Hello, nice to meet you. Sports for asd kiddo?

changingnames · September 2011

Hi, I have lurked for awhile but haven't posted much here. My son was dx PDD- NOS a few months shy of his third birthday which was in August. We have had him in the California EI program getting 10 hours of aba a week since last Christmas. Each time he is tested they tell me he probably won't qualify for the next level of services bc he is so high functioning but then he does. Part of it may be that we welcomed his little brother at the end of March and this caused a spike in behaviors right at the time of testing. Regardless I'd rather have him one step on the spectrum and get services than one step of the spectrum and be left to sink or swim with no extra help. He has a speech delay and some quirky behaviors that therapy has helped a ton with. Around his third birthday I saw a huge change in his behaviors (finally stopped hitting me to get my attention) and he is finally spending to discipline. I usually tell him to For instance to choose a book by the count of three or go straight to bed w/o story time (or whatever it is that he needs to get on task about) and 92% of the time he gets with the program. Don't kick rocks or we will go home Insted of playing. Last year there was absolutely nothing that I or his therapist could say or do to get him to listen, stop running off etc. Anyhow sorry that was so long. He started special Ed pre-school and is loving it. He hs semi decent eye contact, loves to socialize, is vey snuggly and affectionate, and has been very confident about going off to school. He does toe walk and that is something that is present most of the time. So our question is, would it be better to hold off another year before we get him involved in a team sport? The local YMCA has a three year old program for a couple sports like baseball but we don't want to start him too early and then have it harder for him later bc of it. Dh has been taking him to swim practice every Saturday for the let three months and is signed up to continue. We had an amazing service coordinator for our EI and she left the program, our new one is pregnant and sort of skating thru. Right now ds is without services because she hasn't done some paperwork, though she told us he would be started at the latest two weeks ago, she isn't required by law to get it done till October though (she laughed and told me it would only take hr an hour so it wouldn't be October- that was at the end of July). She hasn't even contacted us, hopefully she will return the messages this week. It sucks and means that she isn't really interested in discussing anything like this. Oh how I wish our first provider was still here, she has three asd kiddos of her own and was so dedicated to our son

. I am actually looking forward to the new one going on maternity leave and getting reassigned. Ok that is so long and bc I am on an iPad there won't be any formatting, sorry!

lite-bright · September 2011

I'm about to find out how DD1 handles it. We signed her up for soccer and her first practice/game (they do one, then the other) is tomorrow. DH is coaching.

She listens pretty well when you get her attention, but she has focus issues and is super easily distracted. Especially with visual things, and random sounds like airplanes flying overhead.

We did an indoor sports-skills class right when she turned three and it was kind of a disaster -- in no small part, I think, b/c it was in a mirrored studio. The teachers spent SO much time herding and prompting her. She's made significant strides since then and participated in a swim class with no issues. This soccer thing has pretty low expectations, so we're going to give it a try.

She participated in a soccer day earlier this year with a little friend of hers who was going to a class. Once she understands what she's supposed to do, she's actually pretty good and coordinated at kicking, running, dribbling, etc.

We'll see. I won't know how she does until we put her in there and give her the chance.

changingnames · September 2011

Dh is going to be really bummed if ds isn't able to enjoy team sports (dh is a mans mans man) but of course whatever ds enoys we will pursue. So far we are doing swimming and next year dh hopes to get him on a surfboard, also we want to try martial arts. Ds is very coordinated physically and has not had any delays or need for ot in that regard (though I have my eye on the toe walking). What he can do with a soccer ball is pretty amazing for his age (according to our family friend who has coached for 18 years) so we will just try it and see. I can see how those things might limit his enjoyment and will just hope that he finds something that he does love. In the end that is all that matters. What I'm wondering is if it is to his advantage to wait to try till he has more life experience under his belt or get him in now when he is younger to give him a head start.

changingnames · September 2011

Lite-Brits let me know how it goes, I'll have my fingers crossed for it going well

ridesbuttons · September 2011

Special needs or not, I think 3 years old is too young for team sports.

We enrolled our NT 4 year old in soccer this year and even at that there was a great percentage of the team who couldn't really grasp what was going on. I mean like 50% of any given team at any given time would be wandering off, having a cry, looking for a snack, talking to a friend on another team, etc, etc. Probably 200 four year olds at any given time during those practices/games.

I think physical activity is only a good thing. But at 3 I'd be looking for 'skills' rather than something as complicated as teamwork. So swimming is excellent. We have a great 'learn to skate (ice skate)' program that 3 year olds do well at.

But highly organized and complicated things like baseball/t-ball (think it through, there are mountains of rules) are just too much for a 3 year old.

hopanka · September 2011

Our family has mans men as well...hockey and football on both sides, but H has adjusted quite well with karate, which DS loves. We also do tennis. You guys will be fine.

changingnames · September 2011

Dh has gotten quite excited about martial arts and has been researching which practice and which dojo for the last six months, lol. His best friend has a 9 yr old on the spectrum ( he and dh played college rugby together) so I think that helps. There was some serious upset in our house last night as the so cal power out put us without tv for the first football of the season. Anytime ds sees football on (regardless of who is playing) he shouts "go cowboys!". Hilarious.

gimmietimmies · September 2011

-auntie-:

So our question is, would it be better to hold off another year before we get him involved in a team sport? The local YMCA has a three year old program for a couple sports like baseball but we don't want to start him too early and then have it harder for him later bc of it.

It's a really, really unusal kid on spectrum who enjoys team sports. They're hampered by delayed maturity, impaired ability to read others, lousy executive function skills, likely poor muscle tone and the sort of black and white thinking that makes doing hard stuff unrewarding. And then there's the sensory and attentional issues.

