Best Gymnastic , Swim , Martial Arts Autistic 4 yr old
Greetings,
Thank you in advance. I am looking for great Gymnastic and Swim Lessons for an autistic 4 yr old. Or martial arts, although my focus right now are the former two mentioned.
She does best in quieter environments , with only a few other kids, lower student to teacher ratios (or privates if not too expensive), inviting gentle teachers, natural lighting if possible (or at least not too glaring), not too noisy, somewhere where the parent is allowed in.
Preferably in Berkeley, Albany area but open to other places if an amazing fit.
Outdoor would be amazing but I imagine that is hard to come by.
Thank you so much for your time and help. I am grateful.
Aug 23, 2024
Parent Replies
My son is 10 years old with HF ASD and SPD and sounds similar to your daughter as far as what works best. We did private swim lessons with a teacher in Lafayette in 2022. She was great with him, but a bit pricey. I can give you her contact info if you’re interested, but not sure if she’s still teaching. We recently did private swim lessons through Alameda’s rec program at Encinal High. There were two teachers that were awesome (patient, kind, etc) but most were just okay.
I actually found my son’s martial arts class here on BPN searching for an ASD friendly school. Pallen’s Martial Arts in San Leandro was recommended and they are amazing! This was the only extra curricular activity that he has wanted to stick with and he’s tried nearly every sport/activity you can think of. They teach everyone to be respectful and kind of one another and the classes are fun for the kids. One of the instructors took some classes on how to work with kids with ASD and he’s been awesome with my son. All the things you mentioned- quiet environment, outdoor, etc were things my son needed as well, but overtime he’s adapted to the environment and is thriving! He’s now a green belt with a goal of becoming a black belt. He’s gone further than we could ever imagine! Feel free to email me with questions.
Have you checked out https://snapkids.org/? We tried lessons at the YMCA and elsewhere for our Autistic son and it didn't go so well. The nice thing about SNAPkids is they can go at their own pace and are paired with their own volunteer or sometimes my son had three volunteers with him. I'm just glad that he has fun with them and is slowly getting more comfortable. We went on days when the program was at the Albany pool. For noise levels, it's hard to say if it would work. You could probably show up one time without your child and see what you think. There is natural lighting and it's pretty dark in there.