Let's talk about coaching autistic youths and autistic adult bowlers.I'll give
you my story and what I have eventually have learned over the last 9 months.

On my Saturday youth league,we had a year old boy with autism.Never even knew he had it.He bowled on the toddlers league 4-5 year old.They only bowl one game and it's with bumpers.So when he got done to the bantams he was lost.As I said,didn't even know he had autism,you couldn't tell at all.Great kid.We helped him enough to get his average to 55 without bumpers.Then along comes his mom and tells us he is autistic,and she doesn't want him to be embarrassed and she is going to drop him from the league,we said just give it time and see what happens.That's when it started looking for information about autism and teaching autistic children and adults.About five weeks went by,which was about the 12th week of the season he is doing great and having fun,but the mom said she was taking him out of the league because of the stress on him.He never at anytime showed signs of stress or signs of becoming embarrassed.He was enjoying himself,talking to his teammates,and improving.The mom is the one who couldn't handle it.So she dropped him from the league.

Here is what I have learned in the last 9 months since then.I have worked with a friend
who helps Special Olympic athletes.


The key to coaching youth athletes as well as
autistic ones,is not to constantly bombard them with
instruction.What happens is the athlete really never
develops their sport motor skills because they are
never given the freedom to explore and discover on
their own.

Most coaching today resolves around the belief that
more instruction is better.Today most coaching is over
structured.And young children never fully develop
basic fundamental skills.

When babies learn to crawl and walk,they are
developing their first motor skills without instruction.
A lot of youth athletes develop their motor skills
and form based on free play.Example, youth playing
baseball outside of structured leagues.
Kids need the freedom to experiment and play
without constant teaching.

So my opinion is to let them bowl unhindered at first.
Most autistic people get frustrated easily when they
fail at something.This is why it's key that you
establish a positive relationship with your student.


You need to know that autistic people are aware of
large spaces and find them intimidating because
it appears to have no boundaries.This is why most
feel safe in smaller areas or areas of their own.
One warm up you can do to help them feel the area
is smaller is to play catch with a beanbags.Throw
them underhand in a bowling style.Once you feel
he is relaxed then you can move on to bowling.
When the warm up is done,you should bowl first,
allowing him to sit and wait,then have them bowl.
Autistic people are visual and kinesthetic learners.
They are able to copy and repeat skills and sequences.

I would also suggest you bring a computer or Ipad
or another table form product.Hopefully they have
wifi.If not a cell phone will do.Find bowling videos
on youtube and let them watch,again,they are visual
learners.
When you get one the lanes they may be hesitant
because autistic people do not like new things.
Especially if it involves exercise and movement
exercises.

Make sure if they becomes hesitant,do not use the
word "fun" in to get him to do something.This word
usually means anything but fun to anyone.When
someone tells you it's going to be fun,they are
only trying to make you do something you don't
want to do.Positive reinforcement helps.Getting
them to do something with a reward based on
something they like to do,such as reading their
favorite book.

Remember to be patience is the key.You need to
get both parents on board with the plan.

The goal is to let them bowl as they like.Keep doing
above items.When you feel they are enjoying the
sport enough,then proceed to teach them four steps.
You will know when it's time to introduce a new
item into their game.

_________________
SomNerve

"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."
~ Nikola Tesla~

-------------------------------? Come on coaches.Whatca got!

_________________
SomNerve

"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."
~ Nikola Tesla~

Currently one of my students is working with an autistic student. We have found no problems with his instructions other than we feed it to him is simpler smaller chunks. Th young man is grasping very well and handles complex concepts very well. He is now averaging in the low 190's. We work with him on concepts and give him time to use them and absorb them. We show him on video exactly places we are wanting to work on. The next week we reevaluate the previous and reenforce the weak areas. For the last 2 weeks we have been working on targeting concepts and spare making. At the same time we have been developing a pre shot routine to adjust on approach time and help him focus. Actually this process is used on every student we work with. We just make sure it is simple instructions.

Robert

_________________
USBC Bowling Silver Coach, Dick Ritger Level 1 & 2 Instructor, USBC Level 1 Coach Instructor, ASEP Coaching Principles, IBPSIA Certified Technician, USBC Fundamentals of Team Coaching Certified, USBC Athlete Development Drills Certified

Valuable post and information.
Nice contribution with the potential to help many.
Thought provoking.

Care to share any of your research sources?

_________________
"There are many worlds out there. Some of them can be accessed through reading.
Encourage kids to read" - T.A. Sankar


John

While I haven't had the opportunity to coach either of them, we have two autistic individuals who bowl league regularly in our local center and flourish in the positive, supportive environment that other bowlers provide. I know that bowling can be good for everyone but when it can help a kid who can't make eye contact with a stranger introduce themselves and talk about bowling, it can be monumental.

My two cents is watch for "autism spectrum" in your bowlers. A lot of the generalizations made about autistic individuals may not apply to those with aspbergers or mild autism. Parents can be a big help in finding out what works for their kids!

_________________
USBC Certified Bronze Coach

PAP: 5" Right, 1/2" Up
Speed: 17.25 (avg off hand)
Rev: 300-360 rpm (340 avg)
Axis Tilt: 15-25*
Axis Rotation: 30-70*

High Game: 286
High Series: 693

A quick search --> Some online resources and articles.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/sci ... als-autism

http://www.autisminreallife.com/Autism___Sports.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/fashi ... wanted=all

http://autism.about.com/od/childrenanda ... sideas.htm

_________________
"There are many worlds out there. Some of them can be accessed through reading.
Encourage kids to read" - T.A. Sankar


John

Got this from a friend who helps coaching
Special Olympics athletes.

BOWLING COACHING GUIDEhttp://media.specialolympics.org/soi/files/sports/Bowling+Coaching+Guide.pdf

_________________
SomNerve

"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."
~ Nikola Tesla~

I emailed a coaching friend from across the pond.

Here is his reply. I hope you find this useful.

Quote:

Hi John,

I read the posts and found them interesting. I have not worked with
anyone with autism to my knowledge. I have worked with kids with ADD
and ADHD as well as working with special olympics (any learning problems
will qualify you for that program). I never had a particular problem
with the bowlers, however the mothers were a different story. As you
know I now work with blind and visually impaired bowlers.

I found that some coaches and bowling centre management want to lump
everyone together in a single program. For example I attempted to get
another blind bowling program going in a center and the manager could
not understand why I wanted a separate program instead of merging the
blind bowlers with the special olympics program. The fact is that some
of the blind bowlers I worked with are graduates and working in
Engineering, IT, and accountancy. They certainly do not have learning
problems.

Patience on the part of the coach seems to be a requirement of
working with anyone who has a special problem. The coach also has to
understand that the answer to a problem is usually not found in any
coaching or bowling book. Every special bowler brings unique problems
and these must be taken into consideration when developing a training
program for the bowler.

Jim

_________________
"There are many worlds out there. Some of them can be accessed through reading.
Encourage kids to read" - T.A. Sankar


John