Activity ideas for depressed teen with ASD

[MadameThenardier]

Does anyone have any suggestions of activities or clubs/groups that a teen with ASD might enjoy.

DS has been struggling with depression and he feels there’s no point in his life. He’s indicated that he would like to do something that would help him feel worthwhile. He said he was open to maybe trying a new activity.

Generally speaking he only leaves the house to go to his specialist school. So far every activity I’ve suggested he’s rejected.

His main interests are animals/birds, drawing, and Marvel Snap. Oh and Cats

He used to ride horses but stopped because it’s ‘boring’ (and nothing to do with the fact he got thrown). ‘Boring’ is the word he uses to describe to describe anything he dislikes. He has no interest in sports.

Activities I suggested are: Singing/Dancing/Performing Arts (he’s actually very talented in this area but dislikes following instructions), joining a Choir, RAF Cadets, Scouts, and Photography

I’m running out of ideas…

I was going to say venture scouts my sil is a ast leader and said half her group are neuro diverse they do all sorts of random stuff I’d never have thought of. She loves it I think they are aged 14-18.

Does he prefer older people is there a “men’s shed” locally that fix things? Or volunteer in an old people’s home or at some other club? My DD helps coach some very junior members at her sports club, they get most of the 14-15yr olds to help out. It gives a sense of purpose back.

helping out on a wildlife trust site if he likes birds any rspb reserves, they do volunteer data?

If he likes drawing and nature then maybe an art class? Or paint by numbers. You can get some quite complicated sets.
I saw to my DC just try it once. If you don’t like it that’s ok. But just give it a try.
Scouts - would he be interested in the badges?
My introvert DC enjoys Dungeons and Dragons and Magic.
I think something shortish, structured and similar in routine each week can be good.

Or audio visual tech stuff. I know a lad also autistic does all the lights and sound stuff for a local theatre group. He loves it.

Does he like group activities? I ask because all the things you've listed are social/group activities, except photography.

What about activities where you do your own thing alongside others and not team activities? Archery, table tennis, some kind of art class, music instrument, tennis, badminton etc

I volunteered at my local animal shelter for a while as a teen. Maybe something like that? :)

Sometimes teens with ASD go for activities completely off the regular. Is there any club he could join like a chess club or learning coding..something that's not too sociable but where like minded people like to gather. One teen l know with ASD is going to Japanese classes as it just appealed to him. Another is learning drums. Is there a list in your library of local community things as looking at a list he may pick something you would never have thought of.

Our local zoo does a zookeeper club where they go to help out.

It’s not a structured activity but what about Pokémon go or geocaching just to help get him out the house.
if he likes animals is there any local farms that he could offer to help out at ?

Just saw on the one show tonight a dungeons and dragons game shop where they hang out and play games together. Is that something of interest?

Toad patrolling. Only between January and end of April but it’s a lovely and very rewarding thing to do. In the evenings in the dark and drizzle, it’s very cozy in a weird way. And great for mindfulness as you’re concentrating on spotting them.

St John Ambulance cadet? They were amazing with my DC

Does his school offer any after school clubs he might be interested in? Does he have any friends at school that do anything that he might join in with?

Not the same at all but does he have any pets? Would that be a possibility? Maybe an older rescue dog or cat? With a dog he could walk it and maybe do an activity with it, agility or something.

How about fencing, skiing if near a dry slope, board games club, wheelchair sports like basketball - lots of asd people go. You don't need to use a wheelchair off court, it's for all abilities.
Kayaking, or sailing? Local clubs are surprisingly cheap to join.

(Or people with asd), I'm not sure of correct or preferred terminology but as ND person, I mean well!

Any nature reserves nearby that have a nature ranger type of thing? There is one near me and I'd have loved it!

Could he join a birdwatching network?

Gardening? Allotmenting? Green gym? They're a group of volunteers who go and do Gardening in places, as exercise.

Guerilla Gardening? Meet up with others and do up manky roundabouts type thing?

Climbing? Super cool. Not really a team sport but you do it with others.

Toad patrolling sounds fab.

Cats the animal or cats the musical?

If the animals - volunteering with local trap, neuter release groups? Befriending sad rescue cats? There might be a smaller local rescue group who'd love a reliable young man to help with checking chips znd stroking cats. Also with social media things (ie posting about cats)

Have a look at your local arts, theatre centre. They often do classes from street dance to digital animation, or film making.
Which area are you in and maybe people will know of other suggestions?

There might be a Lego club too, if he'd enjoy that. It's so difficult when they are feeling so low and you just want to help them find something worthwhile.

Our local golf club saw a talent in ds (ASD) and offered cheap 1-2-1 lessons. Apparently golf is a common sport for ASD people to take to! Maybe due to no partner really and outdoor - no rush hour!
No rush at all really!

Is he old enough to offer to be a cat sitter? As in go feed, water, pet and play with cats while the owners are on holiday? We used to pay a local teen £20/day to do this for our kitties when we went on holiday. The teen would come by and play with the cats for 2-3hrs/day. Make sure they were fed and so on. Clean up any hairballs vomit. Brush them. Cuddle them. Our cats could not have coped with a cattery. Gave this teen an income and they adored cats.

Locally there’s a ‘Geek bar/cafe’ with board game clubs, D & D games etc. Also Warhammer although that quickly gets expensive. Anime/Japanese often book shops that specialise in graphic novels etc will run clubs. Climbing centres where can progress through levels and are something which fosters a sense of achievement but not team or competitive sport. If you live near the coast look at the Wave project which is surf therapy targeted at teens with depression / disabilities. They are amazing and it’s very much at each child’s pace. Some theatre / groups run ASC specific weekend and holiday programmes eg I know Opera North ran one for several years. Art schools and uni art depts often run classes eg animation. I know several ASC young adults who have gone on to uni to do animation and graphic design. Depending on his age he might be able to do a summer school / taster sessions at a uni. My son did one on architecture. There’s often discounts or bursaries if he gets DLA etc

Thank you all so much for the great suggestions! I’ve never heard of Toad Patrolling…

We are gonna see if he can help out at a cat rescue.

https://www.spectrumgaming.net/
Our local wildlife trust has a young rangers group - almost all teens and ND. That involves team work (instructions only for a purpose), and has actual outcomes, like pond dipping platforms etc.

Climbing also good, especially if he has sensory needs.

Roughly where in the country are you?

Similar to JessicaBrassica If you have a local nature/Zoology group, there may be events such as amphibian surveying, toad patrolling (as mentioned above), hedgehog surveying, dawn chorus walks, moth trapping etc.

Youth membership of RSPB https://www.rspb.org.uk/join-and-donate/join-us/