I do know a few kids on spectrum who enjoy sports, but they tend to be individual stuff like swimming, skiing, shooting, golf and martial arts. You can try it, but odds are strong it will be frustrating for both of you.

I 100% agree with this. Our team has had quite a few ASD kids. Swimming is huge for special needs of all types. ASD kids are also PARA eligible. We've had kids as young as 5 or 6 and be successful. Look into parent and tot lessons to start and work from there. I agree with Auntie about the team sports.

changingnames · September 2011

We have been doing swim classes (it is his special time with daddy every week) for a couple of months (he did a session last year too but it was only a month long, this time we just keep reenrolling in the next level up). Dh surfs a lot so when the swimming skills are there I'm sure he will take him out with a surf instructor too. He also found a skateboarding class to take him to, which seems crazy to me but they can try it if they want to. What about surfing?

changingnames · September 2011

Going to look up paraeligible.

changingnames · September 2011

I'm not getting a lot of results, what do you mean by he is para eligible?

lite-bright · September 2011

ridesbuttons:
Special needs or not, I think 3 years old is too young for team sports.

We enrolled our NT 4 year old in soccer this year and even at that there was a great percentage of the team who couldn't really grasp what was going on. I mean like 50% of any given team at any given time would be wandering off, having a cry, looking for a snack, talking to a friend on another team, etc, etc. Probably 200 four year olds at any given time during those practices/games.

See, this is kind of why I actually think it's NBD to try it out now. B/c even NT kids at this age are so unfocused that DD1 isn't going to stick out the way she probably will in a few years.

Crowds don't bother her and I'm not worried about her behavior. If she picks something up from it, or even just has fun doing it, that's all we're looking for. And if all she does is wander? Well, she probably won't be the only one.

changingnames · September 2011

lite-bright:
ridesbuttons:
Special needs or not, I think 3 years old is too young for team sports.

We enrolled our NT 4 year old in soccer this year and even at that there was a great percentage of the team who couldn't really grasp what was going on. I mean like 50% of any given team at any given time would be wandering off, having a cry, looking for a snack, talking to a friend on another team, etc, etc. Probably 200 four year olds at any given time during those practices/games.
See, this is kind of why I actually think it's NBD to try it out now. B/c even NT kids at this age are so unfocused that DD1 isn't going to stick out the way she probably will in a few years.
Crowds don't bother her and I'm not worried about her behavior. If she picks something up from it, or even just has fun doing it, that's all we're looking for. And if all she does is wander? Well, she probably won't be the only one.

That's a good point lite Brite!

suzymarie · September 2011

We did soccer last year (at just turned 3) and it was a disaster. But it was for half the kids, SN or not, lol.

It was like herding cats, and also giving them all balls but telling them not to use their hands. But then teaching them to do throw-ins. Needless to say, DS was confused. He spent most of the time throwing the ball up in the air. Which, the "coaches" didnt care about, but it irritated me bc what is the point of me paying for organized soccer if it is just going to be a free-for-all.

vent over, lol.

DS has loved dance class though.

gimmietimmies · September 2011

changingnames:
I'm not getting a lot of results, what do you mean by he is para eligible?

Sorry for the late reply, I'm not sure what they call it in the US. It's not Special Olympics, but ParaOlympics. There will be a Para section in London, 2012, so keep an eye out, it begins when the regular events end. It goes through all the Olympic sports, but swimming has in Canada and the US has been heavily attended, which is fantastic. It means more opportunities and experienced coaches. For swimming, they have an evaluation tool that they assess them according to their "ability", and it is done here by a Swim Canada rep, a physio and a nurse. You can also bring a psycho ed eval if it's relevant. We had a few ASD boys evaluated here, but one now does triathlon and the other water polo. Here's the main page to get started, listing all the sports: https://usparalympics.org/

ETA: Very annoyed at that site. I read the info brochure and it said a lot about physical impairment inclusion, and zero about inclusion of cognitive disabilities (visual and locomotor are the two other categories). The International Paralympic Comittee mandates for their inclusion, so I'm more than positive that ASD counts, it's all over paperwork I have. It's just not on the US site. Best bet is to get in touch with local swim teams to see if they have any Para trained coaches or swimmers and if they have room (it's usually no trouble). Para classification is usually done at minumum of age 8 across the board. If you are in SoCal, there will be no shortage of teams (esp. good ones!) This is from Swim Canada:

What is Para-swimming?

Para-swimming is Swimming Canada?s fully integrated swimming program for person?s with a disability from grassroots to elite.

Para-swimming combines a broad range of disabilities into three categories

Functional disabilities
Amputees/Dysmelia; cerebral palsy/head injury; spinal cord injury/polio; dwarfism
Others (Major joint restrictions, coordination restriction, limb paralysis/weakness)

Visual disabilities
Blind; visually impaired

Intellectual Disabilities
HistoryPara-swimming grew out of several different movements in the 1940's and 1950's. During this time, four international sports bodies, divided by means of medical disability eventually combined to form the modern day paralympic movement. Swimming Canada became the first integrated National Sports Organization in 1993.

Today, a "sport-first" approach is being taken and international groups have moved towards representing specific sports, with consideration of a person's disability as a secondary factor. The world sport governing body for persons with a disability, including swimming, is the International Paralympic Committee and it operates with sport specific committees that oversee the development of sport for the disability groups

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Hello, nice to meet you. Sports for asd kiddo?

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What is Para-swimming?

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