I think a major concern for parents of autistic children is the belief that their kids will never experience the joy and benefits of sports in their kids lives. This is not the case and I can speak from experience that autistic kids, high functioning or not can benefit and be successful at sports. The question is simply: Which sport is your child going to excel at!
Eli tried soccer, and showed some promise but didn’t like it. He also played two seasons of little league and did very well at it but found it boring. At scout camp he tried fishing (not really a sport) and loved it, he also loved the archery. Wait, he also loves swimming, and shockingly enough finished 4th in the mile run out of like 18 kids.
Do you get the idea? It seems that Eli is better tuned at individual sports than group sports. With that in mind I decided tonight to invest $90 in a kids real recursive bow and arrows. I will take him to some group lessons, and give im the opportunity to experience more archery experience then he had at cub scouts and see if he still likes it. Worse case scenario, I will have saved his bow for his brother who is already demanding to use it.
The important lesson is to give your child every opportunity to try sports and teach them good sportsmanship. You will eventually find a sport your child is good at and loves. That is a huge accomplishment. I found that Eli is hard on himself if he does not instantly do well at any sport. It discourages him, so make sure you set expectations low for success and build it up always giving encouragement.
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