Any Aspie skateboarders willing to give me some advice?

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I used to ride Inline-skates as a child, and after countless falls and with alot of practice i got well enough on them. Could do small jumps, could go ridiciously fast, i rode literally everyday until they broke completely. I also wanted to ride skateboards, but we were so poor that i never got one back in the days. Then things changed and i let go of it all...

Now im going through a really depressing life stage, and in order to do "something" - I decided that i want to pick up some things i left behind in puberty. One of them - is skateboarding. So i went to the local skateshop and picked up a complete 7.8" board for 90 bucks. It has a 7 ply maple deck, 53mm 100a wheels and ABEC 7 bearings. According to my research, these are good specs.

The shopowner told me some basic stuff, and i did alot of research on youtube on how to ride. The thing is, i just have terrible balance. I literally fall of on straight and even road. Also transitioning from pushing to standing on the board and vice-versa is pretty weird.

So for the aspies who skate, do you have some tips how to get better apart from "just ride alot"? Anything to practice better balance or to counteract the clumsiness?

Peace
TK

Sorry my reply is so late! Skateboarding is such a passion of mine and yet I always was terrible at it. But it's fun and so I learned to tune out the comments of other kids and teens. You can tip me over easily, I have piss poor balance. But skateboarding teaches you how to become stable, trust me. I did some absolutely insane things over the years which I certainly would not repeat these days.

You just need to practice it a lot. When you are afraid to practice, you can never get confident in it. Look for a parking lot or some abandoned spot with a flat surface to optimize enjoyment and lessen the risk of accidents. And then just ride. It doesn't matter what it looks like or how many times you fall or even think you are going to fall. If you are not doing this on a sidewalk or a busy street, you will be so much more relaxed. And when it was fun, you might come back the next day. I lost 14kgs skateboarding every day when a couple of years ago.

Look at videos of pro skaters. Don't try to imitate their tricks. Look at their stance. Do they ride goofy or regular? How far are their feet apart? Do they hang off the board? How do they push off? With minimal effort or with their leg extended all the way in the air? Does their momentum come from the knees or the hips? And then you try for yourself. You will adapt quickly. I would take my skateboard to the carpet in the living room and just stand on it. Lean left, right, forward, back... And then it quickly did not feel awkward any longer. When I haven't been on a board in a couple of months, sure, it will feel a little awkward the first five minutes. But then it's all good again.

You found something that interests you. Now please hold onto that!