I was reading through some Autism Related articles and I came across a post on About.com’s Autism Section regarding competition and autism. In it a parent seems frustrated about her autistic son’s lack of interest in sports competition.
he’s tried out all kinds of sports. Some, like tennis and bowling, were his own idea. He can hike long distances, climb rock walls, and swim a good long way. Yet, so far as I know, Tom has never actively sought out competition of any kind. Until recently, I’ve always thought it was a lack of awareness on his part. He always seemed simply oblivious to the idea that it’s better to get more points than fewer… and never seemed concerned about peer responses to his performance. In fact, I’ve always thought this was a wonderful gift for a child who rarely makes it to the top rank in any area of achievement.
Now my mom forced me to play soccer when I was younger, and my grandparents forced me to play baseball - both of which I absolutley sucked at, which made me hate them. I have poor cordination of my limbs (I loose track of where they are in relation to myself and other objects). I am told this is a common thing among autistic people. Most (if not all sports) require good cordination.
Second off is it a bad thing that a child is not interested in sports? Is it a bad thing that a child rather do other things with there time? Sports arent a hobby of everyone (autistic or not). I know parents of Autistic Children try and push their children to live as normal lives as possible, but who made playing sports normal?
3 Comments until now
Once, as a young adult, I sat on a warm summer night with a large group of people at an outdoor cafe in Rome. We were a mix of Italians, Americans, Canadians and Brits. None of us were from Rome originally and all of us were living there at the time.
The subject of sports came up and, one by one, we all admitted that we had sucked at sports in school. What is more, we all agreed that, had we not sucked at sports, we almost certainly never would have found the motivation to lead the sort of lives that ended up with us living in a place like Rome. I can assure you that none of us would have had it any other way.
Every now and again, I meet an interesting person who is really good at sports. For the most part, however, I don’t really see it as a positive indicator.
This is interesting, I was thinking about autism and sports last night.
I am 36yo and have AS.
I sucked at all sport except baseball, for some odd reason I’m a decent slugger.
I’ve been bullied and laughed at because of my poor skills. I didn’t understand why until I got diagnosed with AS, then I simply didn’t care.
The star of the football team back then is now on welfare and drives a bike around my hometown.
Is it indeed that positive?
I sure never missed it.
I have mixed feelings about forcing autistic kids to do sports. It’s one thing if you think they should exercise and you don’t want them to be lazy slugs, but it’s quite another if you want them to be social. If the kid doesn’t feel comfortable with socializing, don’t make him/her kill him/herself trying! If you want the kid to exercise, consider some options that are solitary like rock climbing or hiking. Or you could have the kid take a walk with you on a nice day. This will help you with the issue with the kid’s exercise and has the added bonus of being a good bonding experience. What do you think of this?
Add your Comment!