Movement & Disability: Stacking Movement and Education for a Meaningful life

Inspired by a moving letter from a parent of an adult son with autism, biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram explore the relationship between movement, health, and quality of life for people with disabilities.

They are joined by Kristina Montgomery, a special education teacher at a school for children and young adults affected by autism, and a behavior analyst working with Essential for Living, a curriculum designed for those with learning difficulties. Through her work, Kristina teaches an event-based approach to learning—one that moves away from abstract, isolated skills and instead “stacks” goals within meaningful, naturally occurring events. This approach supports not only skill development, but also health, social inclusion, and caregiver sustainability.

Together, they discuss the importance of choosing activities that are meaningful to the learner both in the moment and for future independence, and the shift from instructing a task to modeling it alongside the student. Kristina also shares how powerful movement stacking has been in her work, improving both the happiness and wellbeing of the people she supports.

This episode is a powerful reminder that movement truly is for every body, and that by embedding it into daily life, caregiving, parenting, and teaching can become more sustainable, and joyful for everyone involved.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript

00:00 – A Letter from a Parent of an Autistic Son
04:50 – Movement & Disability: Movement is for Every Body
07:57 – Podcast Sponsors
09:44 – Introduction to Kristina Montgomery
14:00 – Essential for Living: Life Skills Curriculum
15:58 – What Are Functional Life Skills?
19:45 – Movement, Health, and Wellness in Special Education
23:05 – What and Why is Movement Stacking?
37:00 – Designing Environments to Promote Movement and Education
44:12 – Event-Based Teaching Course
53:46 – Listener Question: Balance Training with a Sore Knee

Resources, Books and Courses  Mentioned:

Kristina Montgomery
Learn more about Kristina and her work in special education and behavior analysis.

Event-Based Learning Course (Essential for Living)
A practical course on designing special education goals using event-based learning and movement stacking.
Includes 20% discount for listeners.

Essential for Living: Introduction Course
An overview of the Essential for Living curriculum and its core principles.
Includes 20% discount for listeners.

Grow Wild Book Club – Katy Bowman
A free book club for therapists and parents of neurodivergent children.

Connect, Move & Learn:

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Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:

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Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT

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