balance problems

Post Reply New Topic

I have The Firm Wave. It is a semicircle shaped step that you can use for a lot of different exercises. You use it for balance exercises too.





I actually have good balance. I have been working on it for years though. First I did yoga, then pilates, and then some kick-boxing and various wobbling devices, including this one. I used to be horribly clumsy as a kid and a teen.

I have significant gravitational insecurity, which was noticed by professionals evaluating me back when I was in elementary school and on an IEP. They didn't attribute it to any specific condition, as Sensory Integration Dysfunction and Asperger's Syndrome were not widely known in those days. I stand and sit in all sorts of strange ways to compensate for feeling off balance in addition to walking with an odd, lopsided gait. I frequently stumble, and fall on occasion.
I struggle with walking on ice, and I refuse to climb ladders. I'm not a fan of the stairs that have gaps between them either; I always feel like I'm going to fall through them. I also won't climb those narrow spiral staircases with the gaps between them. I'm not comfortable climbing much of anything other than a standard staircase. As a child, I was afraid of just about everything on the playground. I'm also afraid of pretty much every amusement park ride you can think of, and that includes the Merry Go Round. I just can't bring myself to climb on to those pretend horses because of my climbing aversion. I once went on a kiddie rollercoaster at the age of ten, completely freaked out, screamed like I was being tortured, and nearly strangled the friend sitting next to me.
Horseback riding is supposedly good therapy for individuals on the spectrum, and I suppose it is for some. I have nothing against horses, but I won't ever be able to climb on to a horse or feel secure sitting astride one. Once when I was six, I was placed on a horse and they had me sit there with adults surrounding me on all sides. They had to take me down within seconds because I was so terrified.
I also tend to flinch when approached suddenly, or when items are thrust close to my face. In junior high, my peers used to shove things in my face, just to watch me flinch.
I've had severe balance problems my entire life, and an aversion to most active physical pursuits, most of which I don't have the motor skills to constructively engage in anyway.

Last edited by OuterBoroughGirl on 06 May 2010, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks OuterBoroughGirl,
You have reminded me of how unpopular I was at the playground when I was a child.

I would climb all the way up to the top of a slide, decide I couldn`t go through with going down it. Then all the kids behind me in the queue would have to climb back down to let me off.

I have that problem, as well.