Can AS/Autistics dance or play sports?

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I don't really know if I have (mild) ASD or not, but I sure am terrible at both dancing and sports.

When I dance my movements are stiff and I always end up moving the wrong body parts, or moving them in the wrong (often opposite) direction. The way people dance in discoteks and such, i.e. jumping up and down or just moving in some rather arbitrary fashion really does not work for me. I don't know how to move then, and feel so incredibly uncomfortable, awkward and inadequate that I never even try to do that (and happily so). In fact, I don't dance at all.

When it comes to sport I played football for several years as a kid, and I don't even know why I did it. I think it just became a habit. I was terrible. My timing was usually wrong, and if I did hit the ball it would typically go 90 degrees off. I was also a bit scared of the ball, and when the others told me "to block" someone I would do just that. I got in their way, very close to their face, widening my arms so they could not move in the direction they intended to. My peers lauged at this but told me it was the most effective thing I did on the field because the other player couldn't play. After years of playing I didn't really improve.

I've also tried many other sports but I just cannot get the technique and coordination right for 95% of them. With skiing my skis will go separate ways while I have stiff knees and soft ankles, opposite of what you're supposed to. Well into my twenties I've discovered two exceptions though: Weight lifting and running. Weight lifting happens so slowly that I can coordinate properly, but I have an ectomorph body type so it's hard to gain muscles. If I lift weight three times a week and eat a lot more than I like I can gain muscles but I usually cannot motivate myself to do that (so many other things I want to do as well). As for long-distance running, turns out I'm actually great at it (not compared to professional runners). I was so happy when I discovered that, it's the only sports I'm good at. I have in an almost un-trained condition been able to run a semi-marathon (although I wouldn't recommend it). It's really rythmic and repetitive and although there is a certain technique also in running it seems to happen a lot more naturally for me.

Based on this (and other things such as terrible handwriting, ambidexterity and incredibly poor sense of direction) I believe I have dyspraxia. One thing, though, I was once good at playing the piano. I would just practice a whole lot always using the same fingers on the same notes. Eventually, you develop muscle memory and you just replay those movements exactly every time. Then I had no problems with coordination.

(Clearly, brevity is not my strong side.)

I can't dance. At all. Groove? Me? LOL. I dance like a puppet on strings, or a robot.

I can sing. I can play some instruments, but my right and left hands have a lot of difficulty moving independently, so I'm limited in what I can play----mostly brass instruments with one handed fingerings (or slide movement in the case of a trombone).

Yet, I have always been athletic. I have pretty good hand/eye co-ordination. I can hit and catch a baseball, play tennis, hit a golf ball straight, play basketball, and race a bicycle.

...Not if they're white .

My AS son loves to dance, I love to dance, we both dance pretty well.

My son loves swimming, surfing, paddle boarding, etc. but NOT team sports much.

you're either autistic or you're not. Skin pigmentation does not come into it.

I am literally the worst dancer that you have ever met. In fact, I am the worst dancer that could exist, even in theory.

I did Taekwondo as a kid. I was one of the best, the only one allowed to train with the adults.

Some can, sure. I am unbelievably bad at dancing. I don't know if my aspieness is to blame, but I'm, like, pathologically bad.

I know some can but I cant thou I do have things besides AS like a rare low vision disorder & a tremor disorder.

I was a dancer and did gymnastics. Not really any motor problems.

I'm not good at dancing or sports at all.

Generalizations like that are arbitrary and meaningless.
Why do people keep asking things like this?
I don't want to be mean, but Really?

A statement like "autistics can't play sports". Is harmful and prevents people from even trying, so what if they are awkward.

I really don't want to offend anyone and I never meant to be mean. I am just curious because my daughter has autism and doesn't know how to coordinate her body to music an I noticed her cousins on the spectrum are the same way. So just out of curiosity, I was wondering if there was a commonality with the nervous system with the majority of ASD's.

I know there are millions of NT's that can't dance, and millions that can. I was wondering if it's the same for ASD's that's all.

While I do agree that autistics can be good at sports and should not be demotivated from trying, I think Mariamtee's question is perfectly valid and I do not believe any harm was intended by it.

The fact is that many autistics have poor coordination skills which may prevent them from becoming good at such things as dancing or sports which requires a certain level of coordination. That's at least what I've understood from reading about Dyspraxia and I suggest Mariamtee read about this.

That does not mean that no autistics can be good at sports, but that a larger percentage of people are poor at those things amongst autistics than in the rest of the population. At least this is how I understand it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

(I myself have poor coordination skills.)

Thank you porridge guy!