Son struggles with movement. Is it related to his Aspergers?

Our son has Aspergers. He's 9. He's always had some issues with co-ordination and movement, which makes certain sports particularly hard for him. He's been to a physio prior to his diagnosis, to try and tackle what seemed like fairly severe stiffness in his legs. At the time, we felt it might be growing pains. This was unrelated to his Autism assessment, but the physio happened to ask if he'd been diagnosed with anything like ASD.

As time passes, he really seems to struggle with movement. He can walk, ride a bike, swim etc, but  all are done in what looks like an overly awkward manner. He walks with his foot at an angle. If he doesn't have shoes on, he tends to default to walking on the ball of his foot. He really struggles with running. If sitting on the floor, it seems to take all his effort to get up to a standing position. Its a though he simply doesn't have the bend / flexibility in his ankles / knees / hips that a "normal" kid would have.

"normal" isn't the best way to describe it, but if we compare him to his younger sister, it's like chalk and cheese. 

Does anyone experience a similar thing? Or have any hints as to where we could look for more information? Is mobility a known symptom of ASD?

  • Thanks for this. Much appreciated. I think we need to get him back to a physio anyway, at least. So this really just encourages to do it sooner rather than later, and see what they say. He hadn't been diagnosed at his last physio visit, so they may have extra feedback now that they have more information.

    Thanks.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Hi, I'm a step mother of a 16 y/o with ASD, but I have DCD (dyspraxia) myself which is a coordination and movement disorder. Getting him assessed may have some benefits educationally, as he may be allowed to use voice software for writing. 

    Probably the best book on this disorder and it's management is the out of sync child.

    My struggles have been life long, but at 47 I've finally found a gym that supports me in the way I need for exercise to avoid injury, as well as encouragement to keep going when my body is not playing fair. My workplace respects my need for very simple adaptions to ensure I can function at a high level.

    My experience (and DCD is like ASD in its variability) is of delayed response in spontaneous movement, poor proprioception (knowing where my limbs are if I can't see them), poor strength awareness (my beloved has to be careful I don't hurt him when holding his hand)and I'm more built for strength and endurance than for sprint exercise.

    This gym puts sprint in my program but I'm watched closely to avoid risk of injury. I'm moving weights of a similar level to the teen boys in the gym (they have a strict light load rule for under 20s) but the weights are 10-20% higher than most women.

    The biggest challenge is other people's perceptions of my capacity to do thing's. Like your son I look clumsy on a bike, and most people tried to stop me learning. My Dad and Mum supported me to participate and that's what mattered.

  • I used to walk on the balls of my feet as a child. (I had that beaten out of me though). I have heard of people who do the ball of the feet thing too. There are some very knowledgeable folks here, I am sure they will be of help to you.