From the article: Best Sports for Kids with Autism
What are the best sports for kids with autism? Does your child do well with individual or team sports? Does he enjoy land or water sports? Share your insights, experiences and recommendations. Share Your Ideas
sports for kids with autism
- Our son has played many teams sports for special recreation and then with his typically developing peers. I feel this has helped him connect with other kids and learn new social skills. He will soon begin his freshman year of high school and has joined the football team, we will see how it goes. He has surpassed every expectation I have ever had and I am so proud to be his mom.
- —Guest cindy
Autism and Scouts
- While not technically a sport, scouts can provide your autistic child with a taste of a whole range of activities. The scouts are very familiar with special needs though not every group will be ideal for your child. If you're already in scouts and don't feel that your child is getting the attention they deserve, change groups. Some scout leaders are better with special needs kids than others. You might also want to look at the Autism and Scouting facebook page. You'll find testament from lots of other parents there. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Autism-and-Scouting/170750596311589
- —Guest gbollard
sports for kids with autism
- My son has discovered Archery after trying so many other sports. He participates as an individual but on a team. This sport has also improved his concentration, social skills and general public interactions. He has joined the local 4-H Archery club and we discovered 2 other members to have autism of different levels, but all are doing great. His club has 20 members in it and when they go to competitions he encounters up to 100+ kids. Before archery he would never have tolerated this large a crowd. He enjoys it so much that our whole family has taken up the sport and participate in other clubs together.
- —Guest achance01
miracle league baseball
- i have signed my 8 year old son up for this special needs kids baseball league. i will let you know how it goes. we are just in the "get acquainted" with baseball stage right now. he can hit the ball when pitched to him which is great! still a problem the team aspect but i want to have him try it out to see if he can get it. we tried karate years ago and he hated it. he has issues with different types of clothing so that may have been one problem.
- —sammysmom47
sports for kids with autism?
- My son runs on the track team and has recently gotten interested in cross country. He follows everything that the coach requests and is getting really good at running long distance. We also have found that he focuses better and is calmer and we are so excited that he decided he needed to be on a sports team. He starts high school this year and is very excited to go to tryouts tomorrow
- —Guest Bramerdy
golf
- We have found golf to be a wonderful sport for our son with autism. It initially takes a lot of patience and that is where having a good but patient golf teacher comes into play. Our son has been taking golf lessens for the last five years and plays with his grandfather on a fairly regular basis. It has done a lot for his powers of concentration, patience, and self-esteem. It is also something that he can do throughout his life. He is a teenager now and continues to enjoy the challenge of continuing to improve his game.
- —mom2teenboys
Remember the individual
- One thing to consider is what the individual likes. My older son is obsessed with baseball. He had a hard time in Little League initially until he started watching--REALLY watching--the MLB games and how the batters would stand, pitchers would throw, etc. Then he would go and copy them by himself. The VERBAL cues from Dad and the coach didn't help. He is atypical in the fact that he does have good ball skills; but lacks the social and sportsmanship aspects of the game. Once we worked with him--and continue to work with him--on that...his ability to mimic some things he saw on TV helped. Plus, he has an unusual ability to understand the complexities of the game for someone his age. It has provided him with social contact that would have never happened unless he could pitch and be a guaranteed base hitter. That encouraged him to practice at home. It is now his time to relate with his Dad and a comfortable time to share the day's events. He still needs support;but it's his game
- —Guest Sharon
Swimming: Great for Everyone
- I find it very interesting that the two comments suggested swimming. My Grandson who is 7 and doesn't speak yet loves swimming. He swims like a fish and can stay underwater longer then any kid that I know. Swimming and knowing that he will be able to swim at any given time or day couldn't make him happier. Great exercise and he gets a good nights sleep.
- —Guest bill
Soccer
- AYSO Soccer has a special program called VIP exclusively for special needs players. www.ayso.org will tell you what cities have the VIP program.
- —NPDcoach
Hockey is great for kids with autism
- My son has played special hockey for the last 3 years. The sensory input he gets from the equipment, the skates and the attention he places on skating has helped hin incredibly. In addition, he is learning what it is like to be a part of a team. I highly recommend special hockey for kids on the spectrum.
- —Guest david
sports for Kaiser
- Kaiser is 8 and has not participated in group sports yet. He has PDD-NOS. He is a good swimmer so we are considering a swim team without a relay, just individual swims. He did 50, 100 yard dash and enjoyed it at school. His brother is on a bowling league and he could try that to and do okay. He wants to play soccer or football but just doesn't have the capability for that as he has a big problem with short term memory. Music is soothing to him and he has an internal beat so we enrolled him in hip hop this past year and that was the love of his life. He is already taking some more classes this summer.
- —Guest yazfan54
sports for kids with autism
- My son swims on the neighborhood swim team. I was nervous about him doing it but he can handle all the noise and organized chaos of the meets. It is great exercise, he does well against the typical kids and it gives him a chance to mix with them.
- —Guest Alleymom
