balance problems

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I've always had problems w/ feeling off-balanced, especially when in large open areas like parks, malls, etc. I feel better when I'm holding on to something or pushing something like a cart, stroller, and when I look down at the floor. If I don't have something to hold on to, I feel like I'm going to tip over. It's extremely frustrating and limits my interactions w/ the outside world. For ex, if I'm at a picnic and there is lots of open space I find myself focused on the open space and being anxious. And that anxious feeling just makes me more anxious. If I look @ the ground, it's hard to interact w/ people because when I lift my head I feel off-balanced again.

Does anyone else have that feeling? What are some coping mechanisms or sensory integration techniques that can be used.

Sometimes, but b/c my Mom is an OT & I did acrobatic gymnastics & dance for years I've learned to control it to a large extent. You ever consider that you may have some form of gravitational insecurity?

In Psychology I learned that rote motor movement (walking, running, riding a bike, etc.) is controlled by the cerebellum and that people tend to mess those movements up when they are hyperaware of them..Which I am sometimes.. maybe you are as well. It happens when I'm sitting sometimes as well. I sort of lose my sense of how I'm positioned and balanced and I get dizzy. When I'm walking I usually play with a small squishy twisty toy in my hand. It lessens my anxiety and seems to improve the weird vertigo feeling.

I had this feeling for years and it put me off walking anywhere that was not snooker table flat.

I asked for a referal to a gait specialist who fitted me with orthotics that go inside my footwear. The scan I had done showed that because I walk looking down all the time, my body weight is carried on the front part of my feet and toes so that upsets your balance physically. I also had chiropody done over a year to gradually sort out calluses. Things have improved since then.

As I live in Scotland we have snow and ice to deal with, this is a major problem for me as the slightest slip has me on all fours and that is not a good look when you are trying to fit in. So I wear ice spikes that fit over my shoes/boots and walk better feeling as safe as if it were a sunny day.

It sounds like it could be a sensory thing. You might also want to get your ears checked as problems in the inner can lead to vertigo. It might be worth bringing up at your next check up.

If I use an elevator, I feel off-balanced when I get off of it. (only on the trip up- down is fine)
If I stand in one place for too long, I start to fall over.
If I walk on the edge of a sidewalk and start to look where I am about to step, I trip off of the sidewalk.
When I become consumed by an obsessive thought while walking, I either lose my balance or start going in circles.

O__o Wow, I have never listed those issues before. I must be quite amusing to watch.

I tend to get clumsy when I'm tired. I took TKD for some years, so I don't usually have balance issues. Even out of practice, my balance and stretching abilities are sometimes above average.

I have some balance issues. Usually when I'm walking or standing still my weight will shift to one side of my body it feels like. Drives me nuts. xD

Sometimes I stagger so much that the local police have pulled up along side me and asked if I was ok or needed a ride home.

At my old machine shop job If I was tired I would start to fall over just standing still but I would catch myself and straighten up. If there was a new guy near me they would all shout don't touch him he will fall over and take you with him. When new people tried to stablize me as I was looseing balance I would flinch away from them and really fall over.

I live in Buffalo, NY and hardly ever wipe out on the icy sidewalks. My brother thinks its either my big feet or potbelly stabalizes me.

I have problems with balance when I am on stairways. I can walk on the railway track, but not on stairways.

From personal experience I can only recommend traditional martial arts.

I forgot to mention the use of a wobble board.
It is an aid to synchronize the brain and body.


http://physiosupplies.com/acatalog/Wobble_Boards.html

I recommend Joga, it's calm, quiet and helps with balance problems. Many Aspies have Marfan-like joints, so exercises wouldn't be a problem

I'm unbalanced sometimes walking and running. I cannot watch my feet for long. I have to look ahead then down then ahead. I hate escalators and moving sidewalks with a passion. Took me a long time to get use to the treadmill. I started out very slow and gradually built up to a regular walking pace. I used the handle too. If I look down for any legth of time, I will fall.

I had something strange that happened to me while I was working at mine, I was in a truck getting ready to go check on the explosives so I stopped and turned all radios off. I looked out in front of my truck onto the road in my headlights and it looked as if my truck was moving but it wasn't. Weird I know. I don't know if that's connected to this unbalance.

From what I've read, this is very common with people with AS.

I am always tripping over my own two feet. It is so embarrassing!

I'm also terrified of walking on ice and snow, so afraid of falling. I trip on curbs. I also used to hate escalators and to this day I hate ladders, and I'm not afraid of heights.