Anonymous wrote:My 17 y/o plays for his schools esports team and has ASD.

This is OP, I think that will be my kid too when the time comes. I’ve been amazed at the stuff he’s been able to do in certain games. Like things adults complain about being impossible, he was able to do. Not easily but he literally played a certain area in a certain game over and over again for a week until he was able to do something.

For coordination and physical activity, you may want to look into street hockey programs and clubs in the area.

Our DS Level 1 ASD didn't take to soccer or basketball. It wasn't until middle school and a street hockey unit in PE that he turned on to sports. From there he went back to the ice rink and took intro skating to get comfortable on the ice, then instructional level ice hockey and then moved to the rec team for his age level. He'll be 16 in a few weeks.

My 17 y/o plays for his schools esports team and has ASD.

There are all good ideas here, op! My dc is 11, and has done some of them. Art class is a favorite. And they finally learned to swim in the last year. They take piano lessons also.

My dc doesn't like any team sports.

Drama was great for my kid. Started in first grade and still going (in college now).

They tell you what to say and how to say it, which takes a lot of pressure off of interacting with other people. And when they do shows, the kids are all very supportive of each other and tend to get close (for fairly short periods of time.)

Cub Scouts was the thing for my child. Taught him so many skills. Is now an Eagle Scout.

Anonymous wrote:Cross country and gymnastics classes through the parks district have been good fits. Art club at school is also going really well.

I think I’m going to see if his school (FCPS public) does an art class after school in the fall and see if he likes it. He really does like to color and paint.

He does fairly well in math but I wouldn’t say anything academic is particularly an “interest.”

The golf suggestion is a good one too! Although most classes I’ve seen for kids seem to start around 7-8 so he has a little while to go (just turned 6 in March).

Robotics has been amazing for my level 1.5 child.

Cross country and gymnastics classes through the parks district have been good fits. Art club at school is also going really well.

Golf! Not aggressive, social, good exercise. Mine started young. He was diagnosed mild-moderate, but I’d say he’s more moderate.
He does speech, OT, and ABA and golfs on weekends. Article on golf and autism: https://www.golfwrx.com/749033/golf-gratitude-how-golf-is-a-sanctuary-for-many-autistic-individuals/

At that age we were mostly concerned with working on DS' coordination and spatial awareness, which were terrible, and preparing him for school. I worked with him at home on handwriting (he has dysgraphia), reading and arithmetic.

He didn't have the processing speed and attention for team sports. We started on gym at Dynamite Gym and continued for many years. It really helped build up his core and did wonders for his very limited flexibility. As an older elementary student, he also did a few years of ballet at MYB, where he was in a boys' class with a male instructor. Great for posture and attention to detail, plus they had a live piano player, which he appreciated.

He needed a private coach to learn to swim, because he wasn't getting the movements right. She needed to actually move his limbs for him so he could understand how to move them.

With his sister, he also did violin and horseback riding classes, and quickly dropped both.

He spent many years singing at the Strathmore Children's Chorus (or whatever it's called now), and that was wonderful too. He has a lovely singing voice. He did summer theater camps at Imagination Stage and sang solos there, which boosted his self-esteem.

Are they into Math?
If they like science, math is key.
There some camps or classes for young kiddos that do fun stem stuff with very early math learning.

Music lessons? Lessons would be 30 minutes at a teacher’s home studio & usually there is a good beginning to intermediate level piano teacher within a 5-10 minute drive all over the DC Metro Area. Heck, I walked my kid to lessons.
Piano practicing is at home. The keys are accessible at that age, plus it can help with eye coordination and hand strengthening, which can make it easier for writing.

Don’t worry about buying an expensive piano at first. Older piano is OK, as long as you get it tuned and all the keys work. Or, a piano teacher can give you recommendations for a $200 stand up electric one. (I did that.)

Try an art class.

I have a diagnosed level 2 ASD K’er, who I would say has made some strides with lots and lots of therapy and is now somewhere between level 1 and level 2. I would like to get him involved in something outside of school but I’m just not sure what. Honestly a lot of his time is taken up with weekly speech therapy and a weekly OT appointment for feeding therapy at a clinic that’s not super close to our house. And he does do a weekly swimming lesson at a kids swim place that he tolerates but doesn’t necessarily look forward to.

But his friends and classmates are starting to get involved with other stuff and I just don’t know what would be good for him. Little League is too much standing around. Personality-wise he’d be put off by kids being aggressive at soccer or another team sport and would likely lash out or tantrum. He is also not the most coordinated child due to his disability. I don’t think martial arts is the right fit, and I’m concerned about the time commitment and fundraising/sales requirements for Cub Scouts. I’ve thought seriously about a kids art class because I think he would like it but am having trouble finding a decent class that I think could work with him. If your kid is also like this, is “therapy” essentially their only activity?