Activities for my 8 year old son? He has Aspergers :)

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GoodTimes
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27 Jan 2013, 3:28 pm

Hi-

I want to ask advice from teenagers with Aspergers. My 8 year old son has Aspergers and he has alot of energy. He needs physical outlets. He is easily frustrated gets angry and screams and hits!

He is not a big fan of organized sports. What kinds of activities can I do with him?

Thank you,

Mike (his Dad)



NateRiver
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27 Jan 2013, 5:03 pm

GoodTimes wrote:
Hi-

I want to ask advice from teenagers with Aspergers. My 8 year old son has Aspergers and he has alot of energy. He needs physical outlets. He is easily frustrated gets angry and screams and hits!

He is not a big fan of organized sports. What kinds of activities can I do with him?

Thank you,

Mike (his Dad)


Football? Rugby? I think Tennis would be the best, maybe.



Zodai
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27 Jan 2013, 6:08 pm

NateRiver wrote:
GoodTimes wrote:
Hi-

I want to ask advice from teenagers with Aspergers. My 8 year old son has Aspergers and he has alot of energy. He needs physical outlets. He is easily frustrated gets angry and screams and hits!

He is not a big fan of organized sports. What kinds of activities can I do with him?

Thank you,

Mike (his Dad)


Football? Rugby? I think Tennis would be the best, maybe.


Um....

Okay?

Regardless, I actually got a PS1 when I was 6, and I've been quite the gamer ever since XD.

There are plenty of good games for all ages, just make sure you know what you're doing.

I obviously don't have the time to list every game in the world for it's quality, but if I were to make a single suggestion, I'd say Ni No Kuni on the PS3 - It's only E10+, which shouldn't be too difficult, is fairly recent and is being called the best Non-sony developed PS3 exclusive out there.

As for multiplayer, Maybe Playstation AllStars?


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Caesaran
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28 Jan 2013, 1:43 am

1. Building games and stuff like that, Get him like minecraft or a lego kit. Just generally building anything, Why not convince him to build a fortress in the backyard or something silly like that. Cardboard boxes might do for an indoor fort and they are collapsible and lots of sizes.

2. Tickle and wrestle with him (Heck alot of aspies are not athletic but will probly sure do this with relatives)

3. Hiking (Go on a long walk with him in the woods)

4. Art. Dunno, get him some craftsman clay or watercolor painting stuff, Lot of aspies like art and drawing. It also gives u a chance to get inside his head and see what he is thinking image wise.

5. Trampoline? Pool?

6. Gardening and growing plants. Some aspies do this cuz they like plants.

7. Photography, Heck give me a camera, I would be taking pictures of everything i found that i thought was cool

Ask him what catches his attention the most.

Why not give him a cheap mini camera for two weeks to keep on him and see what he takes pictures of the most?



GoodTimes
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28 Jan 2013, 9:39 pm

Good advice- thank you everyone we appreciate it :D



1000Knives
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29 Jan 2013, 11:41 am

Is he less a fan of organized sports or team sports? An individual sport like gymnastics, figure skating, or something like that would be ideal to start him now with. Especially if he has OCD type of tendencies. Later in life it'd get him popular with the ladies, gymnastics or figure skating. If he can handle the social aspect of those sports (really not too much for figure skating, maybe more for gymnastics) he'd be OK. They're hard, but teach tenacity and discipline, without being, you know, drill sergeanty about it. Teaches not to quit, to concentrate on achieving things, etc. I wish my parents signed me up for gymnastics or skating as a kid. Now I'm 21 and trying figure skating as an adult, and it'd have been much easier if I could do it as a kid, I'd be at a lot higher level than now. I don't mean against telling you he should try a variety of sports, but at the same time, he should be encouraged to "stick" to something. That is one of my bigger issues in life, and to be fair some of my not "sticking" with things is due to others. For example, as a kid I loved judo, liked hockey, had like 2-3 years in judo, but my mother couldn't pay for classes anymore so I had to quit. In life I get "close" to things and end up quitting a lot of times out of sheer lack of resources, and it's sad.

