Tom Stoltman is a weightlifter and strong man competitor, currently the winner of the Scotland’s Strongest Man, and came in fifth in the World’s Strongest Man competition in 2019.
Tom also has Autism, but found an escape in weightlifting. Watch the video to learn more about him.
I know with our eldest, he loves working out. I started taking him to the gym to teach him how to do things for the local Special Olympics.
However, we found that he liked working out and we continued with it. With our son, we know there are some specific reasons why he liked working out.
- Sense of accomplishment. He liked knowing he could complete those reps and sets.
- Got him out of the house. He doesn’t like being stuck at home, and so it was time to get out of the house and let him see other people.
- Congratulations. When other people would seem him working out, they’d often congratulate him on what he was doing. The people at the front desk could often seem him working out and knew he participated in the Special Olympics, and so they’d often ask him how he was doing.
- Time with Dad. He loved spending time with me, and I with him. It was something special that we got to do, that was just him and me.
- The intensity of the workout. We know from other aspects and therapies, that many autistic people like having a feeling of pressure on them. I think the workouts often helped generate that same type of feeling for him, as he felt the weight.
While my eldest will never compete in a Strong Man competition (he’s still 150 lbs at 5’10” – not a hulk by any measurement) he still can enjoy the process. It’s one of the things he’s (we’ve) had to give up during the pandemic, and we hope to return to when we can.
Whether this would help one of your family members I cannot say, but it is worth mentioning that change doesn’t always happen quickly, and if they enjoy it – maybe that’s enough of a reason to do it.
