Autism and lack of spatial awareness
Written on 3rd Jul 2015 by Alex Lowery
A lot of people with autism have poor spatial awarenesss skills and I am no exception. I often can’t see things that are right in front of me. This can make me awkward and clumsy to a point. For example – I may not be aware when I’m standing in somebody’s way. I also really struggle to carry really heavy things like washing machines. I know that everybody would struggle to carry a washing machine by themselves, but I struggle even when I have help. It’s a really big effort to keep my attention on walking as well as making sure the washing machine doesn’t fall down. I find that my hands keep slipping and I often don’t know how I should walk with it. There are people who are less strong than me, but can help carry a washing machine better than what I can. Some people have described a lack of spatial awareness as being where you can’t feel where your body is. When you close your eyes (and have a spatial awareness problem) you may not know which way you’re pointing.
A lack of spatial awareness seems to be particular common among people with Dyspraxia, which some professionals believe is part of the autistic spectrum. Dyspraxia also seems to have common co-morbidly with autism, which means a lot of people with autism will also meet the diagnostic criteria for Dyspraxia.
Personally, I feel like the reason I struggle with spatial awareness is that I have such difficulty in focusing on the big picture. My attention tends to be on one thing at a time. I did an article on this that you can view here.
Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you found in interesting.
Cartoon picure of Alex Lowery
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Thanks for sharing such great information. It is really helpful to me.
https://blog.mindvalley.com/spatial-awareness/
Thankyou. Grandson has trouble with heavy school bag. Drops things, cannot find items in front of him. Walks in a way that nearly trips me. Total focus when drawing, watching tv or making models. Unaware of anything else when occupied.We suspected he had mild autism.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve often wondered how to explain the feeling of disconnect between myself, my body, and space. As well as the complete and utter lack of directional skills.
I have often been considered ‘directionally challenged’ within my friend group. Oftentimes, I am so certain of the directions I am providing to get from point A to point B, but am almost always wrong. I am undiagnosed with autism, but am in my beginning stages of finding an answer. I thought sharing this brief thought might be helpful to someone.
I have great directional sense but constantly bang my head (and elbows for instance) in places that I use everyday or at work (IE familiar places) . I feel really stupid and then get really angry with myself and shout and swear at inanimate objects! I can relate to the washing machine situation too as I must panic or something and get very sweaty hands and almost drop it. This is, like you, not because I aren’t strong.
Thanks for the post..
I appreciate your insights about spatial awareness. My husband is probably on the spectrum but he’s 50 and they didn’t use to diagnose people back then. He’s very embarrassed about it and feels like a bad person. So I end up doing a lot of research on my own to try and understand how to best navigate some of the trickier aspects that have come up during our marriage. Your post makes sense to me and helps me build some understanding .
Before I understood that spatial awareness was often part of the spectrum I just thought my husband was being rude when he couldn’t help me move furniture and it was falling and I was having to do all the heavy lifting. Or when he would stand right in my way and not move. Or bump me alot when we were working in small spaces like the kitchen. Now I’m beginning to understand more what his experiences are like and that he wants very much to be helpful. It’s good to understand.