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Skiing with Autism |
 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
My son, who'll be 5 at the end of the 09/10 season, is on the Autistic spectrum (at the milder end of the spectrum). He loves snow and wants to go skiing.
Can anyone offer advice / experiences of how to go about teaching him how to ski (e.g. good resorts/ski schools, would Club PiouPiou be appropriate, etc..).
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to shs. Can't really help but I think a number of sh instructors are currently doing adaptive skiing courses and I think there are few shs with kids in the autistic spectrum who ski quite happily.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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wsirhc, you might want to give The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead a call and see if their ski school could help, it's not too far from you in Essex. An instructor would probably need to meet your son before they could offer any advice. A few lessons there might be a good introduction before you go on holiday.
Welcome to  s!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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wsirhc,
You're already onto a winner, knowing that your son loves snow and wants to go skiing. 
It depends on how he behaves in new situations and with strangers and other children as to whether you could put him into regular ski school or not. If you were to try him in a group, then I'd definitely suggest that you tell the instructor how your son is likely to behave before the lesson begins.
One-on-one lessons with an adaptive instructor would be the best... Again, tell the instructor any quirks, behaviour and what (if anything) he finds especially interesting. Knowing stuff like this saves a lot of trial and error time and helps to make the lesson a lot more fun and relevant for your son. I've spent many happy hours skiing like Pingu, and, my favourite from last winter, was being that well known Superhero, Snowman!! 
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give The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead a call and see if their ski school could help
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This is a great idea, to get a few lessons before you go on holiday. If The Snow Centre can't help, then try contacting Disability Snowsport UK, www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk They should be able to tell you where you can find an adaptive instructor near you.
For a holiday, Redpoint Holidays, www.redpoint.co.uk are based in Zillertal, Austria and have both adaptive and alpine instructors.
If you'd like more specific info relevant to your son, please don't hesitate to PM me... I've been teaching adaptive skiing for many years 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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wsirhc, The Snow Centre does have Adaptive Instructors, if / when you give them a call I suggest you ask them for a call back from an instructor called Ian Osborne, who I'm sure will be happy to have a chat with you.
As we speak I'm doing my Level 1 Adaptive Instructor course there.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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wsirhc, Hi Disability Snowsport UK are developing a ski school at Hemel. There is also a local group of adaptive skiers who meet at SnoZone Milton Keynes called ASMK who meet monthly if you want contact details please contact sophiewood@disabilitysnowsport.org.uk
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
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Hi! Can't think of a better place than Zell am See in Austria! We were there last year with our little Jamie, 6 years old, who has a mild autism. He was skiing with Anna from Skiing4all. She was so kind and Jamie absolutely adored her! She is not just an instructor but she runs it like a therapy (she is a psychologist from Cambridge). Zell am See was so beautiful, frozen lake for skating for our daughter and Kaprun glacier guarantees snow all year, even in July - though we went in November (cheap Ryanair flights from Stansted, great value hotels and absolutely no queues, no crowds- which was important for Jamie - I would recommend off-season)! We cried when we saw Jamie do his first green run, a great big smile across his face, something he rarely does. We will definetely return this year! You can read more on www.skiing4all.com (I can see it every day on Jamie's cap he's got from Anna, together with a diploma and a gold medal - he is so proud of it! Good luck and let us know how it went!
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Tue Oct 13, 09 6:11; edited 1 time in total
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After all it is free 
After all it is free
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elisabeth, welcome to Snowheads, and thanks for the recommendation. Would be good to hear more about you and your son's experiences of learning to ski with autism.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hello again! As I was double-checking whether Anna is still working in the same resort, I have come across this in the news section of www.wtss.co.uk it looks like Skiing4all is running a competition again this year, offering a ski break for a person with learning difficulty and their family. Good luck! If you have any questions, just drop me a line. I will be back on the forum to write more about Jamie's experience soon
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
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My son James has profound autism. He learnt to ski in Spain and has now been skiing for the last ten years. He is not the quickest but is able to ski blacks. We got him 1 to 1 instruction for the mornings on his first week's holiday. In the afternoons we just reinforced what he'd been taught in the morning and lots of "James do this". Visual learning is the best way. He was soon up and away. He loves his skiing now and looks forward to it every year.
