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TaciturnPhantom
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17 May 2014, 2:48 pm

My clumsiness has been worrying me for the past few months. I've always been clumsy from a very young age. I'm always tripping over my own feet (earlier I tripped over a folder of mine and crashed straight into my bookcase) or dropping objects in my hands. I often walk into stationary objects such as tables and desks sometimes without even realising that they are there and only when I come into contact with them. I can't walk in a straight line either no matter how hard I try to. It's worse when I walk up or down stairs too. Sometimes, I'll misjudge the distance between steps and crash down the stairs or fall straight onto my face if I'm going up. I even walk into people and crashed into a lady the other day who ended up yelling at me while I ran off. I toe walk but I feel clumsier if I try to walk flat footed.

I struggle to write as well. My handwriting is very bad and barely legible and my writing hand sometimes jerks uncontrollably whilst writing. Writing physically is often tiring and difficult for me. I also struggle with my own physical strength. I know that I am a lot stronger than I believe myself to be but I often apply more physical strength than what is needed without realising and end up breaking objects or hurting people, especially my younger brother. I always feel guilt and shame afterwards.

I wanted to ask of your opinions, is my level of clumsiness normal?


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Alyosha
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17 May 2014, 3:12 pm

Dyspraxia



wozeree
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17 May 2014, 7:06 pm

I am so uncoordinated it's amazing.

One of the many embarrassing things I do is get caught on my bosses doorknob a lot.

I also trip over my own feet often, but my feet turn inward for some reason which I think is what causes that.



B19
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17 May 2014, 7:52 pm

My dyspraxia as a child was really disabling. It got better in adulthood and has disappeared now.

All through childhood I was also extremely short sighted and had astigmatism which was never noticed or treated, so this no doubt made things a lot worse. I could never read the blackboard at school and so had to memorise everything teachers said. The upside was that I developed a terrific memory - very useful in exams. But the combination of innate dyspraxia and visual impairment severely affected me. So maybe have an eye check done?



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17 May 2014, 8:06 pm

I'm quite clumsy and uncoordinated, though I just think it's something that comes with being an aspie. It frustrated the hell out of me when I was younger, because my friends were all getting into skateboarding, and I could never figure out how to ride a moving skateboard without falling off, let alone how to do tricks or even pull a simple ollie.

I used to trip over my own feet all the time, and sometimes one of my feet would just randomly tip onto its side and cause me to fall over. I never understood why this would sometimes happen.

I'm also terrible at throwing things or catching things in mid air. I could never figure out how to throw a football the right way, throwing a frisbee without causing it to turn sideways and lose lift is somewhat of a challenge, and throwing a basketball into a net can be infuriating for me as well.

There are numerous other examples, but I can't think of how I'd write them out at the moment.



BornThisWay
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17 May 2014, 8:39 pm

This sort of clumsiness is very common in AS related conditions. Combined with the growth spurts of the teen years, it's only worse...It can 'calm down' in later age...but like with everything else, practice helps. Whatever you do, avoid the common sports - even the fun ones like skateboarding. There are better ways become more graceful and coordinated...

If you want to improve in this area, begin with things like yoga, tai-chi or other martial arts, or even some kinds of dance classes that call for slow physical discipline like ballet. These activities help one to get and stay in touch with one's own physical state. They help one to develop physical self control.

Talk to a physical therapist and look for a teacher and classes that emphasize non-competitive forms...where it's just about self improvement. Let the teacher know your personal goals and issues before you sign on and try to determine that it will be a friendly growth oriented experience rather than just another opportunity to feel like a failure.



em_tsuj
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18 May 2014, 1:14 am

It is probably normal for an aspie. I, for one, am uncoordinated.



goldfish21
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18 May 2014, 3:43 am

As someone else mentioned, some basic yoga improved my balance/coordination/fine motor skills some. But it wasn't until my dietary changes that I really improved my balance/coordination/fine motor skills.


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NicholasName
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19 May 2014, 7:44 am

Normal for autism, at least. If it's suddenly gotten worse, it might be something to worry about. If you've always been like that and you're just noticing it more, it's most likely not. Try occupational therapy. They might diagnose you with dyspraxia and/or dysgraphia, or they might not bother with extra diagnoses and just treat the symptoms.


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EzraS
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19 May 2014, 10:26 am

TaciturnPhantom wrote:
I wanted to ask of your opinions, is my level of clumsiness normal?


Your level of clumsiness is nearly identical to mine. I was diagnosed with dyspraxia. which shares a lot of similar traits with autism. hard for me to say where one drops off and the other picks up :/



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19 May 2014, 10:30 am

I'm pretty clumsy; I'm always bumping into things. I've run into glass doors on many occasions.



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19 May 2014, 12:16 pm

If you don't mind my asking----how old are you? Some of your post sounds so much like someone suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, or Parkinson's. If you are young----say, under 25----especially the walking on tip-toes----it sounds like Aspergers / Autism. I'm terribly uncoordinated. One of the reasons I don't sleep in my bedroom is because I can't walk OUT OF my bedroom without walking into the wall (doorjam)----EVERY SINGLE TIME. As everyone else has said: it's a very, VERY common trait of an Aspie.



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