Any suggestions on a hobby for a child with Aspergers syndrome?

Children with Asperger’s generally prefer individual sporting activities rather than the team sports.

Golf, horse riding, tennis, swimming, gym – such as weight or strength training, Karate, walking, Ten pin bowling, bike riding at a velodrome or set bike tracks are all excellent individual sports, where your son may or may not compete with others, depending his confidence and understanding of the rules.

Most sporting bodies will be happy to let your son participate on trial basis, to see if he enjoys it and understand the rules of safety etc, make sure that the coach is aware of his condition, there are some seriously good coaches who will encourage and support your son, to develop his skills.

Being a qualified Austswim instructor (Australia), I tend to prefer swimming, I have taught many young people with Autism & Asperger’s, to swim and just enjoy being in the water. But I know that the above mentioned sports are also excellent.

Another thought is the Wii fit, which has some great sporting activities, one of my clients love this, often conning me into play ten pin bowling, tennis and soccer etc, with him. However this is not getting the child outside.

Not sure if any of this has helped, but good luck with your son.

Hm, have him try acting. I’ve heard that theater is good for people with it. My cousin who has Aspergers is an amazing actor! I love acting! Acting is very fun!

I recommend that you should not lose hope in encouraging him to tackle sports, especially with water facilities. Indoor games as clear in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome would be also good.

I am a speech therapist with many years of experience working with people like your son. I have found that the best way to help yourself is to help someone else. If he has special skills or talents, have him teach it to others. That way, it won’t feel like work or obligation. Lots of times it helps to teach skills to younger children, who won’t be expected to know all the rules, etc.

Several of the middle/high school boys I worked with started their own clubs. One is online, and one meets in person. All of these boys have said that having just one friend similar to them has increased their confidence and improved their mood. There are lots of clubs/buddies/etc out there on the web.

Good luck to your family! I know you’ll find something he is good at!

Hi there. Both my children and I have Asperger’s syndrome. It is common that girls with AS have better cordination and my daughter and I are definately succesful atheletes for some reason it is more difficult for boys. My son’s cordination is of from R to L side of the brain and isn’t interested or good at team sports.

I highly suggest sports like Mt. biking, snow skiing, dirt-bike riding (motor-cross). Even if he is uncordinated, developing an interest in these types of solitary sports will give him something to "train" for. He can enter mt. bike races as he gets better. There are many magazines that highlight the athletes lives and best gear. I have found that I am obsessive about mt. biking and snow skiing, even rendonee skiing (hiking up hill on skis and then clicking in to ski down) and I have revolved my life around it. Yes, it takes money, and I do live at a ski resort.

Getting him into something like say Mt. biking will allow him to get exercise and he might "get high" off of the chemicals produced in his head when he exercises. Mt. biking is a huge thrill and I ride almost every day. I also have competed in sport level races. There are even big camping trips and races where the entire family goes to ride together and he can meet new people. Now snow skiing (if you even live somewhere there is snow in the winter) is more difficult for my son than my daughter, still, he has gotten pretty good. You can arrange lessons and after a few he will be flying and having a blast. Same with Tae Kwon Doe, hiking, etc.

He will learn how to set goals and to train to become good, then better, then the best. Get him gear, whether skiing or mt. biking, etc…that is good quality gear. Stores such as REI sell gear at any price range. Take up the sport with him and he will be sure to have fun…also, get him an ipod and let him put his favorite music on while he plays. I have lots of reggae and "gospel" rap type music on my ipod. It keeps me motivated.

Also, in these types of sports it is very common for peopel to have lots of "quirks"…I am sure he will fit right in. A very accepting group of people enjoy the sports that I have mentioned.

Solitary sports such as these have literally saved my life.

As an aspie, I’ve always enjoyed individual sports way more than team sports. The idea of team bonding just never appealed to me. However, sports like racing (bmx, cars, etc.), martial arts, archery, hackey sack, weight lifting, hiking, and running have always been interesting to me.

For non-athletic interests, consider collectible card games, book collecting, chess, bug collecting, guitar, science kits, and other hobbies that offer a lot of complexity, research, and room for customization or interpretation. The key with aspergers hobbies is to find something complicated, with a lot of depth. Try taking your son to a hobby shop and letting him pick out whatever engages him.

Good luck!

i am twelve and i have asperges i have a few hobbies like cycling, making things go kart racing and my biggest one is fish keeping keeping fish requires alot of research especially the salt water species but if i were you son i wouldn’t want to be forced into hobbies but to try them and then make up my mind