Asperger's and sports; Athletic aspies?

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ASPartOfMe
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06 Nov 2017, 1:29 am

Scott Garcia mountain climber

Autistic Colorado man tackles 14ers across the stateAutistic Colorado man tackles 14ers across the state

Quote:
When Scott Garcia sets out to hike up some of Colorado’s highest peaks, the trail to the top starts with extreme focus, a keen way with memorizing maps and numbers and a passion to get closer to the two people he loves most.

Garcia, 24, has a hard time with any kind of change, but when he focuses on something, it becomes his main thing in life.

“That’s what being autistic does,” said Garcia, of Pueblo, Colorado.

“It makes me shy. It is very easy to like stay focused and just to focus on my goals.”

Garcia, in a sense, has used characteristics caused by autism to summit 31 of the states “14ers.”

“Those are peaks above 14,000 feet. There are about 58 in the state of Colorado,” he said.


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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


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16 Nov 2017, 6:10 am

Me!! Well, I sucked at sports through most of my youth, I was overweight, probably eating my emotions. It didn't help that I was on the spectrum and abused by my parents. I'm a yoga instructor who is currently training for the triathlon. But I haven't been able to run in over a month, which sucks, the missing link I only found out about last summer that is the outlet I need is cut off again, but at least this is giving me an appreciation for how much I need running. I'm 35, and already faster than a lot of teenagers. Noticing patterns really kicks off the learning curve when it comes to sports. Maybe this is one way autism is a superpower. Pretty much everything in movement is breath and core. Master these 2 things, and you can do just about any physical activity, regardless of your age.


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16 Nov 2017, 8:39 am

Hate team-sports, but have always been good at other sports. However, I didn't really like it much, until I found circus. I did that for years, on an elite-level for the last period. It's something about the huge sense of achievement I get from landing a new trick, and adrenaline from doing dangerous stuff high up in the air. That's the first place I've been good at cooperating as well. I did hand-to-hand acrobatics for a while, where it's all about trusting your partner, and loads and loads of touching them! It's the only time that hasn't been uncomfortable for me (except for sexual relationships. Those are fine too).

I am quite frustrated that I can't do it anymore, partly because of injuries but mostly because I get too overwhelmed by the circus world. There's a lot of travelling, partying, financial instability, and so much touching! Gee, those people just love massage-circles. Not for me, thanks! Also, I love the training, but hate being on a stage, which is pretty much the main requirement for being a circus artist.
I just had to choose one lifestyle over another, so I chose the safe but circus-less one.
I still practice my handstanding though, and took up running again. It's quite sufficient.



ASPartOfMe
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21 Nov 2017, 7:13 pm

Anthony Ianni - Basketball Player and Anti-Bullying Advocate
CBS News

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Anthony Ianni diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD), an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), at age 4, is the first-ever person with ASD to play in Division I college basketball, suiting up for the Michigan State Spartans.

When he was a child, doctors told Ianni's parents he would barely graduate high school and college wasn't a possibility. They said he would likely end up living in a group home.

The boy, who was also told he would never be an athlete, eventually won two Big Ten Championships, a Big Ten Tournament Title, and received the 2012 Unsung Player Award.

Since graduating from college with a degree in sociology, he's worked with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, is a anti-bullying motivational speaker, and started a family.


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teresa_mayhem_downing_street
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07 Dec 2017, 5:52 pm

i go to Taekwondo every Friday . i'm good at it, so far i'm 9th Kup (white belt yellow tag) and i am hoping early 2018 to take my grading for 8th kup (yellow belt) :) :D



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27 Jan 2018, 1:13 pm

Tucker Kruse enjoys big night on the ice

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he first goal came from Isaac Baron in the corner, a horizontal line-drive to Tucker Kruse’s stick. All he had to do was tap it straight into the net while the puck was in full acceleration.

It was the third of 13 goals scored by the North Iowa Bulls Saturday, Jan. 20, against Wausau, but the first of two for Kruse, and it was a big deal.

The 5-foot-4 Woodbury, Minnesota native raised his fist in the air as his teammates engulfed him on the ice. It’s a classic hockey celebration, but for him, it was a well-deserved moment.

“He’s the very hardest working player we have every single day,” head coach Todd Sanden said. “There’s no middle ground for him so everything it is what it is, he gives every bit of effort he has.”

Kruse has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, but there’s no limitations. Not even his height plays a factor as he speeds past others on the ice.

