Activities for 7 year old ASD/gross motor issues
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Anonymous
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My 7 year old son has autism and some gross motor delays. We need to find him something to do after school and on weekends so we can start to broaden his use of his gross motor skills and keep him away from the TV/computer (his defaults). He is doing OT, but, it's just not working and I think we are going to drop it and try something else that's not so structured for a while. He likes to swim, but can't do team sports because he doesn't have the motor skills to participate.
Aside from swimming, are there any other activities your kids have done that they liked that helped with gross motor that aren't team sports? |
Anonymous
| A gymnastics type class has always been recommended |
Anonymous
| Why not do 2-3 times a week swim lessons? They don't have to be competitive, just lessons. Fencing is fun. Archery? Karate? Biking? Running? |
Anonymous
For younger kids. At that age there are going to be very few boys and very few start at that age. |
Anonymous
| My kids did dynamite agility and it did wonders for their gross motor development. My kids are neurotypical, but there were plenty of SN kids there. |
Anonymous
OP here, ohh..fencing and archery. I never thought of those two and those are things he might like. |
Anonymous
OP here, yes, we tried this and he was the only boy and a little too rough and tumble for the classes. |
Anonymous
| my kid loves mini golf. A lot of courses have 1:1 lessons. |
Anonymous
We dropped it at age 6 as my son was the only boy and they just didn't do much. We switched to fencing. Just at some point buy your own helmet and jacket as I'd be worried about lice as they don't seem to clean the shared ones. My son really liked it. Didn't get to try fencing went to another sport multiple times a week. I would also do swim 2-3 days a week. One day you cannot get much progress but if he likes it that would be my go-to (my kid went to swim). We didn't try archery but it looks cool. |
Anonymous
| We did Fitness for Health in Rockville which was similar to OT but my DC enjoyed it more. |
Anonymous
| PT. We go to MocoMovement. |
Anonymous
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Not in DC area but DS goes to a “ninja gym” and it’s great. A combination of gymnastics and strength training both on and off equipment/obstacles. USA Ninja Challenge is our franchise but there are probably others.
DS is big but not strong or coordinated but it doesn’t matter because everyone goes through the levels at their own pace. It’s great exercise and he’s made way more motor progress than he ever did in OT (though OT was great for other stuff). |
Anonymous
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rock climbing? there are some indoor gyms around.
I know a kid with similar delays to yours and parkour (in a small class with a sensitive instructor), swimming, and ice skating (possibly with private lessons and then just going for fun, not a hockey team or figure skating) worked. geocaching? not really a sport but you do get outside and it's like a scavenger hunt. Or orienteering? Basically, hiking but with a purpose. not a sport per se but taking him to a trampoline park occasionally could be fun. |
Anonymous
| Martial arts--great for body awareness and control, focus, confidence. |
Anonymous
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My kid loves rock climbing. There's also a group called SportsPlus that works with kids on the spectrum to introduce and then teach sports. All the participants are sn kids and the coaches and counselors are a mix of adult/college/high school kids. http://www.playsportsplus.org
They have a summer sports camp, too. |