Asperger's and athletic hobbies

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Hello,

I am 36 years old. I was diagnosed with Aspergers about 4 years ago. Is it normal for people with Asperger's to not have athletic hobbies? Outside of reading, watching television, and following sports I have no real interests or hobbies. In order to pass time, I listen to sports radio and surf the internet. The idea of doing things such as skiing, golf, beach volleyball and mountain biking appeal to me, but when I am doing them I don't enjoy it. I do poorly at all of those things which may be part of the reason I don't enjoy them. Can Asperger's effect people's ability to excel at physical things?

Kevin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Gillberg

Gross or fine motor control. With ME, you would be hard pressed to notice problems. I can write fine, have each hand do something 100% different and independently, while doing other things, toss keys, etc... from one hand to the other, write clearly, drive fine. HECK, if anything, it sounds BETTER than average. But if I try to catch a ball thrown to me, or do jumping jacks, FORGET IT! Odd that I can do things that the average NT adult can't, but can't do some things even some young kids can easily do. 8-( Oh well, that's autism for you. 8-(

I don't have any hobbies either. I do read a lot, but that's just a way to pass the time. Same with TV, internet. I wish I had some hobbies, but nothing seems to interest me.
Where are these obsessive interests we're all supposed to have? How many more people out there don't have hobbies?

my only hobbies are creative-based... like drawing, writing, sculpting, and sewing... i'm not at all good at sports, though. i'm good working with my hands, but i can't aim a throw or catch anything very well. basically, i have good short range hand-eye coordination, but not so good long range hand-eye coordination..

I do have some hobbies and interests. Right now, I am interested in adjustable telescope chairs and have finished making one, and planning to make a new, improved model. I am also interested in equatorial platforms, having made two of them. And in music, I have had a really narrow interest in polyrhythm. One thing though with aspie interests. You don't choose them, they seem to choose you. With the kinds of brain-dead jobs I have had over the years, I need these hobbies and interests to keep me going. And I don't have any relationship to take my time and energy, so this is basically all I have. But I don't have any interest in playing sports. I am no good at that. I can't throw a ball to save my life. It would be nice to be able to throw when someone hurls a snowball at you. Could a lack of interests actually be a manifestation of depression?

My most "athletic" hobby is playing Pump It Up (a dancing simulator videogame).

Maybe it's not a big thing when you begin playing, in Normal mode. But if you have some experience and a better feet-eye coordination, you got it after trying many times, you can reach the Hard and Crazy modes; some music steps from Crazy mode are really harder, and it seems like you are running in the same place instead of dancing.

After playing PIU, I always finish physically tired and sweated, and I think it's funny

Hobbies are for people who don't have lives.

I have AS n my hobbies r cricket, tennis, train spottin n maps im pretty decent in cricket n tennis as im quite active i have played lots of different sportin activies which include badminton, field hockey, table tennis, football, long jump, snooker n darts.

I go weight training, it is not athletic as it would first appear, just moving limbs with weights. It is a good solitary thing to do aswell.

Not to mention the science of the body.

I lift weights like many others here. I used to be a big runner. I guess I like those things because they don't require a hell of a lot of coordination (although they can at times). It's just that they don't require a lot of the kind of coordination which lets you hit a baseball coming at you at 75 mph.

Physical exercise is necessary for your well-being. If you can do it as a hobby, then even better.

I watch track, figure skating, and the movie Four Minutes, based on the life of Roger Bannister. I don't do anything athletic, but I do a lot of walking, so I keep physically active that way.

If you read Dr. Jean Ayres she says that for sensory integration issues, specific purposeful movements are needed. Not to say physical sports, but my son is diagnosed AS and he has found that jogging and soccer have been effective for keeping his mood pretty stable. He also utilizes rolling on the balance ball, the elliptical machine, and the ablounger. He loves to ride his bike. He gets a certain calming effect from these activities. It also helps to reduce some of his sensory things significantly.

Granted, some of us are extremely uncoordinated with gross motor skills, but I find that for the younger teens, that movement that is involved in some sports: soccer, tennis, martial arts, etc. provides a significant sensory input that helps to reduce agitations, etc. I'm seeing AS boys be more involved in sports that are of a more solitary nature: goalie on a footy team, tennis, racquetball, etc. Team sports are generally rubbish as the cooperation thing is over their heads.

I have two boys, both who were not that great at team sports as children.

But the older boy, now in his twenties, is very good at soccer and plays that with others for fun.

The younger, who like his brother was not great at soccer or baseball or football as a child, has ALWAYS been great at riding bikes and playing golf.

Both boys, amazingly enough, have done well with snowboarding. Go figure!

I think that aspies can do well, enjoy, and excel at individual sports.

Kris

I train in Muay Thai (kickboxing). I love it because I really enjoy fight sports, it gets you into GREAT shape, and it is not a team sport