Sparring for the Autistic child

[Donna62]

My 12 yr old autistic daughter has reached the level in kickboxing to spar.  Her main autistic deficit is comprehension and I'm cautious to have her spar for fear of behavior issues.  Have any studies been done on our children to determine if engaging in physical activity such as sparring could trigger behavior issues? She is mild mannered for the most part but when she gets frustrated or too much is coming at her at once, her anxiety level goes from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds.  I'm willing to try it but am fearful of any backsliding that might occur.  Suggestions?

[Jason C Bourret, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

If this is a sport that your daughter enjoys and you think that she might enjoy sparring then it is worth considering. The most important thing is to make sure that she understands what the rules of the sparring matches are and that hitting and kicking is not OK outside of this context. If she has made it this far in the sport, it would seem that she would be able to understand these things and differentiate between sparring and aggression. There isn’t any reason to believe that allowing her to spar in a sport that she already participates in would result in her becoming more aggressive in general. Just be very clear with the rules, monitor her closely during sparring, and you can always end her participation if problems arise.

[hunterk9]

Hi, I have 2 children with ASD,
If it was my daughter I would let the other parents know of her autism and explain what may happen. so if any, the unwanted behavior will not have a back lash from others.
Then i would let her try i dont think a childs personality would change soley because they have started a new level of the spot they already partake in.
I would use pictures and verbal to explain to your daughter what is expected of her and what the other childern will be doing during a sparing match.
Tell her that this is just a trial so if she does become over whelmed then wait and try again next year.

I hope this is helpful