team sports for autistics? good or a waste of time?

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I have put my son in a couple of team sports over the years, as people continuously bugged me that he should play some type of sport. The fact is that he could care less about most team sports. Just last year he was in a volleyball team, or so they call it, but he was not really learning much. In fact, most of the kids there were just doing their own thing. I can see that possibly it might help with motor skills, etc., but from every team he has been in, it seems the intent is really for them to be in a team, to learn how to be part of a team, to learn to enjoy being in a team...I think it's a waste of time.

Instead of pushing kids on the spectrum or anyone on the spectrum to be in a team, I think the time would be better spent by parents getting them to socialize with just a couple of kids, teens or young adults that have similar interests as them and/or are also autistic in real life outings, such as going out to eat, going to the movies, going horseback riding and similar. For the rest of their lives they will be adults and I constantly see here many adults who wish they had a group of friends they could hang out with sometimes, but not any who say "I wish there was a team sport I could join".

What do you think of this whole team sport issue? To me they attempt to make autistics enjoy team sports as neurotypicals, so that they can change who they are...that will never happen.

PS today I spend most weekends getting my son together with one or two friends, at most 4-5 every few months, that share his interests, by going to the beach, going out to eat, hanging out at computer stores, etc. He has developed some nice friendships this way and the teens seem to enjoy it, keep in touch with each other and be stress free when we all hang out. Of course, this means that we as parents also have to hang out with them and sometimes put up with parents of those kids we might not thoroughly enjoy hanging out with, but I feel it's my job to help HIM NOW find some friends and learn to do those things that he will like to do when he's an adult. I never push him, he or the others constantly ask me "when are we getting together again? can we all go out to X or Y or Z?"

You are right in what you say about not pushing him to do things he's uncomfortable with.

Team sports aren't for everyone and there is sometimes a lot of emphasis and pressure put on people to participate in such things.

I can remember a long time ago when I was younger, I hated sports day at school so much that I would skip school or do something so I would be excluded. It wasn't even that I was no good at sport. I could do running and other activities but the team thing never quite felt comfortable for me.

I think it totally depends on the individual. I played basketball in middle school and it was one of the best things for me. When I first started I was the absolute worst player on the team, possibly the worst player of all time. Imagine that one episode of Big Bang Theory! But I hung in there and got "The most improved player" trophy that year and by my third year, I was actually really good. Can't play to save my life now though.

But it really depends on each person. For some Autistic people team sports can be very encouraging, for others it can be a nightmare. It also depends on the team. There are some teams like Special Olympics where they can really help cater to the needs of Autistic athletes. I am a Special Olympic athlete and I would play a team sport there but my schedule does not work with the sport I would try.

But it seems like with your son, what you have decided to do is what is working best for him and really encouraging him. If he shows interest in a team sport later I think it would be great to let him try especially if you can get him into something like Special Olympics but if he prefers the outings you are doing now that is the way to go. I do believe being as physically active as possible is best for everyone so if he can run around and jump and throw things and be as physical as possible when he is playing than that's always a good thing. But sounds like what you are doing with him now is perfect.

I played cricket and rugby as a lad but was never very good - being a complete unco when it comes to sport. Generally get picked on by the sports heroes and the sports teachers (who seem to generally be big bullies themselves - might have changed a little since I was at school though). I think my parent's enthusiasm for the sports confused me, everyone had to play, there was no choice. Personally I enjoyed cricket the best, I used to wicket keep which I seemed to do ok at, despite being unco, I have good reflexes. And I suppose cricket is a sort of mix of team and solitary play.

For the aspie, I would suggest that solitary sports are the best, like long distance running or the like, maybe golf, something where the mind can take the lead rather than the body. Personally I cannot do sports that involve bats, balls and nets - ie anything in the tennis genre, far too unco.

Waste of time. I absolutly hated my parents at the time for pushing me to play sports. They finaly gave up and let me be. Between not seeing the point of sports to my clumsy nature and lack of good eye hand cordination made sports fustrating at best. Dodger

My parents tried soccer and hockey with me, it was not very good. I told them I wanted to get out of hockey because it was boring. I was horrible at soccer, and hated most of the people on my team.

My parents also tried karate. I wanted to leave. One of the instructors asked if I wanted to leave, he was intimidating so I said no.

Don't push him. Some children with high functioning autism happen to like sports, if he doesn't then don't make him participate in sports.

I played rugby at school it was alright, but I never felt like part of the team. I think this was because of my lack of emotional reciprocity, everyone else would get "psyched up," whereas I would just feel normal.

