Asperger's Recreation Costs

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Hi fellow parents,

My name is Summer. My six-year-old daughter has Asperger Syndrome. Lately I've been feeling like recreational/social activities (movies, sports, summer camps, etc) have been costing more money and time than I can afford to spend, but then I feel guilty at the thought of stopping these activities. I was wondering how much money and time other parents are allotting for recreation/social activities.

Thank you for your replies!
~Summer

I know this does not directly answer your question but...

Doing a survey is not going to help because a mean, median or mode does not have anything to do with your personal budget.

I would advise figuring out what you can afford and then prioritizing which activities are the most helpful ---whether it be by social skill acquisition or relaxation or however you want to categorize "most bang for the buck."

If you can't afford to do everything, that is OK. Don't feed the guilt beast!

I have a 6yr old daughter with Aspergers too. She goes to swimming lessons throughout the year, an athletics club during term time and an Italian opera workshop for 3 blocks of 8 weeks, over the year. Each of these classes is an hour each week, so depending on what time of year it is, she could have one hour or 3 hours per week of classes. The classes vary in cost, from around £3 for the athletics to £8 for the opera (USD 4.80-12.90). For me (and her) it's worth it. I get some 'me time' and she always wants to go to them. I've tried lots of other classes in the past and these are the ones that have stood the test of time. She doesn't always co-operate at the athletics, but we're persevering and she does love it.

As well as these paid activities, I also seek out loads of free activities, usually for the weekend. For example, on Saturday, our concert hall had a family fun day. There were loads of arts & crafts activities and opportunity to play musical instruments and join in with singing, etc. We also go to local museums, which often have great things on offer, for families with young kids. We also have some country parks nearby and we just go for a stroll/cycle. My daughter loves nature, so this is just perfect. When we go to the cinema, it's nearly always the weekend morning kids show. The film will have been in the cinema for a few months, but she doesn't mind at all. We get in for about £1.20 each. You needn't spend a fortune on activities. However, I might be a bit spoiled, as I live just outside Glasgow and it's culture enthusiast's dream. All of the council run museums here have free entry too.

I'm not sure this is just an Asperger parent thing...everybody struggles with it...we homeschool our son (15) and there are so many cool books & DVDs I'd like to buy and classes I would like to sign him up for ....but they're not in our budget so I find cheaer alternatives or do without them.

I looked up summer camps for kids with Aspergers...doesn't matter that none of them were really close to us...I so would love for my son to go...but they can be $$$$..and...would he even like it?

Are there activities she really, really loves and some she's not so in love with? Maybe cut the list down by prioritizing and figuring out which ones she could live without.

Jane

Everyone struggles with this. My parents let me do any activity I wanted when I was a kid. I never appreciated it till I had kids of my own and now realize that the music, piano, girl scouts, swimming etc were costing them a bundle. We'll let her try most anything but if she doesn't sho interest we don't continue EXCEPT the swim lessons which we want her to learn for safety reasons. Right now we are getting into girl scouts. Its costing an inordinant amount of money because I'm the troop leader and it turns out that the girl scouts are a very poorly run orginization so until we get going I'm having to fund the troop out of my own pocket...

Anyway I'd say we don't do more than 2 or 3 activities at a time though. Right now its swimming and girl scouts and we will add either tae kwon do or piano lessons soon...

Summer,

Instead of alots of activities pick one. For example, I am advocate of the martial arts for people with AS. Its a life long path, its good exercise, and there are chances for people with AS to socialize and build confidence with Neurotypical people. Your daugther just needs to find her niche. I hope that advice helps.

I'd say pick between a sport and a summer camp. maybe alternate each summer.

I totally feel your pain. When you're an NT parent and you see the social issues your aspie has, there's a strong feeling you can fix or reduce their problems by sending them to every social club/activity/sport/camp in existence. I think these may help a little, but you shouldn't do it at the cost of your savings/house/sanity.

We are in Australia and so I can almost guarantee that whatever you are spending, we are spending more...(it's bloody expensive)
How about trying to do things like using coupons or vouchers and just trying to make the most of a good deal - we try and do stuff like that.
Luckily, DS prefers to stay home so we don't feel the pressure to take him to movies, the zoo or what have you.