Speaking

  • Two men stand on stage, one in a black AdaptX shirt smiling and the other in a teal shirt holding a long pointer or cane. A red table and chairs are visible to the side.
  • Brendan smiles for a picture while wearing a button-up dress shirt with Gilette Stadium in the background.
  • Attendees sit and stand in a modern conference room during an annual meeting hosted at a Verizon location. A diverse group listens attentively to a presentation, with a display screen showing event info.
  • A man gives a presentation in a modern conference room with glass decor and hanging wine glasses. He gestures while speaking, as attendees listen in the foreground near the Patriots logo on glass.
  • Brendan, wearing an MR8k quarter zip, stands behind a boy wearing a winter hat in a wheelchair while being interviewed.
  • Brendan stands at a podium, wearing a gray Unified HP sweatshirt, while speaking into a microphone.
  • Brendan, wearing a black AdaptX T-shirt, is kneeling down next to an athlete on all fours to coach his form during an exercise.
  • Brendan reads off of a projector screen to a crowd that is seated around a rectangular table.
  • Brendan, wearing a suit, hugs his wife, Lauren, and a boy, Jacob, who is wearing a red sweater while they all smile for a picture.
  • Brendan and two other men are sitting around a table laughing, an open laptop and microphones in front of them.
Brendan wearing a black Adaptx T-shirt is performing hand gestures and speaking in front of a group

Brendan Aylward is an entrepreneur and educator who has built a career that revolves around promoting inclusion in the fitness industry. He has trained hundreds of adaptive athletes and taught health and fitness professionals around the world about inclusion and building accessible training environments.

Preferred Topics

  • Making Fitness and Physical Activity Accessible

  • Applying Models of Inclusion

  • The Economic Incentive of Inclusion

  • Anatomy, Physiology, and Training Strategies for Adaptive Athletes

Interested in having Brendan speak at your event or to your organization?

Fill out the form to inquire about availability

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Presentations and Guest Lectures

APTA MA Annual Conference - Clinic to Community: Building Pathways for Inclusive Fitness for People with Intellectual and Physical Disabilities (November 2025)

Messiah University - APHS 310: Elite Athletic Performance (October 2025)

Spina Bifida Association of America - Making Fitness and Physical Activity Accessible (September 2025)

International Summit on Health Benefits of Physical Fitness in Down Syndrome (May 2025)

More than the Miles (Boston Marathon Panel) (April 2025)

Yale Symposium for Disability and Accessibility, Disability Storytelling - Principles and Best Practices of Inclusive Fitness (April 2025)

University of Arizona - NSC 320: Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Promotion (March 2025)

National Inclusion Project Power of Play Conference - Principles and Best Practices of Inclusive Fitness and Recreation (November 2024)

Massachusetts YMCA Alliance Annual Conference - Systems and Strategies to Create More Inclusive Ys (November 2024)

University of Arizona - NSC 320: Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Promotion (October, 2024)

Dell Technologies TrueAbility ERG - Principles and Best Practices of Inclusive Fitness (October, 2024)

Berkshire Bank Abilities in Motion ERG - Principles and Best Practices of Inclusive Fitness (July, 2024)

Athletic Trainers of Massachusetts Symposium - Principles and Best Practices of Inclusive Fitness (June, 2024)

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Advanced Topics in Therapeutic Exercise (May, 2024)

ASICS International Day of Persons with Disabilities - Theories and Frameworks for Making Endurance Sports Accessible (December, 2023)

Fallon Health Grand Rounds - Fundamentals and Theories of Making Fitness Accessible (November, 2023)

RaceMania - Making Endurance Sports Accessible (March, 2023)

UMass Lowell Exercise Science - Programming Considerations for Adaptive Athletes (June, 2022)

AdaptX University Forum - Promoting Inclusion in Campus Recreation and Fitness (April, 2022)

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Programming Considerations for Adaptive Athletes (March and May, 2022)

UMass Boston Adapted Physical Activity Course - Making Fitness Accessible (March, 2022)

National Inclusion Project Power of Play Conference - Making Fitness and Recreation Accessible for Individuals with Disabilities (November 2021)

APTA 2021 Regional Conference - The Intersection of Physical Therapy, Adaptive Sports, and Strength and Conditioning (November 2021)

InBody Clinical Research - The Use of InBody Data to Improve the Health and Fitness of Individuals with Cerebral Palsy (September 2021)

TJX Corporations - Making Fitness Accessible (May 2021)

American Physical Therapy Association - The Intersection of Physical Therapy, Adaptive Sports, and Inclusive Fitness (March 2021)

Bentley University - Creating Mission-Driven Businesses (2018-2020)

UMass Lowell - Creating a Comprehensive S&C Program for Individuals with Down Syndrome

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Programming Considerations for Adaptive Athletes

2017 Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress Conference - Improving the Health and Performance of Individuals with Down Syndrome

2019 NEACSM Conference - Observations of Fitness Prior to and Following 8 Weeks of Strength Training in Participants with Cerebral Palsy

LuMind Virtual Webinar - Improving the Health and Performance of Individuals with Down Syndrome

Special Olympics MA - Incorporating Strength and Conditioning into the Special Olympic Practice

Brendan was a guest speaker in my personal training course at the University of Arizona. He is doing some truly unique and inspiring things for adaptive athletes and non-athletes alike! My students got a good look at what is possible in the world of exercise and personal training when you have a passion for something, a vision, and a bit of good old fashioned hard work. The students really enjoyed the presentation and learning about AdaptX, and I plan to invite Brendan to speak in more of my classes in the future!

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