University of Wisconsin–Madison

Wisconsin Alumni Association Features Benazir Meera

Benazir Meera poses with one of the horses she works with at Three Gaits, a therapeutic horsemanship center.

Adapted Fitness Conway Fellow, Benazir Meera, was featured for her outstanding work with children with autism. This article is a fantastic feature of Benazir and all of the ways she has been involved in the kinesiology department as well as the contributions she has made to so many different programs within the department. Within the department, Benazir has been involved in Fit Familes, Adapted Fitness, and is also currently working with mentor Beth Fields in the Occupational therapy program. “Within the field of adapted fitness — exercise programming designed to accommodate individuals’ unique abilities — Meera’s research explores the development of “scalable and sustainable e-health interventions” that prolong the benefits of in-person, adapted fitness programs. Under the guidance of her mentor, associate professor of kinesiology Beth Fields, she partners with Three Gaits, a therapeutic horsemanship center in Stoughton, Wisconsin, to assist riders of all abilities while she works on developing a mobile app that extends the physical exercises of riding beyond the in-person sessions…It was through Columna’s Fit Families program that Meera began working more with mobile apps as adapted fitness interventions. The program provides families with resources to develop and strengthen fundamental motor skills in children with ASD. Before the pandemic, Fit Families hosted in-person events during which Meera and her colleagues led children in physical-fitness activities while their parents learned to coach them in fundamental motor skills like kicking and throwing. When the pandemic forced them to shift the program online, Meera reignited her passion for engineering by developing an app that helped parents facilitate the games and activities from the live programs in their own homes.” Read more here: https://www.uwalumni.com/news/the-short-story-taking-the-reins-benazir-meera