People with Asperger's tend to find special passions in one topic or activity, something they can become experts in. That could be the case for Kruse, who looks at the game with logical humility.

“First goal my line-mate did all the work, so I just had to put it in the net,” Kruse said.

“I try to model my game after Zach Parise, for sure, of the Minnesota Wild,” Kruse said. “He’s a hard-working player and I try to model my game after him, he never quits on anything.”

The dedication Kruse has on the ice translates outside the ice, his teammates love to be around him. They love to see his hard work paying off.

“Tuck, he’s a great kid, I love him ... he’s pretty funny, he likes to mess around with me and I like to mess around with him back,” Connor Clemons said.


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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


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27 Jan 2018, 1:28 pm

I was decent at soccer until I was 15 and decided I didn't like doing it anymore (parental pressure to play in the first place). I played street hockey (no ice in the desert) and was a decent goalie. I had a habit of picking out pucks stick side with the knob of the stick (Dominik Hasek style). That ability was noted by all the people I played with, but I doubt that had anything to do with autism. Supposedly body control is something autistic people are poor at, but I had no problems, mostly my problems were with vision since there was so much going on it was hard to concentrate on a single movement on the field.



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27 Jan 2018, 4:04 pm

If anyone wants some fitness inspiration being an aspie, then I guess I could use myself as a good example.

I went from being a "skinny-fat" kid who couldn't do PE at school type, until age 18 or so and then decided to get into Health, Fitness, Bodybuilding etc and Now 5+ years later I weigh more now with a 30" waist than I did with a 37"+ waist.

On average I'm working out about 7-8 Hours+ a week. (probably more than needed admittedly)

Sports though... well... not my strong point! unless you count getting excited at breaking a deadlift PR as sport. Or airsoft at one point.



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26 Sep 2019, 3:05 am

An autistic golfer and a Native American named Jamozzy help put a spotlight on The First Tee at Pebble Beach

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Meet Evan Koutsopetras, 15, from Brooklyn. He was diagnosed with autism at age 3, did not start talking until six months later, was was told by a private high school that as a special-needs student his IQ was not high enough to compete academically.

Today, Koutsopetras is a junior and plays No. 1 on the golf team at Fort Hamilton High, the second largest high school in New York City, with nearly 5,000 students. He is an honor student, an Eagle Scout, and on Friday will be one of 78 First Tee participants from across the country playing alongside members of the PGA Tour Champions in the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.

“He would not have been exposed to typical kids,” his father, George, said, addressing the role golf and The First Tee played in his development. “Golf above any other sport affords the opportunity to learn and exhibit really good mannerisms and behaviors. The First Tee was really critical, because they have the nine core values. They were teaching life skills, how to greet people, how to interact.”


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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


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26 Sep 2019, 4:10 am

I'm into cycling and have cycled around 4,500 miles so far this year. Last night I was looking at a calendar of cycling events and I might just sign up for an organised ride next weekend. The rides are long distance, between 100 and 600 km and self supported, basically you get a map and a little book to collect a few stamps at the control points. The social aspect is difficult for me but at some point during the day I will probably end up sitting in a cafe talking with other cyclists. 8O
These events tend to attract a good mix of people though, they are very cheap to enter and non competitive, the emphasis is on completing the course rather than racing, times are not published. I think that my aspieness might help with the endurance aspect of these rides in that I have quite a high pain threshold. If anyone is interested, the organisation behind these events is called Audax.



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26 Sep 2019, 10:04 am

Granted I am bad at sports. Individual and team sports. And clumsy in coordination.

But the psychiatrist that diagnosed me with Asperger's (San Diego 2003) did not ask any questions about sports or anything like that

Nor did he tell me to ride a unicycle


Sports are socially awkward

Lil dipshits act manipulative, judgmental, arrogant and entitled.

Furthermore I am physically weak and slow

Counselor had the nerve to put "motor retardation" on the insurance form
:twisted: :roll:

But the only time she saw me move was from the waiting room to the couch

She did not measure three minutes with a stopwatch


f**k Jeanne Courtney b***h



LKL wrote:
Woohoo! I've been out of training for a year (aikido) due to a back injury, so I both sympathize and rejoice with you.




For over eleven years, and five hundred lessons (multiplication, not counted), I have taken aikido.


