Are Aspies good at fixing things?

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Today at work, there was a lacquer spray gun that, after pulling the trigger, would not stop spraying unless the pressure was turned off. The supervisor couldn't figure out how to fix it, and went to go get someone who could, so I figured I might as well try messing with it.

I figured out that pulling the trigger pulled a little plug which allowed the air pressure through, and I guessed that the plug was getting stuck in the pulled position for some reason. I had noticed it was off center while the supervisor was trying to figure out the problem, and I said this to him, but he told me he didn't think it was. So after he left, I bent it a bit, put it back together, and sure enough, it was fixed. The supervisor has fixed it before, and he didn't notice it was off center, but I noticed almost immediately, and I've never even seen it taken apart before.

I have had many experiences like this, even as a kid I fixed some things that adults were having trouble with because I noticed something small but very important. Are these kinds of experiences common for Aspies?

With technology stuff I generally can fix things and help my parents out with stuff like that.

With hands on work I usually make things worse when trying to fix stuff. I have no sense of how much pressure to put on something (I generally have a light touch as well), so I either tend to put too force into something or too little.

I am very good at fixing mechanical things. Troubleshooting, taking things apart in a orderly fashion, replacing worn/broken parts, putting them back together. I tend to be able to focus extremely well when repairing things.

Worked as a bicycle mechanic for many years, and now I do mechanical design.

I seem to have a natural knack for working with computers and other electronics. I attribute this not only to my interest in computers, but also to my ability to think logically, and the last time I checked, both of these qualities seem to be fairly common for aspies. I think maybe we're just better at conceptualizing how all of the little parts of something make it work, instead of looking at it as one "big" object.

I'm not good at it.

In the digital domain I can "fix" many problematic audio recordings. other than this small window of competence/efficacy, I am at the mercy of the elements.

The Lab Pet is handy, mostly. For me, as a scientist, being able to handle minor repairs is a plus. My 'fixes' though can be, well, creative (for lack of a better word)! Even if I do not know how to fix something, I can oftentimes improvise. Sort-of.

my fixes of things tend towards the "white trash" methodology. IOW very rudimentary with found objects.

I like to think I'm kinda good at fixing things....I can do really easy troubleshooting stuff on my laptop (after watching the guys at my college's IT center do it enough times) and I'm pretty handy with a screwdriver, if I say so myself. It helps if I can visualize all the different components of something being able to more or less fit together or interlock like a puzzle of some kind.

S'OK, I've used WD-40 inappropriately.......

I read in japan, some dutiful daughter saved her elderly father from choking to death on a ball of sticky mochie [a cooked rice ball] by sticking the vacuum cleaner hose in his mouth and sucking out the obstruction. I should remember that the next time I get something own the wrong pipe.

I intuitively understand most mechanical things, and if I can't actually fix them myself, can usually tell someone with the necessary equipment exactly what needs to be done. It's a handy skill in the restaurant industry, I've saved more than one service fixing a vital piece of equipment faster than the repair people could have gotten to it, or improvised a tool that made a task much easier.

I'm pretty good at fixing things. Not sure about other Aspies. I have good steady hands and no fine motor issues, so that helps a lot. My brain is good at coming up with solutions that fix things, too. Unfortunately most people don't really want solutions, they want comfort and support. Ha "support", I still think that's some illusive concept that justifies sitting there and doing nothing.

Not me, I'm terrible. Anything I try to fix just gets more broken.

I don't think we can all physically fix things.

But, I wonder if we have a common ability to zero in on/pinpoint/identify a problem, which then leads to a quicker solution.

When it comes to mechanical/handyman kind of things. I am the Anti-Aspie.

I cannot "zero in"--I just become flummoxed, and hammer one of my fingers or something.