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How Sports Helped Me

Most parents of autistic individuals focus on their child’s academics and social life. They neglect physical activities like exercise and sports. A well-developed fine and gross motor skill and social skills are a prerequisite for participating in play activities and group sports. The autistic individual generally has poor social, fine motor and gross motor skills and hence they are either excluded or are hesitant. Thus, majority of autistic individuals have routines set by their parents which does not involve physical sports and exercise, which can every beneficial to them.

 

Now, let me share my own experiences as a child and young adult who was diagnosed with Autism when i was 5 years old. When I was this very little kid, I was very keen on playing with others. But since I had issues socializing and I had poor fine motor skills, no one was willing to include me in the activity they were doing. Because of lack of exercise my muscle tone was extremely weak & my motor skills and hand eye coordination were not age appropriate 

 

I never showed interest in any sporting activity for a long period of time. My mother made me try various sports like skating, Basketball etc. In my school people used to play games like soccer, volleyball, cricket, and several other sports. I used to try these and leave it after a few days, citing some excuse or other. My interest in the game didn’t last long as people who were playing it in my park were very rude to me and did not want to include me in their group. This was largely due to the fact that i had underdeveloped fine motor skills , poor muscular strength .It was very frustrating for me to see myself as a weakling. This was made worse by my inability to understand sarcasm / body language of my peers leading into misunderstanding and communication gaps. On several occasions i was bullied.

 

However, I realized that I love water sports. I used to regularly go to the swimming pool of my apartment complex. I used to splash, play, and swim. And every time I came out of the pool, I had a smile in my face. Swimming was one thing I loved doing. I discovered that it was my passion. I learnt to float on my own and started to take laps around the swimming pool on my own.

 

I pushed my parents to find a professional coach for me. They were not sure because they thought that I would not be able to handle the rigor. I kept on pushing my parents and they finally sent me to a professional coaching club. Seeing the intensive practice sessions my mother was worried that I will quit swimming. When my trial class was over and when my mother asked me, “How was your class?”. I replied, “It was brilliant”. That brought a smile on my mother’s face. 

 

My parents were so happy by the fact that I enjoyed a rigorous sport. I learnt all the strokes, practiced 2 hours every day and swam for several kilometers every day. Swimming is very competitive, and professionals learn it at a very young age and practice for years to be competitive. Even though I started very late, I worked very hard and told myself that I will be the best swimmer I can, and I will compete with the best swimmers in my city. Many people discouraged me and told to my face “It’s too late, you will never get there”. But I didn’t listen. I worked with my coach and became the best swimmer in my school and my school chose me to represent it in several inter school competitions. I didn’t win any medals or championships, but i did prove to myself that i can compete with the best and beat many of them. I was fine with that as it was my passion. It helped me in other areas. My muscle tone, stamina, and flexibility improved significantly. I was more focused and relaxed. My stimming reduced drastically; my anxiety diminished significantly. Overall, I was able to perform much better in my academics as well. I had acquired physical strength and confidence in my abilities and hence I was now able to stand up to bullies. 

 

My school had a sports day every year. Earlier I used to participate but never got qualified. This time I participated in the 100m race and I won the 3rd place and won 2nd place in the team relay event. I also participated in a 10Km race and finished it. I did swimming till my 11th grade. 

Since the Academic rigor was intensive in grade 11 and swimming consumed a lot of my time, So I decided to take a break from swimming and took to exercise in the gym. Even though I missed swimming so much, I realized that more than swimming I needed sufficient exercise. 

 

I believe that if I can excel in sports and fitness so can anybody with autism. I strongly recommend parents to encourage their Autistic children to exercise. Autism is a spectrum, and every autistic individual is different. So, the choice of sports / exercise needs to be modified according to the issues they face

1. Sports significantly reduces stimming, anxiety, stress and makes you calm.

2. Be patient with your children when they avoid continuing with sports / play activities. It is often to do with lack of self-confidence/ poor motor skills/ lack of social communication etc.. It does not mean that they are not interested in sports. One needs to persevere till they find a sport which is suiting their nature and needs.

3. Do not let others define what your child can or cannot do. set your own milestones and goals and encourage them to excel and exceed them.

4. It is okay not to win medals, it is important to keep on doing your best and compete with the best. It will bring out the best in you.

5. It is important to have a coach who does not judge you or one who feels pity for you. we don’t need pity, we need empathy. 

6. Autistic individuals are prone to lot of bullying because of their poor social skills, inability to comprehend body language, inability to understand sarcasm etc. Hence the confidence to stand up for himself or herself emanates from self-belief and physical strength. 

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