Autism/learning disabilities and breaking things

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Hi everyone,

Is there a connection with learning disabilities and breaking things? I don't mean dropping things but I mean breaking objects. I have broken my parents dishwasher and washing machines a few times.

Yesterday at work I almost broke their photocopier by jamming with paper without meaning to. When asked to open the photocopier side doors/flaps by my colleague to try and fix it i struggled to open them and I almost broke one of the flaps off in the process. I could tell my colleague (who is also a supervisor) was annoyed with me as she and another suoervisor get annoyed with me on a very regular basis and they dont like it when i need support.

Anyway, I cannot be trusted to work with machinery and technology at all and I fear breaking computers and more machinery at work!

I don't know how to explain it but it's like I go blank on so many things people take for granted, it's like I'm brain dead in a way... and I know my colleagues think I'm stupid because I overheard one of them say I wouldn't be able to do something that was suggested to her

I make so many mistakes and I just find every day to day stuff difficult.
Is this kind of thing common in the autism and learning disabilities community?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Possibly related to developmental coordination disorder / dyspraxia, which is a separate condition that often accompanies autism. People with DCD are often referred to as being "accident prone". I have severe dyspraxia and have broken things by applying too much force. That's often called someone who "doesn't know their own strength". So between the dysparaxia making me very clumsy and applying too much force at times, I've accidentally damaged or destroyed things. DCD can also result in learning disabilities. Dyspraxia; dyslexia (reading), dysgraphia (writing) dyscalculia (math) and so on.

I don't have trouble with reading and writing, but I have broken things on more occasions than I can count. It makes me feel stupid. I know your frustration with not being able to do things normal people take for granted. I know people who can barely read, write or spell who can use technologies that leave me stumped.

I think it's an executive function issue of some kind. I forget what to do and make the same mistakes over and over and over again, with the result that I constantly paper-jam the printer, end up locking up my husband's smart phone when I have to use it, have power door locks on my van that don't function because windows got left cracked open in the rain...

I have learned that, once I get frustrated, I'm better off to take a page out of my dad's book and STOP. Go smoke a cigarette or cuss it out for 10 minutes and come back. I have learned that, if I'm already anxious about doing something, I'm more likely to mess it up.

Laughing at myself helps a lot. I don't feel so embarrassed. It's hard for people to stay annoyed with me if they're laughing at me... And if I'm laughing at me too, then we're laughing together.

BuyerBeware,

Except for the smoking and cursing, I'm exactly the same way. When I am upset about my inability to do something and feel like a failure, I soothe myself by watching cat videos or videos of my favorite tennis players. When I'm nervous, I'm a disaster at doing anything.