As a child, Grandin took years of skiing lessons without making much progress. In her book, “The Autistic Brain” Grandin admits she was in her forties when she finally figured out what the problem was.
That’s when she found out that her cerebellum, the brain’s center for motor control co-ordination, was 20% smaller than normal.
So if your Asperger’s kid or ASD child is not good at sports, this could be the reason. It could be that their brain has developed differently.
My daughter, Bev who has Asperger’s and is the mother of an Asperger’s child, is also a special education assistant in a high school. Together we attended a presentation by Bill Luis, founder of the Sluis Academy located here in Vancouver BC and on the internet at http://www.sluisacademy.com/.
Luis has developed a unique sports-based therapy for ASD children, and what thrilled us about the therapy was not just the friendly, gentle and confidence building technique.
What especially impressed us was Luis’ way of helping the children learn not only how to play sports, but also how to get invited to play.
This makes Luis and his academy exceptional as far as I’m concerned, since few professionals understand that it is not only the lack of physical coordination that confounds us when it comes to sports. The toughest concept to get is the social. Ask any kid with ASD and I am sure he/she will tell you they are usually the last person to be picked for a team.
It’s not a fault, it’s just a challenge.
If your child wants to learn, help him. If he dreads sports maybe his brain has something to do with it. Why try to make a sports hero out of a doctor or scientist or library clerk or security guard?
Margaret Jean 