For some children, walking into a sports club can feel overwhelming before the session has even started.
Bright lights, loud noise, unfamiliar routines and strict behavioural expectations can quickly turn what should be a fun activity into something stressful. But one gymnastics group in Gloucestershire, UK, has spent the last decade proving that sport does not have to work that way.
BEAM! was created by sisters Adele Lawrence and Rachel Rogers after they recognised a huge gap in opportunities for children with emotional, physical, behavioural and sensory challenges, as reported by BBC News.
Now, ten years later, families say the sessions have become far more than just gymnastics classes.
Parents and carers describe the environment as a place where children are accepted exactly as they are.
Anabella, whose six-year-old daughter Eadie attends the sessions through Gymnastics in Cirencester, said the classes have made a huge difference.
Eadie, who has autism and ADHD, has been attending for almost two years.
Her mother explained that the atmosphere inside the sessions allows her daughter to relax without fear of judgement.
“She is able to be herself and there’s no judgement,” Anabella said. “There are only safety rules rather than behavioural rules, which works for Eadie.”
That approach sits at the centre of everything BEAM! does.
Rather than expecting every child to fit into one rigid structure, the sessions are designed around the needs of the gymnasts themselves. Rogers, who coaches the classes, said the philosophy has always been simple.
“We are led by the children and what they want to do,” she explained.
The idea for the programme originally came after Lawrence struggled to find a suitable sports club for her foster daughter at the time. Instead of accepting that nothing existed locally, the sisters decided to create something themselves.
A decade on, the impact is visible in the confidence of the children who attend week after week.
Many of the gymnasts have been part of BEAM! for years, with families watching progress that once felt impossible.
Lawrence recalled one young participant whose journey perfectly captured what the sessions are about.
“We had a little boy that would literally put his foot through the door and that would be it for the session,” she said. “He is now coming in and doing everything.”
Stories like that have become common around the club.
For Lynn, whose six-year-old granddaughter Felicity is non-verbal, the sessions have helped transform her confidence over the last two years.
Although Felicity was hesitant when she first started attending, that uncertainty quickly faded.
“She has gained so much confidence,” Lynn said. “As soon as we show her the BEAM! T-shirt, she knows where she is going, the T-shirt and the leggings are on, and we’re out the door.”
That excitement is shared by plenty of the children involved.
Nine-year-old Harrison regularly attends alongside his mum Hannah, who said the sessions have become one of the highlights of his routine.
She explained that he is “always asking how long it is till the next gymnastics”.
The popularity of the classes reflects something many parents of children with additional needs know too well — accessible and understanding sports environments can still be difficult to find.
For families, BEAM! offers a rare combination of structure, patience and freedom, allowing children to engage at their own pace without pressure to conform to expectations that may not suit them.
The work carried out by Lawrence and Rogers has not gone unnoticed either.
Last year, the pair were recognised at BBC Radio Gloucestershire’s Make a Difference Awards, where they were named among eight winners from 32 finalists.
Even after years of running the sessions, the recognition still came as a shock.
“Just being nominated was amazing and then to actually win the category was unbelievable,” Lawrence said. “It makes us feel proud of all our gymnasts and that we’ve been able to keep BEAM! going because there’s such a need for it.”
And for the families walking through the doors each week, that need could not be clearer.
For some children, gymnastics is about learning new skills.
For others, it is about something much bigger — finding a space where they feel comfortable enough to simply be themselves.
Featured image credit: Beam Through Gymnastics / Facebook