Over and over, instructors ask if it's my first time



An instructor had the nerve to ask me if I knew what a ninety degree angle was and if I had a high school diploma


He found that I was so bad at aikido that I must be intellectually challenged

He told me that, in 2008 and it is now 2019 and every day I have preoccupied with his statement :jester:



Theory of multiple intelligence



Yes, he didn't do anything illegal and if he were to have done something illegal, it would take a lot of time, money and energy to, compete with. "Might makes right". "Beggars can't be choosers". :evil: Monopolistic competition :twisted:


Plenty of precious lil "people" told me that I was "smart" or "stupid"


Freedom of speech (fine)


But Warren's statement is emotionally disturbing, because, he spent a lot more time with me "teaching" aikido. And a lot of it was one on one ratio :roll: :jester:



Second of all he's a structural engineer and I flunked structural engineering 4th year

Age 21

Now I am 36 and have obsessed over it every single day and counting



:mrgreen:



EmmxG
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19 Oct 2021, 1:47 am

Hello,
I just found out your article as I was searching for more information on how to reconcile having potentially an Asperger syndrom and some specific problems with sports. I can relate to your "hyper focus" description as playing tennis yesterday I found I could hit the ball well only when I was concentrated in an intuitive sort of way, not watching my moves analytically. Yet one thing which has given me troubles all my life are tennis serves. I can't throw the ball properly, and if I do I can't hit it properly most of the time. I've resorted to do my second serve from below. I did tennis tournaments this way. Did this happen to any of you?
Emm



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30 Oct 2021, 11:30 am

From the Parkinson chat show on BBC TV, circa 1978-79:

Michael Parkinson: "When were you at your fittest, Peter?"

Peter Cook: "Er....date of birth".

I sometimes feel that applies to me as well.


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03 Jan 2022, 10:53 am

Tom Stoltman harnesses 'superpower' of autism to become the World's Strongest Man

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As Tom Stoltman crouched down to pick up the fifth and final Atlas Stone, a 210-kilogram (almost 463 pounds) spherical behemoth -- slightly heavier than an upright piano -- and lift it up to a platform at shoulder height, he knew it was the only thing standing between him and becoming the 'World's Strongest Man.'

It was the final lift, in the final event, in a week's worth of grueling challenges designed to test the upper limits of human strength, pitting giants from all over the world in trials ranging from pushing a 20-ton train for maximum speed, to squatting 320kg (about 705.5 pounds) for maximum reps, to tossing a 33-pound keg for maximum height and numerous other unimaginable feats of strength.

In the end, the title came down to two men: 2020 runner-up Stoltman, who is from Scotland, and four-time former 'World's Strongest Man' Brian Shaw. A win for Stoltman over his American opponent in the Atlas Stones and the title was the Scot's.
As Stoltman dropped the mammoth stone onto the platform, he turned to see his American opponent still negotiating his way through the colossal orbs.
The Scot dropped to his knees in equal parts exhaustion, celebration and relief. The 27-year-old knew he had achieved what once seemed impossible; he was the 'World's Strongest Man.'

[Growing up] I didn't have a clue that I was doing anything wrong," Stoltman recalls. "All my behaviors and the stuff I was doing, like in the house, out of the house, to my parents, siblings, etc., I thought was normal.

"I thought the other kids, doing different things, were the ones that were in the wrong."
As Stoltman became a teenager, his social issues intensified, until "something just clicked in my brain" and he decided to tell his closest friends at school.

"I stood up and took my seven or eight best mates into a room and said, 'Look, I have autism.'
"And they said, "Look, there's no problem at all. We're still going to like you for who you are.'
"And that day is when a weight lifted off my shoulders and I felt normal. Like a normal member of society. I felt just normal around people and they all just treated me the same as them.
"That was the day that changed my life. When I was open about having autism."

And as he began honing his focus on his ever-increasing strength, Stoltman was finding his autism was proving to be a valuable asset.

"Having autism and [going to] the gym goes hand-in-hand," reflects Stoltman. "When you're in the gym, you need a routine. And obviously, when I found 'Strongman,' it's all routine.
"You're waking up every day. You're eating the same meals every day. You're doing the same things every day. And you're going to the gym at the same time every day."
However, his relentless quest to improve his performance presented challenges.

"Sometimes, if I missed that lift, I'll think about it for 24 hours or not talk to my wife. I'll be in a really bad head space. So there are positives and negatives with it and I still struggle with the negative side of things."

Soon, teenager Stoltman followed his older brother Luke, who was already competing in strongman competitions, to the local gym.

