Autistic Clumsiness

Post Reply New Topic

argh yeah, I'm so clumsy and I move really fast. I bump into doors and drop things on accident a lot and it's so embarrassing. I guess this is an autistic thing too, then?
Jeez, everything's a symptom.

Yes there's supposed to be a psychomotor coordination problem with autism that can make our movements clumsy.

I was somewhat clumsy as a child. My handwriting was lousy when I was between 12 and about 15, and I often spilled ink all over my exercise books, hands, and clothes. In those days kids used pen and ink to write. I was poor at many sports because I couldn't kick a ball or throw anything accurately. I think the hyperfocus comes into it too because I tended to have accidents through focussing so much on one thing that I paid no attention to physical hazards around me.

I seem to have grown out of a lot of my clumsiness, but on closer examination, in some ways I've just mitigated it by controlling my environment carefully to exclude hazards. For example, I keep gangways clear and if I'm working at a bench or desk I arrange the items on it so as to reduce the risk of knocking anything over. I'm more accident-prone when I'm stressed because I find myself rushing needlessly, but to some extent I've learned to recognise it and take evasive action such as slowing down or at least putting more effort into keeping half an eye on my surroundings and looking before I leap, though I'm also in the habit of applying that vigilance even when I'm not feeling stressed.

Same, despite very good overall spatial skills. Parking a car backwards, sports, 3D graphics, tinkering, manipulating very small objects - great. Not bumping into furniture, not dropping whatever I happen to hold - nope. I mean, the visual clutter and multitasking is the issue...

So weird.. will be at the kitchen counter, handling things , knive forks spoons, stuff . And will be amazed that my good hand has chosen to loosen grip on the impliment that I an using , and it drops to the floor . After this happens completely unpredictably . And sometimes weeks apart other times hours apart or less. ... Its weird.
Much more frustrating when it drops and open bottle of pills,all over the floor.
Then will go for weeks without physically biting my tongue . Usually when i get very interested in expressing myself.
Then 3 times a day ..??. its weird .. Had a trick knee off and on . Suddenly it would decided not to support my weight just out of the blue . but only for a few moments . It does not happen often anymore . Thank Heaven
Its almost entertaining now .. cause life might be boring ..when your hand lets go of things ? for no reason ?
If you cant change it , and it has happened long enough,over your life .You cant help but smile at yourself about it . ....Since you cant do anything about it anyhow . being frustrated..did not help any ..and have enough frustration in my life anyhow . And this was all happening long before I ever got a diagnosis.

I'm naturally a bit clumsy, but I also inherited a slow, cautious nature. All in all I would say I'm not clumsy. I don't think I've ever broken a dish. I handle things very gently and I'm also good at fixing stuff. Things tend to last forever in my hands. One of my sons is the fast moving and bumping into things type. Everyone on the spectrum is different.

Yes, certainly in my case it's a particular kind of clumsiness that deviates from "normal" clumsiness.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/clumsy

Awkward, lacking coordination, not graceful, not dextrous.
But I do sometimes show signs of grace in my physical movements. I often show great dexterity especially when performing intricate tasks that I've had some practice at. Playing the guitar and singing, for example, requires a lot of co-ordination, yet people often compliment me on how well I do it.

Not elegant or well-planned, lacking tact or subtlety.
The results of my endeavours are often remarkably elegant and have nearly always been well-planned.

Delicate objects are pretty safe in my hands. The things I've owned have often lasted longer than they're normally expected to. I've been able to repair things that were considered beyond repair. A puppy once chewed through a HDMI cable. Using only a pair of scissors and a bit of sticky tape (no soldering iron or miniature pliers) I was able to join the 20-or-so tiny wires back together, and the result worked.

I'm more potentially clumsy than plain clumsy. I learned a lot from the accidents I had in my youth.