Anyway, if you want something he can do at home, buy him some weights. For real. No, he won't stunt his growth unless he fractures a growth plate, which is more likely to happen in like, playing soccer or something. Or unless he doesn't eat a lot and doesn't eat a lot when lifting. You could even sign him up for Olympic style weightlifting or powerlifting. In foreign countries, their lifters start really young, too, but usually with a variety of activities (gymnastics and stuff too with lifting.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A-m9W-3_9M If you can find a coach who'd take him on early like that, he could be a real beast by the time he gets older. Olympic style weightlifting is a really technique and detail oriented sport, too. But if you got him a little standard bar to mess around with, or just some dumbbells even, he might find it fun and it'd be a way for him to burn some energy off. I had a little standard bar my dad got me, and a punching bag at around 10 years old also. I'd mess around with it a lot as a kid.

Does he enjoy bike riding or rollerblading at all? Those are fun. It's winter, though.

Martial arts is an idea, I found it socially nice as a kid. I liked judo a lot. As I said, I'd have continued it much much longer if my parents didn't divorce and my mother could pay for it.

Besides physical activities, does he ever take apart anything? Find him some old bicycles to work on, a lawnmower to take apart, or old electronics. Have him learn how things work hands on. I took apart all kinds of stuff as a kid. My dad encouraged it. I think the first thing I took apart was a clock at like age 4. This would cost you nothing really, just find old electronics or things like that in the trash. Obviously make sure he doesn't like, plug the electronics in or something like that while he's working on them, but I wouldn't say it's terribly risky. I got more cuts on my hands from doing model kits (maybe he'd enjoy that, too?) than taking apart stuff. Now taking apart things and repairing them is much easier thanks to the internet. If he takes apart stuff or wants to try fixing things, he's got the internet at his disposal, and can use it to research boring schematics instead of playing games. Has he ever tried cooking? Teach him to cook stuff. Tell him anything he eats in a restaurant, he can make at home for cheaper whenever he wants if he learns to cook it. I dunno if he can reach the stove at 8, though. Hmm...

Those are my suggestions.



Quazar
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10 Feb 2013, 3:37 am

Try swimming! that's my favorite sport :D


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rapidroy
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16 Feb 2013, 1:17 am

My dad got me in competitve go-kart racing when I was 8, I had been driving stuff since 5(boats, lawn mowers etc.), I had failed all the stick and ball team sports not that I was all that interested anyway and my co-ordanation was horrable. Learned alot of hard life lessons and won a few trophys, all that was pre AS-diagnosis, even got voted most sportsmanlike meny times. 16 seasons later I have a race car now and its about the only thing that gets me out of the house to socialise. More of a father son, mother daughter sport then a standard team sport and that works good for aspies like me who at bad at teamwork.



historysmystery61
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16 Feb 2013, 7:34 pm

Try acting out some of his favorite stories. I know I have always loved to do that. It doesn't require an imagination like playing house or school. I still remember all the times when I was little that Dora the Explorer--someone who I didn't have to create--was my imaginary friend. Eventually, that progressed into characters from books. Now, I spend my spare time writing stories ABOUT the books I read, which has given me a good deal of fun. So try working with his favorite characters at first, and let him figure it out from there.



MDShinobi
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18 Feb 2013, 8:50 am

GoodTimes wrote:
Hi-

I want to ask advice from teenagers with Aspergers. My 8 year old son has Aspergers and he has alot of energy. He needs physical outlets. He is easily frustrated gets angry and screams and hits!

He is not a big fan of organized sports. What kinds of activities can I do with him?

Thank you,

Mike (his Dad)


Thanks for reaching out and asking, XD honestly, every autistic is different, if he doesn't like organized sports (totally get that, it's too annoying trying to communicate with teammates) there are numerous things you can try, such as art, backyard games (ex: badminton maybe), drop-in sports games, acting/theatre, or give him an old computer to dissect if he wants (that would keep his hands and his mind busy). He's got to like at least one of those.


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