Bansko in Bulgaria I'd recommend. Great skiing, good instruction and it doesn't break the bank.
Good luck with it.
Ps. Contact Ski Club for the Diabled they were very helpful to us.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hi,
Thanks for all the advice and suggesions.
We didn't manage to get anything organised for this season, but have some places to start looking for next.
Thanks again,
Chris.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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With regards to you autistic son you should contact the dry ski slope at Bromley, as they have a group who coach / instruct skiers with special needs / learning dificulties. You could also contact Special Olympics GB. www.sogb.org.uk They offer many sports including skiing at various centres around the UK.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much 
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
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Hi,
Just to let you know that we booked our son on a course with www.skiing4all.com at Zell am See in Austria.
He thoughly enjoyed it, as did the rest of us, and I can thoughly recommend Anna and Skiing4All.
Anna was very helpful and Pete the instructor we had very, very good with our son.
We're already planning to go back next year.
Regards,
Chris
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You know it makes sense.
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| t Zell am See in Austria. |
i've been there too. it was really great, will recommned it to everyone
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Wed Jun 27, 12 13:04; edited 1 time in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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You can also contact nick at hemels snowcenter.
Nick is the lead instructor there he will be able to help you out if you send him a email on nicholas@disabilitysnowsport.org.uk
He will be able to let you know when lessons take place, He a great instructor i would deffenetly get in touch as i am sure he will be able to help you!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just wanted to add to the recommendation of skiing4all, zell am see. We spent Christmas 11/12 there and had a fab time. Our 5yr old son, with autism was looked after superbly. He was skiing on his own from the top of the mountain by the end of the week. Skiing4all also looked after his very outgoing sister, who was given fantastic instruction for the week. Basically, this meant that we, the parents got to ski for 5 hrs without kids!!! In our previous holiday, we found that arranging private lessons for our son and ski school for our daughter did not give us any time in the day to ski for ourselves.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Does anyone have any other experience of other providers in this area. Skiing4all are getting great reviews and it looks very good but I would like to compare their service against others
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hi bladeski,
European Snowsports in Verbier have recently revamped their adaptive ski school 'ES Adaptive' which is now being run by one of our instructors Sam Colby.
Sam was exceedingly popular with our skiers when he was teaching and I would thoroughly recommend him. http://www.europeansnowsport.com/ski-school-verbier/es-adaptive/
You could also try www.ski2freedom.com which is a comprehensive list of adaptive skiing opportunities throughout Europe. Catherine is extremely helpful and will go out of her way to help you find the resources you are looking for www.ski2freedom.com.
Hope this helps!
Charlie
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just for interest, I have an acquaintance whose son is autistic and they introduced him to the snow with great trepidation at Falls Creek. He took some time to get used to it but is now a fantastic skier. Their main problem after a while was that he was too daring in and needed to be reined-in constantly. It has been the best thing for this family as it was the first pursuit that they could all do as a family, parents ans siblings.
Good luck with your boy I hope it works out really well for him.
______________________________________
NeosizeXL
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Hi all just back from a truly excellent week with Skiing4all in Zell am See. Anna, Peter and Michael could not have done enough for our son. From the initial meeting on the Saturday night with pictures for him and explaning what they did, everything was spot on and fully setup to his enjoyment and safety. To see him complete blue runs and get on and off chair lifts by the end of the week was superb and far exceeded our expectations and he thoroughly enjoyed every minute of his time with them. We are already talking about going back.
I am usually a hard nut to crack when it comes to customer service and do not do testimonials - but these guys really do provide a great service. we did not use their accomodation as found Crystal could put us up in a 4* hotel and transport us for less including the surcharge.
Happy for a PM from anyone who wants more first hand detail.
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