Ten thousand steps and more. Sandra, William, Gauthier and Maxime (the first names have been changed): there are four of them, this Monday, January 15, doing some stretching to prepare for climbing. This group of young adults, residing at the nursing home (FAM) Le Cottage (Groupe SOS) in Chelles (Seine-et-Marne), suffering from autism spectrum disorders, comes every week to climb in the room Arkose of Pantin (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The session starts with a short warm-up, then everyone goes through individually. They put on the harness, helped by Amélie (she did not wish to give her last name), psychomotor therapist at FAM Le Cottage, and Richard Ly, climbing instructor and educator. Sandra starts, a big smile on her lips. She climbs and has to catch rings, red, yellow, blue… She shouts loudly, seems happy. Then Gauthier and Maxime follow one another, assisted by Richard Ly, who shows them where to put their feet, and assured by Amélie, who also practices. William’s turn comes, more at ease, even if he will not reach the top of the 19 meter wall. “Climbing stimulates all parts of the body, and also has effects at the social level, by connecting us with others”, explains the psychomotor therapist. It is also a way to empower and calm down.
“Climbing works very well with many disabilities, visual for example, but also disorders such as Down syndrome, autism, hyperactivity, etc. »notes Ghislain Brillet, president of the Union of Climbing Rooms (UDSE). “It is not yet very developed in sports-health, but it has the advantage of offering a fun and varied activity”, says Matthieu Jung, head of the support center at the Strasbourg sports-health center. A project is underway with the Bloc en stock room in the Alsatian capital, directed by Ghislain Brillet, to offer climbing to people with various back pathologies, or even to obese children.
A sport adaptable to pathology
Cyril Lorre, operational and commercial director of the Block’Out group, offers sessions to children born with limb malformations. “They manage to climb and enjoy it, it’s not a handicap for them”, he said. Himself a former French Paralympic triathlon champion – he lost the use of one arm following a traffic accident – he explains: “Sport saved me. Climbing, which requires concentration, brings calm and serenity to these children sometimes agitated. »
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