Can people please relate any helpful experience they may have had regarding participation in team sports. I have been an obsessive cricket fan for ever but have not been able to join a team dispite many approaches...
Can people please relate any helpful experience they may have had regarding participation in team sports. I have been an obsessive cricket fan for ever but have not been able to join a team dispite many approaches...
Sorry a late reply... Being a decent rugby player really saved me in my teens. It meant I built up proper friendships with other boys, and had a level of social acceptability I hadn't had before (or since?). We had a subject we could make small talk about. I became part of the in group, and although my social interaction was far from perfect, I felt accepted.
A few years earlier, I had no interest in sport (I could run but didn't enjoy it). Then I got picked for a junior rugby team and it really helped me a lot.
Some of the cheating did annoy me, but you've got to remember when rugby is played properly, it is far safer than when people foul - that is when injuries usually start to creep in.
toothless said:perhaps itd be worth looking for sports clubs that accomodate people with HFA/aspergers.
That would be effective for predominantly individual sports whereas a city might have one large competitive club that institutionally understands the necessity of universal inclusion.
However in many team sports the entry gateway is recreational teams and these teams seem strongly opposed to allowing persons with ASVs to join for the reasons discussed above.
It seems to me that team sport could provide significant benefit to persons on the spectrum especially in terms of social inclusion and aquiring strategies for coping with disappointment and frustration.
It confuses me why NAS wastes resources on "Autism Friendly Gigs" whereby a person might be able to on one occasion see a performance that may or may not be to their likeing and thats availiable in other formats when it could work with sports governing bodies to set up Autism friendly sports clubs and make a real difference in peoples lives.
Given that sport can be difficult to persons with an ASV, should the community look into by-invitation-only teams or fund/awareness raising tornaments? Everyone who wishes to do so ought to be able to enjoy sport!
"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of
practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which
requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."
IOC Charter, Fundamental Priciples of Olympism, Point 4
As it has passed twenty four hours since you posted I thought I'd make the effort of posting something that might get others to come on board.
Team sports are social environments. I thought maybe this is where Tony Attwood's "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome" could come in handy: "all the attributes of a good friend are the same as for a good team member" (p83 - this is part of his background explanation of social understanding and friendship for adolescents). Also "the most successful team does not necessarily comprise the best players, but the most cohesive members"
In short if you are not good at socialising and forming friendship bonds (which is one of the really big issues if you are on the autistic spectrum) you will always have trouble getting to participate in team sports.
Me - right through life I ended up in the Z-team, if there was one, or the dregs that went cross-country running to give us something to do while the team players got on with team skills. And yes I did go the whole hog running where I was told to - not like most of the others in this category who ducked out early on the route for a ***, or sneaked into a pub.
Reason - my face didn't fit, I had no coordination, no real idea what was going on, so I was a disaster in any team.
You may be different and able to play cricket. You may be really good at it. But you may find most teams don't want good players they want good social buddies.
However you don't have to be in a social group to play cricket, you could make yourself available in other ways. You could volunteer as a groundsman at your local cricket club and get invited to play with the team on the odd occasion that might lead to something better. Or if you have good bowling or batting skills you might be able to get involved as a coach.
But I suspect you will have to look for some other way in that doesn't initially depend on social acceptance. Teams are often formed by word of mouth, mate of a mate in a pub, people from the same old boys network. With an autistic spectrum background you have to find non-social ways of getting involved.
But hopefully someone can come in with more positive suggestions.....
