Do you know the benefits of our Relaxed Skating Sessions?

From aiding with mental processing and co-ordination, to building discipline and courage, it’s been revealed that ice skating can be a great activity for those living with autism spectrum conditions.

Here at the National Ice Centre, we hold monthly Relaxed Skating Sessions which are designed for those who would benefit from a more relaxed and chilled atmosphere around the rink.

They are open to all but designed for those who may find ice skating that little bit more challenging. We want to create and encourage an atmosphere where all our guests feel safe and in-control and able to exit the ice with ease at any time.

And to make our sessions even better, it has been revealed that ice skating is a really beneficial activity for those with learning disabilities, an autism spectrum condition, or sensory and communication disorder.

Ice skating focuses on two sensory systems that influences our mental processing – being the Proprioceptive sense (the sense of self-movement and body position) and the Vestibular sense (the sense of balance and spatial orientation).

Ice skating is not only a physical action, but a brain workout. While you’re on the ice, both systems work together with the brain to process your movement, balance, body awareness and spatial orientation.

By giving our brain a workout in this way, we can build upon postural, motor, language and social skills – developing better brain power for reading and writing, and attention and visual skills. This is not to mention that ice skating is a great social activity and helps build your confidence, discipline and courage. It can also be seen as a form of meditation, as when you are concentrating on the act of skating you may not dwell on other overbearing thoughts or feelings.

All of the above aspects show skating to be highly beneficial for those with autism spectrum conditions; aiding with typical traits including anxiety, sensory integration disorder, auditory processing, depression, ADHD, Tourette’s and OCD.

We would love for everyone to feel comfortable on the ice and enjoy the sport. Visit our web page for more information and future timings of our Relaxed Skating Sessions.