hello!
I’m looking for suggestions around what sports or physical activity work well for your kids? My son is 9 and LOVES soccer, but we need more. He’s reluctant to try new activities, but once he gets going he typically loves anything high intensity. I’d love to hear what has worked well for other ADHD kids of similar age. He’s struggled with karate before because there was too much control required and generally standing around. Thanks!
Our loved Parcore, it includes running jumping and flipping. This is an individual sport.
Our son also did Tae Kwan Do. This includes discipline and focus. This is an individual sport.
Last our son does Lacrosse, which is a team sport.
Hope these help.
My football/ soccer fanatic also likes skateboarding, surfing, futsal, table tennis, and also used to play touch rugby. Not sure what country you are in. That might determine what is available.
My son is nearly 10 and on medication, I agree that Karate is a challenge for ADHD kids but we persevered and he’s now a purple belt. What makes it possible is that my husband goes and trains as well - it’s lucky that adults and children train together in a very large hall.
I’d say swimming is very good, I imagine you probably already doing it with him, I suppose it’s more of a life skill.
My son loved tennis, however I was signing him for a group session and also in bad weather it was in a large hall- it was a bit of games to improve control over the ball etc and then a bit of playing tennis. I wish I could sign him now to 1:1 with a coach but it’s a bit expensive. Tennis though is worth trying- if he does it with his coach this will be intensive and no messing about. But for a total beginner a group class is fun too.
I know of ADHD kids who are enjoying basket ball. In our leisure centre we have a weekly class for kids but o already signed my kids to so many activities, couldn’t fit this in😄This term I slowed down a bit, my son is doing now only swimming, karate and football. In spring I may sign him to tennis again. Then in the summer he’s doing cricket which probably is the worst sport for ADHD kids, yet he copes. Cricket would not be possible had he been not on medication though, and he still looks the least attentive of all kids. My husband started cricket coaching course to help out at the club with training little kids and this will be the trade off that we can keep our son there even though he’s pretty much hopeless 😉But he enjoyed it so why not.
My son (almost 7, ADHD) likes baseball, but the organization and standing around time is a definite struggle for him, especially with the later game times. Swimming is a struggle, too. He Loves Ninja Gymnastics, though, and also just started fencing, which he is really excited about 😁
kids yoga has been life changing for mine!!
Our son loves swimming! He loves being part of a team, and in this case each team member does their individual event on their own. This makes it nice because he doesnt have to organize and coordinate his skills with others. He did try martial arts and really didnt like it even though my husband is a martial artist.
Growing up with ADHD swimming was a lifesaver!!!
My son had difficulty with martial arts, as well, and enjoys soccer. This time of year, his favorite sport is basketball. Like soccer, there's no downtime. All he needs to play at home is his basketball and the hoop at the nearby park. Our local YMCA runs a great league for his age group.
Oh! Forgot to say my son is 9 and does have ADHD that is well treated thanks to training we've all had and medication. Also, in the summertime swimming and water activities are his favorite.
Can anyone share with me what that"training" might be? Everything I've read says that parent education is key to managing ADHD but our provider basically just gave a diagnosis and said we should get meds. No education, no advice, no tips or tools. And this was from a therapist. Since my son is doing ok at school I'm trying to defer starting meds but can't get anyone to talk to me if I don't.
I'm sorry to hear about the frustrating time you're having getting the help you want for your family. I was in a similar situation a few years ago. My son was undiagnosed, and he was having regular bathroom accidents (not completely an ADHD thing, but very much exasperated by it), and it seemed like no one had any real answers. I ended up starting with the pediatrician who referred me to a specialist who refused to see my son and referred me to another specialist who referred me to a program which referred me to another program. I'm not kidding. There were that many steps, plus more. Finally, after months on a wait-list for a program that it turned out wasn't what my son needed, I spoke with someone at our local children's psychiatric hospital who got us into a different "partial program" (cutting to the front of another many-months-long waiting list) - not precisely designed for my son's needs, but with an extensive support staff who worked together amongst themselves and with a team at the children's hospital to figure out ways to help. Parents were required to spend several hours per week in the hospital "classroom" with their children so that the staff could train us to work with our kids on behavior modification, habit-building, etc. There were even two home visits. It got us on the right track. Our son was diagnosed with ADHD and an anxiety disorder along with a physical disorder, and over the course of a few weeks we found the right dose of a stimulant medication, and once we finished the program we were able to simply work with a therapist in the children's hospital's GI team, along with a prescriber.
I guess this story isn't exactly helpful or mind-easing, but I guess I'm trying to say that there is more help out there, and you're right to feel frustrated with your child's therapist. Meds help, but so does behavior modification, etc. You are a good parent. Don't feel bad about demanding better help. I'd recommend going back to the pediatrician, voicing your concern to them, seeing if you can get a different referral. See where that leads, and if it leads nowhere seek out a local children's mental health facility - see what they have to say. Make them at least give you a number of someone else to call. Hopefully, even if it takes a lot of effort, you'll find a solution that works well for your family, as we did for ours. Good luck!
my kids love gymnastics, basketball, soccer. Oldest loves baseball too. They both love the monkey bar apparatus we have it the back yard.
My grandson's teacher recommended taekwondo to help teach focus. We were lucky that one the ATA studio's masters was also a special ed teacher so they were very patient. He had a lot of trouble at first with waiting in line but eventually became a 2nd degree black belt over time. May have taken him a bit longer but he persevered.
My 9 year old couldn't focus with soccer a couple of years ago. He wasn't medicated then either. He's been doing tae kwon do for over 6 months now and loves it. He's about to take his 3rd belt test this week. The couple who runs it have grown sons, one of whom has ADHD.
He also looooves getting into the pool. He can spend 2-3 hours out there in the summer so we took swimming lessons for a while. We've stopped for the winter even though they're indoors. He's just started band this past August so getting him to practice everything can be a chore for me even though he loves both band and tae kwon do.
Note that you don't have to do tournaments with ATA and even if you do, that doesn't mean you're up against someone. You can do board breaking, showing your forms, weapons skills, etc as an individual competing against others. Mine isn't ready for tournaments yet though they'd probably let him go if he wanted to.
Bowling for 9yr old daughter with ADHD.
Rick climbing at the local indoor gym 
I have a 9 year old son. We have done karate for years and it has been amazing. Lots of kids with ADHD really seem to get so much out of it. We started swimming on a team this summer and that has been great too!
I'll chime in since I haven't seen this sport yet: cross country. My now 14 year-old kiddo (inattentive type) did karate for years and loved it, because it was an individual sport. Unfortunately our karate teacher retired during Covid and we couldn't find a school up to my kiddos specifications (that's another story).
He had belonged to a pretty informal running club in elementary school, so I looked for a running club, and came across our school district's cross country team. My kiddo is dedicated to his new sport, and it's funny how many of the other runners have ADHD too (including the coach). It's a very supportive community for him.
Good luck!
My 11 year old son really enjoyed cross country running when it was offered at school, and he continues to swim. He's actually on a local swim team and although he doesn't tend to sit with the team or interact with the other kids much, he's never had a frown in a pool and his swimming has improved quite a bit.
Basketball, swimming lessons, and baseball. I can see improvements in my son with team sports and learning all the rules and strategies, even though he can struggle with focus and impulsivity. Baseball is especially a struggle with all the standing and waiting, but he loves the team bonding and I think it’s good for ADHD kids struggling with social skills.
Those with IEP's - best practices and ideas
My kids the one no one likes :(
9yr old baseball w/ ADHD
