Vestibular Coordination

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Many aspies supposedly have trouble with their vestibular system – the system that controls balance, coordination, and awareness of the body’s orientation in space. As a result many aspies tend to be rather clumsy or have an odd gait.

I seem to have a mix of both strengths and weaknesses in this area. I am incredibly uncoordinated – I can’t dance to save my life, I can’t seem to make my hands and fingers move independently of each other and therefore can’t play any musical instruments, my handwriting is legible but looks like a 10-year old’s, I’ve always thought I had a bit of an odd walk, and I am definitely far from a graceful runner.

Despite all this, I am not a klutz. I have a very strong awareness of my body’s balance and spatial orientation. I may not be able to direct it very well, but I know where it is, if that makes any sense. I don’t bump into things, I don’t spill or knock things over, and I don’t invade other people’s personal space (in fact I get very upset if they invade MY space). I can almost sense it when someone – or something – is too close to me. I can even see a point 30 feet away and know whether I’ll be stepping with my left or right foot when I reach it. I can feel myself slipping on ice and can adjust my centre of gravity almost immediately.

On the subject, much of the stimming I did as a child – and still do as an adult – was vestibular stimming. I love feeling a sensation of height and, as a kid, was always climbing things; I love any kind of motion, like riding in a car or flying; I love spinning rides at amusement parks; and when I was a kid I used to rock myself or stand up and spin around in circles. To this day I still love rocking chairs, and I even occasionally find myself spinning in my computer chair at home.

I sometimes bump into doorways, especially if I'm thinking about something while I'm walking. It's the problem of doing two things at once. But I can dance and have very good balance. A strange mix. I always rock my computer chair from side to side while I'm typing. I think I have an excess of energy, as I'm very rarely still.

yeah, this is called dyspraxia

I also loved climbing,very physical as a kid.could bike ride and skate(roller and ice)well,seldom slip on ice.I think I have good balance and loved doing balance beams.I an free style dance,OK and always enjoyed it when I was drunk enough to lose self consciousness.

But....I cant follow dance steps because I cant follow directions(more then two things).My biggest problem is judging distancs,so I have a lot of problems running into door frames,turning hall corners to sharply and ramming my shoulder.When driving I always feel like I am to close to the car in the next lane and have problems merging(basically avoid highways.)

i feel i am in the way when around other people, so therefore i get very anxious and nervous and start dropping things, running into things, just being a general klutz. i am aware that i do things differently so people get confused with my methods, although they work for me. when alone, i don't have that problem...i draw, paint, play guitar or whatever without tech problems WHEN no one is watching me.

I will bump into doorways, fumble things... also couldn't go farther than a blue belt in taekwondo because I could not control the dizziness and disorientation doing spin kicks.

People make fun of how I walk, and I walk into things often. Even my dad has told me that I walk like I have "poop in my bum."

Everyone says I walk funny (not quite sure how it's different from anyone else, but I can't watch myself). I hate falling down, and I can catch myself pretty much every time, but I sure tend to run into things. I think my crowning glory was when I managed to slam my EAR in door as it was closing (because klutzy me failed to catch it as it swung shut).

My mom told me I walked like a Nazi,when I was in grade school.....She use to yell at me..."Bend your knees,bend your knees".......I just cant figure out why I am so self concious around people(lol?)

Krex wrote,
My mom told me I walked like a Nazi,when I was in grade school.....She use to yell at me..."Bend your knees,bend your knees".......I just cant figure out why I am so self conscious around people(lol?)


Eh, my mother did the same thing, only instead of nazi I got stalker and a horrible imitation of my walk from her. Judging from her imitation, it looks more like a badly made robot than someone sneaking by you, which is what I imagine someone would look like if they were stalking something, like a cat. Not very good for self esteem. It's annoying when people say my gate's odd, because it seems to be that they assume I've never heard it before. I've learnt to catch myself as I fall, though I don't fall often. Also managed to perfect how to fall off a bike after I accidentally hit things to minimize injury. (I can't drive in pa, as I can't pass their vision test, so I bicycle.) I do trip on my own feet if I don't pay attention to how I'm walking. Can't dance at all. I can, however, write what I'm reading without needing to look at the paper I'm writing on and have it be as straight and legible as it is when I do look at the paper. An old science teacher said he'd never seen anyone do that before. In short, my hands are the only part that do what I want them to correctly, as long as I'm not throwing or catching something. I draw and paint for hours, although I have trouble writing after a period of time. I think it's because I mostly draw/paint with wrist movements instead of moving my fingers. I can pat my head and rub my stomach, but it has to be timed. Like when my hand is at twelve on my stomach, my other hand is supposed to be in the air, they have to go at the same speed. but heaven forfend if I try and do complex things with my hands/arms/legs/whatever at the same time, like a dance move. And I hate those excersize videos where you have to mirror the instructor. Constantly screw up.