Swansea City AFC Foundation partnered with the National Autistic Society (NAS) to run the FIT NAS program throughout the summer to support the health and wellbeing of parents of children with autism.
The initiative encouraged parents with autism to move and focus on their well-being at the start of the school summer holidays by offering activities that they can do alone or with their children.
The program started with a tour of the Swansea.com stadium and a walk through the surrounding areas, before offering healthy cooking sessions, walking football, dance lessons and chair yoga.
In addition to regular participant sessions, FIT NAS also included a live step challenge throughout its duration, encouraging participants to set aside time to walk and get out of the house. During the challenge, participants ran 3,325 miles over 12 weeks.
Children attending the sessions were also treated to a football session led by Swansea City legend and club ambassador Lee Trundle.
Rhys Davies, Health and Wellbeing Officer at Swansea City Foundation, was delighted to see the impact the FIT NAS sessions had on the participants and believes it will benefit them in the long term.
“It’s been really rewarding to see parents spending time with their children and also focusing on their own health and well-being,” Davies said.
“If you don’t focus on your own health and well-being, it’s hard to take care of someone else.
“It’s just about positive steps towards long-term changes, so it’s been good to see them excited to get involved.”
Eve Dewson is a member of the NAS. After participating in the program, he feels that he understands better how to take care of his care responsibilities and manage his own well-being.
“Just learning to be out there, getting our stride in and taking that time for ourselves has been great,” Dewson said.
“We got the kids involved in the activity and we also got a little time for ourselves and we got to do it around our caring roles.
“It’s hard as a mother with all the commitments, you always put yourself last. When you give yourself that little bit of time, you become much better at taking care of someone else while you take care of yourself.”