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An active life is a right, not an extra

· 3 min read

Moving your body, cooking a meal you enjoy, heading out to a pool or a club, taking a quiet moment to breathe: for most people these are simply part of a good week. For many people with disability they are harder to reach than they should be. That is not a small thing, and it is not a nice-to-have. It is a question of rights.

What the right actually says

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities sets out what equal participation means. Article 30 covers cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport. It asks governments to take appropriate measures so that people with disability can take part "on an equal basis with others" in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, including mainstream sport at all levels and activities designed specifically for people with disability.

Australia ratified the Convention in 2008. At home, Australia's Disability Strategy 2021–2031 carries the same idea into national policy. One of its outcome areas is health and wellbeing, and its outcome is that people with disability attain the highest possible health and wellbeing outcomes throughout their lives.

Where things stand

The gap between that right and everyday life is real. A national study of more than 54,000 Australian adults, published in 2021, found that adults with a disability were about half as likely as adults without a disability to meet the physical activity guidelines through sport and recreation.

The same study found something just as important. Adults with a disability were more motivated than other adults to try a new activity for their health or fitness: 55 per cent compared with 46 per cent. Among adults with a disability who were not taking part, the barrier named most often was poor health or injury (62 per cent). For adults without a disability, it was lack of time.

In other words, the will is there. What is often missing is an activity that fits.

What makes the difference

Rights become real in small, practical ways:

  • Choice. An activity a person chooses is one they are far more likely to keep doing. That means offering options, not a single program.
  • A starting point that fits. Seated, standing and supported versions of the same movement mean nobody has to qualify before they can begin.
  • Support that steps back. A worker, family member or friend alongside can make a start possible, while the decision stays with the person.
  • Information that is easy to use. Big pictures, plain words and steps you can follow at your own pace matter as much as the activity itself.
  • The everyday counts. Cooking, getting out to the shops or a club, and winding down at the end of the day are all part of a healthy life, not only exercise.

Where Able fits

We built Able Wellness around that idea. The app brings movement videos, recipes, games, outings and calm moments together in one place, for people with disability and the people who support them, so that a healthy, active life is something a person chooses for themselves, in their own way.

The right is already written down. The work now is making it easy to live.

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