Declan loves to play games but he has an exceptionally HARD time losing. This is why he enjoys activities like High-5 soccer.
I read a post by faithmummy about the reasons why autistic children might struggle with losing and thought the post was very insightful and would like to share. Be sure to check the whole post out – really spot on!
Thank you faithmummy! I really enjoyed your post and could relate!
Here it is:
“”Last week I was at a school party with my daughter for Halloween. She’s not a fan of parties yet wants to be there too. It’s a huge internal struggle for her as she as she wants to be there like everyone else but realises she is different too.
The free dancing, general socialising, and snacks were hard enough but worse of all was when the games began.
My daughter loves games. She loves the rules and obeys them precisely. She likes that they are organised, structured and fair. The only problem is…she has to win!””
Please continue reading here
That post is spot on. It’s the same with my son, will know the fine detail of the activity, but often struggles with the execution and most definitely hates to lose – to the point of meltdown. As a result we have a long list of things he has tried once and then never again. It’s not because he wants to be the best he just doesn’t want to be seen as ‘rubbish’ or ‘useless’.
Same here – whole bunch of things mine has tried once and won’t do again because he “failed.” Even at High-5 soccer – he cried once because they were going to play a real game of soccer. He must have lost in a game at school before because he just cried saying, “I am not the best” before he even tried at the High-5 real game. Of course at High – 5 it was modified and played with the big ball for fun. Scores on both nets counted for the players and you could throw the ball in. Which helped – and his stress went down. Even laughed a bit by the end. Just so tough!
My autistic sons used to try and win at every single thing every day ….. now they are older and it’s not quite as bad anymore .
Good to know! Thanks!