balance, fine motor, gross motor - anyone else??

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Oh my! I am starting weight training and some aerobics because I need to just get some muscles on me.
Today I was "forced" to do a lot of lunges. I couldn't even do three without almost falling. My balance is completely off. I can barely balance on one foot. When I concentrate looking at a target, I am much better but still have some difficulties. I went to a running store to get special shoes because of shin splints. They video taped me and made me watch it. My running gait is a little strange-really awkward. I used to tap dance and never realized this before but perhaps I was so young, I just wasn't aware of that.


I was forced to do softball for two years in elementary school (yes, mom in case you are reading LOL). I couldn't tell when the ball was coming. I tried to catch it and was always completely off. If I had to pick it up, if just fell. Everything seems to fall when I pick it up. My cell phone drops at least five times a day - thank goodness for phone insurace. Writing sucks. I tried to hang up pictures and they are complete off. I can't write on an envelope without it slanting downward. I can't park straight. When I park, I am at least a foot or more off so the end of my car sticks out in the lot. I usually have to park away from cars. Directionally impaired as already mentioned in another post. When I drop something, my hands start flipping or something. I just look strange.

On a cognitive tests (which I took before becoming psych) showed that my visual rotation and perceptual abilities are in the very superior range - completely don't understand that. My spatial, perception, motor skills doing the whole block design was in the low average. That is a big split between those two.

I just don't get it. Anyone else have those nice little balance issues. It really sucks. I feel like a spaz.

This is one of those "aspie" things that i don't have too many issues with. This and a lack of routines are pretty much the only things that actually make me question whether or not i have aspergers, even though all the other big categories of symptoms are right on target. Anyway... I'm definitely no athlete. Never was good at sports, kids at school never really wanted me on their team. In middle and high school, i pretty much stopped even trying at sports and just stood around whenever we played basketball or something in PE class. But, my balance has always been pretty good. I was like a monkey on playground equipment when i was little. And my parents were always much more worried about my (very much NT) little sister hurting herself than me.. Even when i did fall off of my bike or rollerblades or whatever, my reflex to catch myself or land in such a way as to not injure myself was always really good.. Whereas my sister had bumped into things and needed stitches many times. In fact, i've never had a serious injury. No broken bones, no stitches. But, my general absent-mindedness has resulted in me getting a lot more *minor* cuts and scrapes than the average person, i think.. Just nothing serious. I do tend to be clumsy at times, but it's mostly because of my mind being somewhere else.. or maybe i have this "poor body awareness" i hear talked about with autism, but the balance part has always been okay(provided i keep my mind on what i'm doing). Heck, give me broom or something long like that and i can probably balance it vertically on one finger for half an hour. Certain balance things, like being on one foot, i'm a little shakey at, but it's still not too horrible. I think combining a bunch of different physical activities together is where i fail horribly. For example, i'm pretty good with my feet and kicking a ball around(i even use my feet sort of as another pair of hands when i'm at home with my shoes off. it's just easier to pick things up off the ground that way. no bending.), but add in the running and team-work and everything and i'm not a great soccer player at all. I do drop things a whole lot, and at work i find myself getting scratches from my arms not really clearing the pointy sides of shelves when i walk by.. I definitely don't judge space very well. That's pretty evident from my driving. People behind me honk at me a lot because i wait too long to cross, 'cause i think a car is closer than it is and i end up being overly cautious about it. I think my hand-eye coordination is alright because of all the video games i play, but, in general, i think my coordination isn't very great. I was always pretty good at bike riding and things like that though, after i actually learned to do them and got familiar with it anyway. I think a lot of my problems are just due to my mind drifting and not giving enough thought to the physical task i'm doing, though.. Along with the bad patial perception sometimes. With little things like walking i do seem a little awkward. I've always had bad(kind of "hunched over") posture, and feel kind of stiff when i walk. I feel like i just don't move as fluidly as everyone else, or that i have to think about my movements more in order to do things. But, still, none of this has ever been to the point of causing injuries and stuff, and there are certain physical things i'm good at. Another odd thing is that i have horrible writing, unless i'm putting a lot of thought into drawing the letters and making them look fancy... then i do good... but then it turns more into drawing, which i'm decent at. My writing just sucks.

Same problems. Can't put on clothing without falling over, always dropping and running into things, awkward gait etc. I'm not sure about things like catching a ball, I'm always scared of them so I've never been able to figure out if I have trouble with that.

I've found that my abilities (and disabilities) are extremely activity specific. I have very good fine motor skills as they relate to moving my fingers (instrument playing), but my handwriting sucks. I can walk and dance just fine, but I can't really catch or throw a ball that well. But I can ride a bike with no problems, even on rollers.