I prefered throwing the discus. I would head out to the throwing area on the school field over lunch and practice most days of the week during the athletics season. I enjoyed the alone time.

Thanks for the replies. My son does swimming twice a week, he loves it...always has loved swimming. The class is a regular group of kids (only about 5) and it's like a conditioning swimming class. He's quite good at swimming and most water sports, but again, they are not team type sports. Growing up I was pretty good at sports, but never really liked the whole team thing, so maybe he's just like me.

I think it was more a confidence thing with me, especially where close contact sports were concerned.

There were many other things going on with me when I was a child though apart from the Aspergers that would have rocked my confidence.

Someone mentioned cricket. I could do cricket because even though it's a team effort there does seem to be more structure within the game plus it is a lot less contacty.

Anyway, good luck with your boy.

If the autistic likes the team sport and/or being on the team and wants to play/be on the team, then it's good.

If the autistic hates the team sport and/or being on the team and has no interest in playing/being on the team, it's probably bad or a waste of time.

It is good if the kid really enjoys playing the sport.
Otherwise, there is no reason to do team sports.
There are other ways to learn team things besides sports.
It is worth learning some team skills, I think.
One of my projects currently is team project, and I like the people on the team, so it is quite fun to be working on a team with them.

I haaaaaaaaaaaated sports when I was a little girl. Not so much because I had to be part of a team but because I was (and am) just so physically clumsy. I did eventually always become the girl who was last picked for teams in gym class, with the team who "had to" take me groaning and rolling their eyes at one another. I tried soccer (extracurricular) just very briefly and quit very soon into the season. There was no way I was ever going to run up to at least approximately where the ball was, stop and kick without falling on my azz. Just no way.

Even the teachers picked on me for being so bad at sports.

However, my son (moderate ASD) LOVED baseball this year. We had loosely done soccer a couple of years prior. He didn't know what was going on and would just sort of wander around the field. We asked if he wanted to do it again and he said no so we'd let it go, no big deal. But then last year my friend told me about a mixed special needs baseball team that her daughter was on. I asked my son if he wanted to play baseball and was surprised when he said "yes." He LOVED it...twice games were canceled (once for Easter weekend and once because of rain) and he literally cried, I mean tears and all (he's 12, BTW). But the thing about this league is that it really wasn't like a "team" per se except for shaking hands with the other team as a group after the game, sitting together on the bench and so on. The kids all had Buddy volunteers and they just wanted to hit the ball and get to a base or two. The all loved it! And holy cow, my son can hit. We would sit there with our mouths hanging open, he connects with that ball with zero help, it's like he has a natural talent for it.

He is dying to do it again in the spring, so we'll be signing him up for his second season.

We would never force our kids to play a sport and we wouldn't force the "team" thing on them regardless; for example, they did karate (which was basically almost all solo, stances, punches, kicks, etc.) and they really loved it. But when it started to get cost prohibitive I got a karate tape and sometimes they'll do that at home.

As a boy I had a similar experience. Team sports were compulsory for us up to age 16 and I just didn't have the co-ordination, the skills, or (to be honest) the interest. This led to a lot of ridicule and it did enormous damage to my self esteem - your entire worth at that time was geared around how good you were at football.

As an aside I never felt that team sports at school level taught you anything about being part of a team- they were all about the majority being yelled at to pass the ball to one of a few star players so they could have their moment of glory. I see of one our "soccer stars" around town still- he looks a good ten years older than me and sports (pun intended) a huge beer belly. We are always told that concentrating on team sports leads to a successful career and a healthy lifestyle but it doesn't seem to have worked for him.

In short- if your child enjoys team sports then encourage them but if they hate it try to get them out of it as it could damage their self esteem.

My son does Karate, it has been only positive for him, as aground they train together and support and partner each other but it is all about 'being the best you can be' and progression is indervidual, my son has come a long way and learns so many other lessons other than Karate and also gives him chance to learn some social skills. I must say though that my sons karate school,is pretty special.

Autistic swim team subject of documentary

If they can ease into the group with a little encouragement and enjoy the games, it can be very good for them. I never really fit in during gym class or sports, and was clumsy, so it tended to stress me out and amplify my feelings of embarrassment and strangeness around others. It's not for everyone.

Not a parent, but offering my own perspective. I never liked team sports, but I tended to befriend one other girl growing up in any school or neighborhood. The motivation behind learning team sports, like working well with others and handling social stress with grace, is something that's hard to learn with a handful of friends. There are probably alternatives to things like volleyball or tennis that are more low-key, though.