Spin Out!

Accessible Circus classes for people with disabilities

About

What is a Spin Out Class?

Spin Out uses circus as therapy! It is a fantastic weekly program that specifically caters to people with a very wide range of disabilities. A great post-school option for those who are looking for therapeutic activities after graduating high school and for the first time in 2019 we opened a Spin Out Core Program specifically catering to young people aged 5 and up!

Spin Out began in 2013 as an in-school project at Black Mountain and Woden schools. The project was funded for one year by the ACT Government and involved the delivery of a circus program over the school term. It was development in consultation with Occupational Therapists (OT) and the schools experienced staff to deliver a fun and engaging circus class to their students. The initial aim was to try and modify typical training methods to cater for the diverse needs of the groups. The outcomes for this program where strong, so we opened up a brand new program in our space for adults with ASD through a partnership with Sharing Places. The class grew slowly but proved that Circus could be an accessible engaging tool to help people with disabilities lead active healthy lives.

In 2018, the program was successful in an application to the ACT Health’s Healthy Canberra Grant program. This three-year funding block saw us bring back the OT’s and rollout a free program to all the Canberra Special Schools, as well as a couple of LSUs around town. Since then it has continued to grow and help hundreds of participants with disabilities all over Canberra to push their boundaries, explore their bodies and build their confidence through circus training techniques.

See for yourself!

Watch our social perspectives video and find out more about what we do in our Spin Out Classes!

Benefits for Participants

N

Physical engagement, strength, and fitness

N

Mobility, coordination, balance, hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills

N

Visual, spatial, and biological awareness

N

Problem solving and perseverance

N

Self-confidence and motivation to become more engaged in other social/community activities

N

Social engagement and teamwork

Who runs the classes?

Spin Out is run by our highly qualified circus trainers, who have extensive experience in teaching circus to all ages and abilities as well as specific training in ASD, Occupational Therapy (OT), and Holistic Circus Therapy. We also have access to OT’s who have worked closely with Warehouse Circus for several years. We can organise an individual consultation with them in our circus space if requested at the participant’s own cost, or we are happy to work alongside a participants existing health care team to design and plan their Circus journey.

What circus activities will participants be doing?

Juggling, spinning plates, hoops, poi, trick sticks, pedalo, beam, unicycle, tumbling, trampoline, aerial activities and more! Activities and equipment are often modified and adapted as needed to enable the participants to progress to the best of their ability. The classes are strength based, so we will use whatever the participants capacity and interests are to engage them and help them grow.

How do we cater for individuals?

We take note of their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional strengths and develop a class routine that encompasses their needs. Depending on the capacities of the participation, the classes can be very full of activities, or be really focused on a few specific areas. Goals are developed in partnership with the participant, families, and health professionals. The activities in their program are designed to be challenging yet achievable, thereby ensuring a sense of accomplishment and progress. These classes contain a wide range of activities, and a wider range of personalities, so we strive to match a participant with an appropriate group. Each class is run a little different so get in touch to find out which group would be best for you!

FAQ’s

When is it?

Spin Out! term programs run for ten weeks alongside the ACT school term. Each weekly class is one hour long. Class times are generally scheduled during the day on weekdays for adults and after school for young people.

Class Times:

Tuesdays 4:00pm – 5:00pm (5 – 17yrs)

Wednesdays 11:15am – 12:15pm (Adults 18yrs+)

Fridays 1:30pm – 2:30pm (Adults 18yrs+)

Fridays 3:30pm – 4:30pm (5 – 17yrs)

Cost:

$350 per term

Family Discounts available. Fees pro-rated for mid-term enrolments.

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NDIS and Support Workers

Warehouse Circus is not a registered NDIS provider, however many of our participants who qualify for NDIS are able to use their funding to cover some of the costs to access our programs. We can provide progress reports and custom invoicing where necessary. Many of our students have had success in funding the program through community access and inclusion lines. Please speak with us for more information.

As the class is targeted for people with high needs and other complex disabilities, all participants will need to either bring a family member or support worker (at no extra cost), or demonstrate a level of independence and self-reliance to

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