S/O - Sports or work-outs for families with SN kids

[Anonymous]

Gymnastics or some sort of cross training is really good to get special needs kids ready for any team sports. Gymnastics "light" (as in fun not to compete - like agility) works best for us. That gave my child the grip strength and core strength necessary to learn other skills when engaging in team sports such as swim team, baseball and basketball.

There is so much other learning going on in most team sports, it really pays to have your special needs kid start those sports having already worked on overall fitness.

And whenever possible, we add in fun things like hikes with friends and outdoor fun. But kids spend so much time sitting at school, it really requires some forethought and planning to keep a special needs kid fit and always working on balance and coordination issues.

Finally - don't give up - there is so much research on the cognitive benefits of exercise - particularly excercise that require bilateral coordination (both symmetric and asymmetric). At the 1000 foot level, anything that requires the right and left brain to increase communication helps forge neural pathways that the brain uses for other communication.

Don't give up. The goal is not sports mastery - but a healthy body, healthy brain, and a sense that they can be strong and can achieve improvement - personal best.. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

we love wrestling for our adhd kid. it is individual in that his performance doesn't help nor hurt his overall team so no one is angry or upset if he loses but all teammates and coaches are extremely supportive including pointing out how he improved from his last lost. also, it still has a team feel in that they wear a uniform and practice together and cheer each other on during meets and matches.

[Anonymous]

Jogging and hiking worked out for us. My son has no concept of "team"..but he is able to hike or jog and keep up with us and he seems to like it. Especially if it involves a Slurpee afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tennis. It's only one other person but still social. Works well for my DS.

+1. My DS with ASD/ADHD doesn't play tennis but squash which is similar.

He gets a lot more out of chess socially but for exercise and getting his heart pumping, squash works well for him.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this post.
Recently we have been going on long walks/hikes in local park on the weekends - 5 mile range. While we are huge proponents of outdoor time and promoting core fitness for special needs kids to facilitate participation in sports, brain development, emotional regulation and have read all the peer reviewed articles about it...I just wanted to give a shout out to the behavioral impacts I am seeing from these long walks over 5 miles. Just a sense of calm that lasts for about 2 days that is equivalent of the way he is calm when he has a fever.

Long story short, I think that even we were underestimating what the right-brain/left-brain communication benefits one gets out of walking and also what that level of sustained exercise does to upping the natural brain neurotransmitters. Long story short - even if you think you are meeting your child's exercise needs, consider doing some over three up to six mile walks and see what happens. We did have of course snacks and it helped to have breaks for free play. I know, another must on a long list, and this is not about guilting stressed mom's. It is really sharing a free thing you can do as a family that might just might give you a few hours of improved calm/behavior as a family.

Can't tell you how just plain happy the rest of that weekend was - just easy and fun in a way that feels like maybe what families with NT kids experience. It was literally mind blowing for me.

[Anonymous]

8:43 - how old is your kid? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

8:43 here. He is 9. Been noticing this phenomenon for years. Just when he was 2 - what constituted a long walk was less. What happened I guess is that we were not adequately scaling up long walks as he aged. So at 9 years old a one mile walk was not giving the benefit it gave at 2 years old. (When he was 2 and I needed him to be calm for a party, I would do a 1 or 2 mile walk and then a bath and it helped enormously for parties). When he is 18 will probably needs 20 mile hikes. Dear lord, but one step at a time for now.

I was reading an article about modern day hunter gather communities that talked about neuro differences. Long story short the benefits of the ADHD brain were more present when everyone was constantly moving and that intellectual curiosity was channeled adequately.