My husband and I signed up my hf asd son for soccer when he turned four. He got his uniform and socks, shinpads and cleats on without a fuss. He was ok even when his coach called for the team to come and kick the ball around in a pre-game session. Of course, I went with him into the field and instructed him to kick the ball and showed him the net and told him that the the other children wearing another coloured uniform are players from the other team and that they will be playing soccer with his team in the same field at the same time. When the two teams began running for the ball, he would follow anyone of those teams and end up frustrated and in tremendous anxiety not knowing what to do. Fast forward three years later to 2010, (he just turned 7) he is signed up for the summer soccer and he appears a lot more calm but he still tends to run after the pack rather than chase the ball or understand his role as a team member. At his age, it does matter to his other team members that he does not let his team down by not kicking the ball when it comes to him. I worry that this might start some negative attitude towars him as the games progress by the week. But we'll see how it goes this summer. Maybe he'll be doing an individual sport such as speedskating this fall and winter and fare better at it. Meanwhile, for you out there, here is a good reading material on "Sports for Kids with Autism:
What's the best sport for a child with autism? As with every child, the best sport is the one your child enjoys and excels at. That said, though, autism does impair social and communication skills and may have a negative impact on gross motor coordination. That means "typical" team sports such as soccer, basketball and hockey may be particularly tough. Individual sports, however, may be just the ticket."
Read more at http://autism.about.com/od/childrenandautism/p/sportsideas.htm?r=twitter
Also read: Readers Respond: What Are the Best Sports for Kids with Autism? at http://autism.about.com/u/ua/childrenandautism/UAsports.htm
Please browse the blog at your leisure. You are welcome to comment on the posts. If you are a parent, an autism consultant, counselor, teacher with information on autism resources available in our area, please email your information to benziesangma@gmail.com. Your information will be added within 24 hours.
At School Social Stories
Local Autism Support Groups
Parents Engaging Autism Quinte (PEAQ), an autism parent support group, meets once a month on the first Tuesday of the month (no meetings in January, July and August) at Kerry's Place, 189 Victoria Avenue, Belleville at 6:30 to 8 p.m. If you have questions or suggestions for autism topics that are important to you please go to our FaceBook account and post your suggestions so that we can invite appropriate autism professionals to speak at these meetings.
Autism parent support group meeting hosted by Mental Health Agency, Trenton and Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) is on every second Thursday of the month (from September to June) from 6 to 7:30 pm. For more info, please contact Bryanna Best, Special Needs Inclusion Coordinator at 613 392 2811 ext 2076 or email at bryanna.b@trentonmfrc.ca
For info on Community Living Prince Edward County Parent Support group, contact Resource Consultants @ 613 476 6038
Central Hastings Autism Support Group meets in Madoc at the Recreation Centre. Contact Renee O’Hara, Family Resource & Support, 613-966-7413 or Tammy Kavanagh, Family Resource & Support, 613-332-3227
Parenting your child during Covid-19 pandemic
Monday, May 31, 2010
In it for the long haul...
I created this blog with my sincere wish that those of you reading this will want to share your own stories, both good and bad, what worked for you and what didn't and together, we can make it easier for the next family beginning their own journey of discovery. By posting what you know, where you have recieved certain services, who you have talked to, whose expertise you trust, how you navigated the school education services and by responding to questions in the discussion thread, know that you have helped a family in need. So, parents, experts in the field, counsellors, teachers and everyone who has any information on resources available, please feel free to post on this blog.