An athletics club in Southwark is providing one of the only outdoor exercise spaces for deaf, neurodiverse and disabled people in South East London and beyond.
AT Inclusive Athletics Club (ATIA) is an award-winning, fully inclusive, pan-disability association based in Southwark, focusing on community, support and inclusion.
Adam Thomas, the founder and leader of AT Inclusive Athletics (ATIA), launched the club in July 2025 – following its partnership with Southwark Athletics Club – however, it has been an active organisation since 2013.
He said in an exclusive interview with the South East Londoner that “Southwark Athletics Club were the only ones to fully open the door to us”.
He added: “We’ve landed on our feet with that club because they are fully welcoming and have offered much funding to support our athletes.
“It gave us a new venue and a new home.”
Thomas continued by talking about the “exponential” support this has had and continues to have on many communities in Southwark, South East London and beyond.
He said: “We are creating a safe social space which is more than a club, it’s a community.
“A place where they can be themselves, they can be safe, they can express exactly who they are, despite their race or ethnicity and look at their ability, not their disability.
“We’ve empowered the parents, the carers, the families to have a safe space again by giving them a home.”
He elaborated on the impact the club has had on struggling parents, carers and family which often feel alone in a society which “isn’t set up for neurodiverse people with disabilities, additional needs or long-term illnesses”.
The club goes beyond the barrier of movement by providing other services and experiences such as mental health check-ins for families and members, visiting schools, spreading the word and providing half-term holiday camps supported by charities, bake sales and community events.
Thomas goes further in talking about the extended positive mark the club has on the athletes themselves by starting at the root.
“I specifically call them athletes because sometimes they haven’t been called that before, and may have been marginalised at school,” he said.
“It’s about wanting them to be as active as possible for their physical, mental and emotional health.
“But it’s more than just the sport, it’s for the community by the community.”
He highlights the importance of personal growth for the athletes in a programme within the ATIA called the ‘Young Leaders Programme’, which gives the older members of the club “a sense of pride and self-worth” and allows them to work on social skills and resilience.
“They are running the activities themselves and delivering high-quality inclusive sport to younger people,” he said.
Thomas continually emphasises the importance of accessible sport facilities as well as public spaces for the neurodiverse, deaf and disabled and their families, carers and friends.
But when questioned on what his favourite moments are, he simply enjoys “seeing the athletes beam”.
He added: “That means more to me than any sort of medal.”
Featured image credit: Serjan Midili via Unsplash
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