The smells, noises, and social pressure of being an autistic athlete are only the start of it. In high school, just during PE, I felt awkward changing in front of people, the smell of sweaty bodies made me nauseated, and the social pressure to “try my best” made me feel like I had to “mask” before I even knew what the word meant.
I know it has to be even worse for athletes who are autistic. Even in high school, the coach seems to be too hard on them, and when not encouraged or told to sit out of the game, it probably makes them feel like they don’t belong.
The cheering is probably the worst of it; trying to focus on the game and hearing screams from the fans has to be a nightmare. The pressure of the coach screaming at you if you do something wrong, or maybe not even getting to play, can be discouraging.
The other pressure would be, at least for athletes in highschool is, keeping up with grades and practices. This could be even more pressuring than getting yelled at by a coach. I never played games in high school because I am not athletic, but even so I can relate from just what I’ve played in PE classes, and I also had friends who did play. Another one, probably less likely, is to have scouts watching, and that puts pressure to do really well to possibly make it to the professional level.
Now, for professional athletes, things are a bit different, considering it’s a big deal to win a game, and the coaches are going to be less fair and more aggressive to their players because it’s a very big risk to lose a game.
These all can be a sensory nightmare and can cause not only burnout but even a meltdown. Autistics have it hard to mask in the social world, but athletes have it worse in a different way. I think that we should stand to help a fellow athlete and make sure they feel needed in a game as well.
