Published on 12, July, 2020
My Son wants to go out somewhere every weekend, he keeps on asking. We do take him out usually for an hour or two either to an extra curricular activity swimming lessons or at the moment horse riding lessons, or somewhere very familiar like an indoor and outdoor contained play area. He always wants to go out again or he says he does. Any ideas?
me too and I feel the same way some time and I like play bingo or shopping and rolling skating
Horse riding was very good for me. If he enjoys that it is a great option! I was very lucky and ended up in the stables almost every day during my school years. I miss it a lot now. Being around animals can be really calming. I'm not sure how it works in the UK, but maybe he can get a share on a horse so that he has one horse to take care of a few times a week?
There is a Youth Club he can join in September when he turns eight. It’s for SEN and many have ASC
It's great that he wants to go out and do things and something to be encouraged.
We autists tend to hyper-focus on our interests and can quite happily spend all of our time doing the things that interest us and we enjoy. I can see how it may be an issue if the thing he wants to do is a once weekly session such as a horse riding lesson. He may not yet fully understand the concept of time and why that is a thing which only happens once a week or less frequently.
I think the key is to start introducing other less structured ways he can go out and enjoy life. Take him out for walks and introduce him to new places, enable him to connect to nature and burn off excess energy. There is so much to explore and learn without it costing money in the same way as more structured activities do. He might be able to see horses in fields if they are something that he likes. Maybe he would enjoy visiting an old castle, climbing on the ruins and exploring history.
The way children spend their lives indoors is very different to how it was when I was growing up. From a young age (5/6 onwards) we would be out playing and exploring at weekends and after school. Only going out for an hour or two seems very restrictive compared to the freedom I had at his age.
maybe joining a regular club would be good.... like a martial arts class that runs same time same day each week.