Ep. 128: Autism and BJJ, feat. Adam Medlock

This week, we're joined by Adam Medlock.  Adam is the lead autism educator for a special school in the UK.  He has worked with children and young adults with autism for most of his professional life.

Adam joins us to educate the grappling community on autism.  He provides a framework for understanding the autism spectrum and making BJJ more inclusive to autistic students.

Topics discussed include:

• How autism and the spectrum are defined
• How BJJ may be beneficial to autistic people
• Where autistic people may struggle with BJJ
• How we inadvertently alienate autistic people
• How the instructor can help autistic students
• How to help your autistic training partners
• How to make your gym more accessible.

Mental models discussed in this episode:

• Keep it Playful
  https://bjjmentalmodels.com/keep-it-playful/
  
  
• The Golden Rule
  https://bjjmentalmodels.com/golden-rule/
  
  
• Cognitive Load
  https://bjjmentalmodels.com/cognitive-load/
  
  
• Flow
  https://bjjmentalmodels.com/flow/
  
  
• Incremental Learning
  https://bjjmentalmodels.com/incremental-learning/
  
  

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Music by Enterprize:
https://enterprize.bandcamp.com/