Early Average Death

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Important story on todays CNN site:
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/21/healt ... index.html

Are Austism Spectrum Disorder people, like me, more clumsy? Higher risk of drowning, they say. As a child I stayed away from swimming pools and never learned to swim (an issue in San Diego). Did I have an "uncomfortable" factor which causes me to touch the hand rail when I go downstairs?

I can't remember not being able to swim. It's once of the few physical activities I truly loved doing and was good at as a kid. You couldn't keep me out of a swimming pool. Or a lake. Or the ocean, which I had fairly easy access to, living on an island and all. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't drown. But I'm kind of surprised because I was sure many people on the spectrum have an unusual fascination with water and swimming.

Anyway, I'm also left handed. I've heard nonsense about lefties dying prematurely. I guess it's a miracle I'm alive now.

On the other hand, I very seldom engage in risky activities. Or at least not the kind that can kill you quickly anyway. I know my limitations.

And CNN is full of male bovine droppings.

I read once that Aspergers are frequently found to be clumsy. I was always bad at sports. At high school gym class when the class chose sides for football or baseball, it was always me or the skinny guy with glasses who were picked last. I was awful at sports involving coordination. Tennis was OK. But one day we were running. End of period I cut loose, glad for it to be over. But the coach took me aside and told me that he had timed me and I had the third highest time in school. (The school was half black and seriously sports dominate in the city.) I thought he was crazy. I was never a sports person. Every time he saw me, he kept asking me to go out for the track team. Finally he gave up. Read just a day or so ago that some Aspis are very good at running and, I assume, that my usual hand/eye coordination problem might not be relevant. I'm 74 now and wish I could have known this when I was young.
This coordination thing I think about now with my age. When I am washing my hair in the shower or turning, I can feel unbalanced. Don't know if this is Aspergers or just me.

A lot of autistics are drawn to water and wander. On the more severe or intellectually disabled parts of the spectrum the autistic might enjoy the sensory pleasure of water until it is too late and are not aware of the danger or why they are having a drowning sensation.

Ah yes, the fake news

I'm very clumsy. I have very little spatial awareness and keep bumping into people. I never learned to ride a bike without stabilisers- the only time I tried I went down a hill and would have cracked my skull open if I wasn't wearing a helmet (helmet up kids!)! I can swim, and fairly long distances at that, but that's about the only sport I can do except for kick a football against the wall.

This does not surprise me. I have bad coordination & bad fine motor-skills. Dyspraxia is fairly common with us Aspies & I'm sure I had some of that as a kid. I did take swimming lessons as a kid & I was the worst one in the class. I haven't really swam sense I was a kid.

I never was particularly athletic when I was young, but I was a strong swimmer. I always found swimming fun, unlike organized sports in physical education classes. I always thought of myself as something of a klutz growing up, so I was surprised at how well I began picking up tennis skills. I suppose watching certain players gave me inspiration.

I remember taking plenty of swimming lessons as a child and never having any trouble. The summer camp I went to from ages 11 to 17 had a swimming test every year and I always passed with flying colors. Even now after not having had practice for years, I can both swim and tread water for a long time. I've never been particularly athletic either and have always been rather clumsy and uncoordinated, but swimming was never a problem for me.

I can't swim because of dyspraxia and me wondering into our pool (when we had one) was considered a real danger.

Thanks for the responses. It is forums like this that can help you understand yourself. My swimming issue may just be a "humans are different" issue rather than related to Asperger's. I see I share clumsiness with others in the spectrum. I posted somewhere else that I always have my hand on the railing when going down stairs - all my life. I haven't fallen down stairs but my body is telling me to be careful. I saw a guy once reading a newspaper while going downstairs. I wouldn't.