Is there such a thing as an Aspie girl who is a cheerleader

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04 Aug 2010, 6:13 pm

I think that there's probably autistic people in nearly any pursuit, even one that seems wildly unlikely. Because if we have an interest in something, we can often do it even if it's nonstereotypical. And obviously since there's an autistic cheerleader on this thread, this does happen and is valid.

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Bethie
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04 Aug 2010, 7:21 pm

Northeastern292 wrote:

Hey guys!

I'm writing a book about an autistic cheerleader (okay, she has Asperger's, but nonetheless). This part of the book details her first two years of college. Despite my own AS, if I had been born a girl, I surely would have tried out for my high school's cheerleading squad.

First, am I writing about the impossible? I say if girls can be on boy's varsity football squads, then why can't we have an autistic cheerleader. When I'm done with the book, I'll release certain chapters for you guys to write.

Second, I want to know more in depth how autism affects girls. I'm not writing about myself here.

I'm an Aspie and I was on dance team in high school. Not cheerleading, obviously, but we fell into the same category of pom-pom waving, coordinated, moderately popular young women.

But as some else said, writing doesn't HAVE to be grounded in reality- that's the beauty of it.

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05 Aug 2010, 8:00 am

Michhsta wrote:

I was a classical ballet dancer for 10 years. Does that help?

Mics

A little bit!

andriarose
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05 Aug 2010, 11:29 am

I was a gymnast for most of my childhood and teen years. In high school I was forced onto the school team by my coaches (I had only been competing on the club team). The problem was, all of the other gymnasts on the school team were cheerleaders... they were now practicing at my club regularly in addition to their own, and they made my life a living hell to the point that I ended up having to quit gymnastics altogether.

I was also on the colorguard for the marching band for a year, which is basically the cheerleaders of the band world. They were even worse to me than the actual cheerleaders. I ended up quitting that team after a year as well even though I was easily the best person on the squad. I was different from them, and they used everything they could to ostracize me.

The point here is, aspies can have talent, including physical talent, and can excel in things such as the technical aspects of cheerleading because of their precision, dedication, and sometimes competitive nature. But without the social skills, and with the likelyhood of being eccentric, overly intelligent, or just plain 'not popular', it is unlikely that you would ever find an aspie girl with a happy experience of cheerleading.

Sean_91
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05 Aug 2010, 11:38 pm

There was one cheerleader in high school that was definitely an aspie. I noticed her communication difficulties in groups. She was very pretty and very kind. She would often say hi to me in between classes.

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06 Aug 2010, 1:44 am

I wrote cheers for other girls who wanted to try out. I never did tryout though.

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06 Aug 2010, 1:45 am

andriarose wrote:

I was a gymnast for most of my childhood and teen years. In high school I was forced onto the school team by my coaches (I had only been competing on the club team). The problem was, all of the other gymnasts on the school team were cheerleaders... they were now practicing at my club regularly in addition to their own, and they made my life a living hell to the point that I ended up having to quit gymnastics altogether.

I was also on the colorguard for the marching band for a year, which is basically the cheerleaders of the band world. They were even worse to me than the actual cheerleaders. I ended up quitting that team after a year as well even though I was easily the best person on the squad. I was different from them, and they used everything they could to ostracize me.

The point here is, aspies can have talent, including physical talent, and can excel in things such as the technical aspects of cheerleading because of their precision, dedication, and sometimes competitive nature. But without the social skills, and with the likelyhood of being eccentric, overly intelligent, or just plain 'not popular', it is unlikely that you would ever find an aspie girl with a happy experience of cheerleading.

Very true. Cheerleading isn't really about the skill of cheerleading but more about if you are pretty and can hang out with the other cheerleaders. There is always the lead princess that will have the outcast removed.

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06 Aug 2010, 7:59 am

flyingkittycat wrote:

andriarose wrote:

I was a gymnast for most of my childhood and teen years. In high school I was forced onto the school team by my coaches (I had only been competing on the club team). The problem was, all of the other gymnasts on the school team were cheerleaders... they were now practicing at my club regularly in addition to their own, and they made my life a living hell to the point that I ended up having to quit gymnastics altogether.

I was also on the colorguard for the marching band for a year, which is basically the cheerleaders of the band world. They were even worse to me than the actual cheerleaders. I ended up quitting that team after a year as well even though I was easily the best person on the squad. I was different from them, and they used everything they could to ostracize me.

The point here is, aspies can have talent, including physical talent, and can excel in things such as the technical aspects of cheerleading because of their precision, dedication, and sometimes competitive nature. But without the social skills, and with the likelyhood of being eccentric, overly intelligent, or just plain 'not popular', it is unlikely that you would ever find an aspie girl with a happy experience of cheerleading.

I'll partially agree. Sometimes you can get involved in activities just by being in the right place at the right time however. And it depends on how severe your AS can be. I've had some of my peers seriously be shocked to hear I have Asperger's because I tend to try to blend in. It's definitely quite rare, almost unheard of, but not impossible.

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12 Aug 2010, 7:51 am

Is this topic dead or something?

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12 Aug 2010, 9:27 pm

Northeastern292 wrote:

Is this topic dead or something?

Are you still working on the story?

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12 Aug 2010, 11:19 pm

I can't wait to see the book, when it's done.

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20 Aug 2012, 1:17 am

Callista wrote:

Is there such a thing as a girl aspie cheerleader?

Here ya go!

http://www.nj.com/messenger-gazette/index.ssf/2012/08/bridgewater_girl_cheering_with_new_york_jets_junior_flight_crew.html?mobRedir=false

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20 Aug 2012, 9:08 am

Leester wrote:

Callista wrote:

Is there such a thing as a girl aspie cheerleader?

Here ya go!

http://www.nj.com/messenger-gazette/index.ssf/2012/08/bridgewater_girl_cheering_with_new_york_jets_junior_flight_crew.html?mobRedir=false

I posted that link on my Facebook page yesterday. It's possible, and I hope one day it becomes something of a norm.

lady_katie
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20 Aug 2012, 9:45 am

I could see this in theory. When I was in high school, I wanted to be part of a social group that I knew nothing about (mostly to pull myself out of depression so my parents would stop accusing me of being on drugs)...so I studied them pretty intensely for awhile first. Eventually I knew enough about them to start associating with them, and the accepted me into their group. Of course, this backfired in the end because I was actually nothing like them, and they annoyed me SO MUCH that I ditched every last single one of them.

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20 Aug 2012, 8:12 pm

I almost signed up to be a cheerleader until plans for which high school I was gonna go to changed.

Looking back, it was a dodged bullet. I failed spectacularly at music theater. Didn't have a squat chance in hell in athletics. Plus it occurs to me that I can't really do jumps or flips anyway.

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