverse clients, improve engagement and retention, and position themselves as thoughtful, skilled leaders in a growing area of fitness and wellness.

Upon completion, you will be able to:

  • Apply effective coaching and communication strategies that support engagement, understanding, and autonomy for individuals with IDD.
  • Select appropriate exercises and modifications that promote safety and participation across varied ability levels.
  • Structure individual and group fitness sessions to foster consistency, confidence, and long-term adherence.
  • Implement inclusive coaching practices that create psychologically safe and accessible training environments. 

Workshop Policies and Procedures

Cancellations

In the event that the American Council on Exercise (ACE) would cancel a workshop for ANY reason, a full refund will be issued to the participant. ACE is NOT responsible for any other expenses the participant may have incurred.

Refunds

All of ACE's live workshops are non-refundable programs unless approved by ACE's Educational Services Team. For questions, please call 800-825-3636. A $50 cancellation fee will be applied to any approved cancellations.

Rescheduling

Any participant who is registered for an ACE workshop and needs to reschedule their workshop to a later date listed will be subject to a $50 transfer fee and MUST contact ACE's Educational Services Team at 800-825-3636 to verify that a reschedule date is available.

Transfer of Registration

ACE cannot transfer a participant's registration to another participant unless approved by ACE's Educational Services Team. Transferring a registration to another participant is subject to a $100 transfer fee.

Hotels and Accommodations

ACE does not provide hotel and accommodation recommendations for our workshop events. Google is a great resource to search for hotels in the area of the workshop location.

Transfer of Registration

In the event of inclement weather, all workshops will be held as scheduled at the discretion of ACE. Pre-registered participants who are unable to attend their scheduled workshop may reschedule without incurring additional charges so long as their request has been received 7 days following the originally scheduled date. No refunds will be available. In the event that ACE cancels a workshop due to bad weather, participants will be given a full refund or option to reschedule (if another date is available).