Anyone else with visual/spatial issues?
I have very poor echolocation. If a telephone is ringing right beside me I've been known to look on the wrong side, go in other rooms, go upstairs or downstairs or check my coat and handbag. I really have no clue where a sound is coming from.
I could never be a bat.
Likewise I excelled in Maths except for anything spatial or 3D. I can't do those IQ test questions where the shapes fold and you have to predict which corners touch. I don't know what is above / below the rooms in my house. Strangely, I am very good with driving directions and I've never been lost or used a GPS to drive (or walk lol). I don't even have GPS.
The most confusing place for me to navigate is IKEA. It's a vortex. I get lost every time and swear there's no way out.
I'm scared to try those spatial tests, firemonkey. Spatial tests mess with my brain because they're so hard.
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I am bad with directions, I will forget directions I just heard or read and need to constantly re-read directions when I am driving someplace new. Even when I re read the directions constantly I miss a turn sometimes. A way I compensate is with a GPS in the car because it shows and tells me how to get where im going.
In college I struggled with math. In reality I have a diagnosed learning disability and I can only do simple middle-school level math. To pass my college level math I found a college where there was an online math class that allowed the use of scientific calculators. I used the calculators and a math tutor to pass the class, and my math tutor practically did my midterm for me.
At work I cannot mentally revisualize a diagram of how a work palette should be if it needs to be rotated or moved in any way. So I draw the new diagram and use that as a reference for work. I have to see it on paper.
I use electronic media or pen and paper to compensate for deficiencies to the best of my ability.
When I was young I had difficulty telling my left hand from my right hand. Then someone taught me a simple trick. You write with you right hand. I never had a problem since then. Of course that may not be of help if you are ambidextrous or left handed.
All Aspies have weaknesses. What I have found most helpful is to use my great strengths to compensate for my weaknesses and also learn to recognize opportunities and leap on them.
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I know this is kind of an old post, but I hope y'all will still reply. I'm glad I'm not alone!! I could probably pass the test that was posted just fine. I can draw just fine, though I have to focus really hard for things to look 3-dimensionally correct. I'm just a complete klutz! I run in to things when I'm walking, I've chipped several bowls and cups because I've smacked them in to the faucet, just a little bit ago I spilled my tea on my laptop because I bumped the mug into the open screen (thankfully it wasn't bad). I DO have a very hard time knowing which way left is, while right is easy. I just always have to stop and think about left where I don't with right. As a little girl, my family called me Fumblebutt because I was always falling, tripping, or bumping in to things. That hasn't really changed. I'm wondering if this may be a more practical reason to go in for testing. What do they do for this? Is it something in the eyes or in the brain? Who would you even go to for these issues? I have recently found that using pink background helps me read easier. On white paper, without my pink glasses, my eyes won't stay trained on the words, they jump around. That is just something I figured out because a friend's kid has the same issue and got pink glasses. So I went to the irlen.org site and figured it out for myself. The only official diagnosis I have is ptsd (in the late 80's). Everything else (ADHD, ASD, Dyscalculia) I've figured out for myself and sometimes have found tricks and tips to deal with things. At this point (I'm nearing 50) I feel like I've found tricks and work-arounds for most issues, but I'm getting tired of bruises, chipped dishes and spilling things.
this has to do with the "6th sense" we were not taught about in school, "proprioception".
It is the body's ability to sense where it is in relation to absolutely everything else.
The dr who diagnosed me said he had never met an autistic person who did not have some sort of struggles with proprioception.
"depth perception" "balance" "coordination" the ability to sense how much pressure to use on the door handle, to hold a raw egg without dropping or crushing it, how much pressure to use to push, pull, the ability to walk up and down steps, or to cross a room without falling or running into furniture, how to negotiate corners without hitting your feet or shoulders, not run into other people.... the list is endless as to how we rely on proprioception.
Look up "autism and proprioception" on the WWW, there are loads of pages of information. Many times we can help ourselves by doing exercises regularly.
Occupational therapists can help with a lot of this, and we can ask to be referred by our GP in most cases. There are lots of exercises and ideas about how to develop better proprioceptive skills on the internet too.
I tested at 25th percentile visual processing and 35th percentile audio processing when I was diagnosed. This translates directly into many struggles with anything in motion, whether me, somebody or something else, or both at the same time.
I run into things, I can't catch anything that is thrown to me, I struggle with many day to day things.
Proprioceptive exercises are helping me be safer as I age and as falls become a greater risk. I don't "bounce" and recover as well as I did when I was young.
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I was diagnosed with NVLD after some neuropsych testing I had done when I suspected I may have ASD. But, I was in my 20's and had long since graduated from school, so I never got any type of treatment for it.
I'm really bad at parallel parking and have a poor sense of direction. Getting a GPS years ago revolutionized my life. I imagine the NVLD stuff effects my life in other ways as well, but haven't given it a great deal of thought.
Edit: I have poor proprioception, which I was told was related to a connective tissue disorder I have, but I wonder if that may be connected with NVLD also?
It is the body's ability to sense where it is in relation to absolutely everything else.
The dr who diagnosed me said he had never met an autistic person who did not have some sort of struggles with proprioception.
This is interesting. Late last year, I was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder called Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder that also effects proprioception. From what I understand, it's a bit more common in people with ASD than in the general population. Were either of you "double-jointed" or extra flexible as a kid and then prone to joint pain later in life, by any chance?
Honestly, I only know what I do because I homeschool my son who has some similar issues as me (though he also has some different ones) I've had to find out on my own how to help him as he hasn't been adequately treated or even diagnosed. Along the way, I've found things that speak to me of myself. I've been doing some exercises that are supposed to help, but I started some meds for hot flashes in connection with a chemical menopause following cancer and they have a possible side effect of dizziness and balance issues. I long for a day when we have insurance that will cover visits with someone who will fully diagnose both my son and myself. I keep thinking that as I get older (Like when I'm super old) I may get better care if I have a full diagnosis. My grandma is at the end of her life and I think she's on the spectrum too, but she has dementia pretty bad and doesn't remember to do all the things she's learned over the years to mask and cope. I also hope that a dx will get me help in lessening these struggles.
To answer the question though, yes, I am double jointed in my thumbs (like 90º) and all my other fingers except my pinkys get locked in a hyper extended position, as well as my knees.