My son was on both the traditional swim team and the special olympics swim team and refused to get out of the way during practice when he was tapped on his foot! His challenges are mostly self-created...he struggles with following orders / directions not because he doesn't understand them, but because he doesn't want to follow them. So I'm trying to find an environment (and coach...great point @A MyAutismTeam Member) where there is tolerance and patience built in but also has a level of competition and competency.

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A MyAutis...

I've had my 16 yr old daughter in social activities since 4 yrs old. Her most recent is high school cheer and track. The only time I dealt with mild behaviour issues was when these activities are first introduced. That was always based on fear and doubt. But once she started them up with lots of words of encouragement and in the routine, she did well. She also was in drama two yrs ago. Agsin, at first very doubtful. But afterwords was fine.
When she was four, I put her in a swimming course with other kids. There, I got her a community TSS worker for guidance, cues, and redirection. That I got from a local agency where special services were offered. (TSS, BS,OT, MT) TSS stands for theaputic staff support.

The key is finding a coach that understands autism. That makes all the difference.