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SN teens and young adults

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Hobbies and activities for AuDHD teens who dislike leaving the house

4 replies

FolyHuck · 27/04/2026 12:05

Wondering what hobbies your AuDHD children enjoy outside of home...and how difficult you've found introducing new things. My DS is 12. He really hates leaving the house. Most weeks he only goes to school & one swimming lesson/wk. And that-reluctantly.
He's very popular at school, actually has good social skills and a great group of friends BUT prefers to socialise online with them outside of school.
He's very driven by Minecraft & we do have Lego & Mark Rober subscriptions, which he loves. He loves Audiobooks & I'm sure I've spent a small fortune on Audible by now....
However, I'd like him to move more and to develop wider social skills. He's actually a fast runner and physically very able-always one of the fastest in school year, good at Football, good at racquet sports, a great swimmer. But-gets bored so fast that he won't stick at anything, and not great in teams (strong sense of justice/dislike authoritarian figures-works better with female coaches).
Also-he hates travelling anywhere & we live in a rural area in NI, so will likely have to travel which is another hurdle.....
Interested if anyone with a similar child has found something they love which will help their development!! I'm at a loss.

OP posts:
scoopofmintchocchipicecream · 27/04/2026 13:59

What about gym/exercise equipment for at home? Or a gym membership if you are looking for something out of the house. A personal trainer could work.

If DS enjoys Lego, would he join a Lego group?

Have you considered a PA for DS. That way they could do something different each time. It could be at home or outside the home. You could look for someone relatively young.

Stompythedinosaur · 27/04/2026 14:15

As a mum of an autistic dd I'm going to say this gently, but are you sure that your desire for your ds to have hobbies outside the house is for him, rather than for you?

I've been on a journey with my dd of encouraging her to try every activity going - swimming, horse riding, sports clubs. Similarly to you, my dd has a sport she's exceptionally good at and got on to a specialist team in terms of her ability. But, it made her unhappy, and she didn't enjoy it, and we stopped after a term.

My dd uses up so much energy just managing the school day, outside that she prefers to stay at home. She socialises well online, and in niche communities based around her special interests, largely with other neurodiverse dc. That is the type of socializing that brings joy to her life, not the sorts of clubs and hobbies I assumed for years she "should" be doing.

Recently she has actually asked to join some in person meet ups with online groups, which has been lovely, because she wants to go rather than me trying to encourage her. But I don't think we'd ever have got to that point if I can kept pushing her towards groups.

Onegiantpupil · 27/04/2026 16:38

Would he be interested in crafts or models?
Can we white therapeutic but keeps your brain ticking

Badinfo · 27/04/2026 17:21

Agree with PP, does he need to do more, my AuDHD DD does a 1 day activity a week after college and that's enough for her, she doesn't have the energy for any more socialising, it takes all her effort just to get through the day, she uses the evenings to decompress and recover enough to cope with the next day. Be sure he wants to do it, not all kids need an activity after school every day, he sounds like he's happy doing his thing at home.

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