Aspergers and weak grip/poor motor control?

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Deinonychus
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08 Aug 2006, 3:12 am

I'm wondering if there's any sort of correlation between AS and certain types of fine motor control issues (as well as gross motor control, to an extent).

As a child, I was fairly clumsy. But most notibly, I have _always_ had a problem with pencil/pen grip and with any sort of twisting of the wrists motion.

The problem is probably most noticable when I attempt to write using a pen or pencil rather than my computer. My pen grip is excruciatingly tight, because I have little to no control over the writing instrument otherwise, and writing for more than a couple of minutes invariably leads to painful pressure blisters on my middle finger where the pen has been pressing. My handwriting is naturally atrocious (although I can just about manage legible print as long as it's a short piece of writing). The problem is so bad, and extended writing so painful, that I was granted permission to use a laptop in my GCSE exams.

I also have notable problems with grip-and-twist movements. This renders almost impossible the task of opening most jars or bottles, unless they are not screwed tightly shut. I have plenty of arm strength, I just lack wrist or finger strength.

It was noted by my parents and my physician that, as a child, I had incredibly floppy joints, most particularly in my hands. My mother likened holding my hand to water, because of the way it would just slip through as if there was no substance to it.

I'm wondering if these kind of fine motor control problems are an issue among Aspies, or if... as I suspect... it's just me :roll:


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donkey
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08 Aug 2006, 9:23 am

no definetly an aspei thing, flopy walkign styles and loseness and laxity of joints is called hypotonia.
i too hold my poen tightly an dincorrectly and one of my stims at schoold was constant shaking of my wrists, for a man i have small hands and a very small wrist. and lack a lot of hand/arm stength liek you.
my hand writing is atrocious as well.
i have also dislocated my knee 9 time splaying rugby, allclumisiness awakwardness atrribitable to some but not all aspies.



TheMachine1
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08 Aug 2006, 9:41 am

I have had bad handwriting in the past even today I hold the pen with alot of
pressure. If you turn the writing paper over you can feel the letters on the paper
when I finish writing.
I've had gross motor control problems also. I could not do even one "setup" at
age 6 . I could not do "jumping jacks" at 10 years old. I could not play the piano,
sports , most video games or drive a car.



Morphia
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08 Aug 2006, 2:09 pm

I don't have very noticable problems but i am incredibly clumsy, i have bad spatial awareness and am allways walking into things and people. I regularily step on the wrong side of my foot and fall over, which can be embaressing. I'm allways dropping things and knocking things over. And i've allways been this way. One thing i can do, incicdentally, is open jars, i'm really good at it and most of the time people ask my to open jars and bottle lids for them.


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krex
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08 Aug 2006, 2:44 pm

This sounds like alot of charicteristic aspie traits(loose joints,poor hand writing) but My boyfriend also has some of the same charicteristics and he has MS...I think he may also be an aspie, so it is difficult to sort out what things are because of the MS and what maybe "aspie"...I guess, my point is , that there can be more then one factor involved...there are other nurological conditions that may mimic signs of AS...I guess the main clue would be a "change" in ability but I dont know if that can happen with AS...I know we can make improvements in some of the social issues but do some of the physiological issues become more pronounced as we age...ie...sensitivities,cognitive difficulties,etc.
I know for me I have become much more sensitive to light,sound and heat...anyone else(im 42)


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TheGreyBadger
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08 Aug 2006, 4:58 pm

I always bear down too hard on pens and pencils however much I try to; and I often need help opening jars and things. So yes, I'd say I have a weak grip.



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09 Aug 2006, 5:50 pm

I have terrible handwriting. I also grip the pen way too hard, which makes writing more than a few lines painful.

I also tend to fall and injure myself far more than the norm.
Falling downstairs, tripping..falling on a welcome mat (quite interesting!)


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mysteriouslyabsent
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09 Aug 2006, 6:23 pm

I also handwrite poorly and grip the pen too tightly. I always got cramps in my hands, handwritten exams where I would have to write for 2 or 3 hours non stop were always excruciatingly painful, I'd have to stop to massage my hand every few minutes.

I was singled out at a young age at school for having poor coordination and went to special classes to work on it, I have done many exercises and stuff since then and am somewhat normal. I still do some clumsy stuff sometimes, most common is walking and I will stumble or trip every now and again.

I do have a little trouble with screw tops, I can't seem to apply enough pressure with my bare hands, but if I cover it with some cloth, or tissue or something then it comes off easily enough.



rhubarbpluscustard
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10 Aug 2006, 2:24 pm

I wouldn't say I have a weak grip- my grip is actually quite strong. But I too hold my pen too tightly. My handwriting is poor, so much so that I was allowed to type for my in-class essays and my exams.

When I was little I had trouble throwing and catching a ball, which is common among aspies. I also have poor spatial awareness and consequently I am always walking into things (and people...). I am quite clumsy- I drop things and trip over things a lot.



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10 Aug 2006, 4:41 pm

One time I got jumped because some hoods thought that I was drunk. Them mothers got a first hand experience of the art/science of derty fighting. I pulled out my keys and ramed it up one of their noses then the otherone backed off.



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12 Jan 2016, 4:13 pm

I've always dropped things and been called clumsy because of it. I have figured out that I need to REMEMBER there is something in my hand, or else I just let it go. So if I'm holding an aluminum soda can, for example, and I start talking to someone I may drop the can. Or if I've got a hammer in my hand and I'm going to another room, I say to myself inside my head "It's in my hand, it's in my hand, it's in my hand", and maybe look at the hammer...until I get to where I'll be using it.



EzraS
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13 Jan 2016, 8:05 am

I think it's more s matter of a lot of asd people also having motor skills dysfunction. A lot of kids I go to special ed with have both. I myself have severe dyspraxia.

However there are a percentage of kids who don't exhibit such problems and seem ok in fine and gross motor skill tasks.



Austinfrom1995
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13 Jan 2016, 9:13 am

I have a strong grip but rather poor general motor control.


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elysian1969
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13 Jan 2016, 12:21 pm

I have abysmal gross motor control (I trip over my own feet, have difficulty with balance, etc.) but my fine motor control is pretty much OK. When I was a little kid I had a really difficult time running, walking a balance beam, etc. to the point of having to go to physical therapy for a number of years. I couldn't ride a bike until I was 8 years old. While I was not diagnosed as HFA (then specified as Asperger's Syndrome) until I was 35, when I was 4 my parents were told I had a congenital motor deficit and the doctors and therapists had no explanation for its cause.

In retrospect I wonder why no one put together my motor control issues, stims (rubbing my fingers together constantly, tapping my feet), anxiety, and hyperlexia together- but the 1970s were a different time. Since I was highly verbal I ended up in advanced placement classes in school- except, of course for gym class. :P :skull: :heart:


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Jacoby
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13 Jan 2016, 1:35 pm

I guess you can say I'm clumsy and bump into things but one things I do have is an iron grip, crushed many a hand. Always have, my parents use to stick me on fence as a baby lol and I'd hold myself there. I was a real climber as a kid. :P I have some inherited hypermobility too, I didn't know "loose joints" was characteristic of being on the spectrum.