"I was a skinny boy, not much confidence, and Luke said, 'Come on to the gym.' So I went to my local gym and hated every single minute of it. I didn't like the people staring at me. But I kept going and kept on pushing myself and Luke kept on pushin

In 2016, Stoltman's mother Sheila succumbed to cancer. His biggest fan, Stoltman made a vow to her before her untimely death.

"I made a promise to my mom before she passed away that I would win 'World's Strongest Man' for her and also be [a] kind gentleman and a man outside of the sport as well."

The nearly 400-pound giant smiles as he ponders how she would have reacted to his victory.

Stoltman's rise to the top of the world of strongmen was part of a three-year strategy, a plan he's delivered upon with unerring accuracy.

In 2019, he told the Strongman "Giants Live" tour: "I'll win it in two years' time. I want to get [on the] podium next year, then win it the year after."

Despite the interpersonal, emotional and physical obstacles Stoltman has had to overcome to achieve his goals, his journey has left him with a positive outlook to pass on to other people with autism.

"I always say to young kids and parents of young kids to use it as a superpower. You know, we're different. But now we've got an advantage over people that aren't different. We've got a superpower, they don't."


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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


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22 Mar 2022, 7:29 am

Meet 13-year-old Autistic girl who swam 29 kms from Sri Lanka to India in record time

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On any given day, swimming across the Palk Strait—the sea channel that connects India and Sri Lanka—is not imaginable.

Imagine doing it on a day when there was a cyclone brewing in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, off India's East Coast.

Jiya Rai, a special child, completed this feat successfully by covering a distance of 29 kilometres in 13 hours and 10 minutes.

She swam between Talaimannar (Sri Lanka's north-western coast) and Dhanushkodi (India's Southern Coast) on Sunday (March 20) when cyclone Asani was inching closer to the Andaman archipelago, not too far away.

When most others of her age played with toys and balloons, two-year-old Jiya Rai had a fondness for water. Be it at home or at playschool, the little one couldn’t just stay away from a bucket of water.

It was around the same time that her parents noticed her to be very different from her peer group—she was always a loner and barely uttered anything.

Undeterred by the condition that their daughter was diagnosed with, and in keeping with the baby's liking for water, parents Madan Rai, a naval officer and Rachna, a Chemistry teacher, decided to teach her swimming.

While she was able to communicate with her parents, Jia was unable to grasp what the coach was trying to tell her. In order to help their child, the mother quit her job and started taking swimming lessons from the coach, so as to impart the same to Jiya.

Having understood that the child learns best by witnessing action and visual depiction, the parents prepared a repository of swimming Legend Michael Phelps' videos and played them out for her.

Despite the odds, the young girl commenced to swim at 4.22 am from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka and reached Dhanushkodi, India, by 5.32pm.

Throughout the journey, she was provided escort and search & rescue support by vessels from the Sri Lankan Navy, Coast Guard and also the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, while staying in the waters of the respective countries.

A recipient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Purashkar (PMRBP), 2022— the highest honour given to Indian citizens below 18 years of age—Jiya, according to her parents, is on a more ambitious mission.

"She is on a mission to become the first and youngest para swimmer of the world by swimming seven oceans," her Indian Naval Officer father, Madan Rai, signs off.


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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


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15 Oct 2022, 8:37 pm

Chorley teen with Asperger's selected to represent the UK in judo at Virtus Games in Australia

Quote:
Joshuha Hodkinson, 18, who was diagnosed with Asperger's five year's ago, was inspired to take up the sport after he lost an 'uphill' battle with his sister Chloe, 17, and will now attend the Virtus Ocenia Asia Games 2022 next month in Brisbane.

The sporting event, which will take place from November 5-11, is an international multi-sport competition for elite athletes with an intellectual impairment.

He said: "I first started at Trowbridge Budokwai in 2012 as my dad encouraged me to start a sport as my sister Chloe and I fought on a nearby hill called the White Horse and she beat me up!

"So from a few weeks after that, I started judo and haven't stopped.

"I have competed an uncountable amount of times, some notable titles I have had is, Ben van der Eng (BENG) Adaptive World Judo Games champion three years in a row.

"It was cancelled in 2020/21 due to Covid - so I won in 2022, 2019 and 2018.

"Judo allows me to forget whatever has happened in the day, and allows me to clear my mind by focussing on doing judo.

I enjoy learning new techniques and trying them when we do randori - sparring in judo."

A GofundMe page for the team has been set up help finance The Great British Adaptive Judo Team compete in future International Judo Championships.


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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman