the physical signs of aspergers
Here's the video - http://irc-galleria.net/user/luci/video/125627055
For most of it I'm singing so it's the beginning and the very end that are more relevant I guess.
If anyone's interested, what do you think?
No, you didn't look any different to any NT. You could have been anyone standing there singing. You looked normal enough to me.
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Here's the video - http://irc-galleria.net/user/luci/video/125627055
For most of it I'm singing so it's the beginning and the very end that are more relevant I guess.
If anyone's interested, what do you think?
No, you didn't look any different to any NT. You could have been anyone standing there singing. You looked normal enough to me.
Ok, thank you for the feedback.
tentoedsloth
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 19 Oct 2011
Age: 69
Gender: Female
Posts: 67
Location: South Carolina, USA
Last year someone named Kaysea posted this list of physical signs of Asperger's:
Body:
Long Arms
Bony wrists
Slightly bell-shaped rib cage
Shorter-than-average distance between the ribs and hips
Shorter-than-average necks
Square shoulders
Arms hang out to the side, instead of being directed straight downward.
Head/Face
Intense or dreamy, deep-set eyes
Eyes slightly too close together
Prominent features
Large head
High, wide forehead
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been wondering what my problem really is, since I don't have the sign that involves having a rigid routine and hating for anything to change. But this, yes. Everything but square shoulders, and maybe not prominent features.
I've also read that asymmetrical facial features are a sign. Got that too. It's not extremely odd looking, but when I get new eyeglasses, two times the person measuring for the distance from nose to eyes has remarked that mine are different.
I don't know where the list came from (no time to go look it up now), and I don't think all of us have to have all the signs, but I like it. I'd like to be weird-looking and almost completely friendless for a reason. Know what I mean?
Aren't people kind, not. Bless their freaking little hearts. (Hope you don't have trouble finding shoes to fit - it's the pits, isn't it.)
Gait - yep, unusual - always swift, sometimes bouncy and generally very purposeful. Posture - erect, still.
Facial expression - very little.
Problem? - yep. Erect posture, tallness, speed, not meeting eyes = 'arrogance' (though not all NTs have such a limited emotional vocabulary ).
Remedy - experimental: meeting colleagues' eyes briefly and smiling as I stride past, on the principle that 'Your smile is your best accessory.'
[Cautionary note to self - it may be possible to take this a tad too far and look completely loopy. ]
Result - equivocal. Some smile back, many speak (help!!) a greeting, one person said, 'You smile too much.' What an extraordinary thing to say! I felt like saying, 'Sure the problem isn't the way everyone scowls too much around here?'
Recommendation - Gracefully accept instruction from nearby NTs on the correct dosage, but Know Who Your Friends Are [see Aspieness 101 ∞].
Last edited by HighPlateau on 20 Nov 2011, 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Movement gets a para all to itself. All movement is planned. Say in a crowded market I always have my destination point in sight before taking the first step. Difficult to modify route without breaking stride but must be done in order to avoid bumping into people or having them touch me. Long legs take very swift strides. Sometimes I remember to relax my [square] shoulders so arms can swing 'naturally' [to the side; not straight down].
I too lose my balance easily and, although fine with singing or playing instruments, cannot dance more than three steps without losing rhythm. Absolutely cannot respond immediately to dance instruction. Exception: can keep up flamenco footstomping in practice drills just about forever.
To learn a dance sequence I have to film it, take it home, and drill, drill, drill, learn by rote in front of mirror. 'Natural' shoulder posture and movement needs a lot of effort. I need about a hundred times more repetitions than the other students, so in class I tend to keep out of everyone's way and instead concentrate on watching, filming and palmas (rhythmic clapping - also easy).
Is there anyone out there on the spectrum who is a great dancer now, but it didn't come naturally to start with? Any tips? Or should I just stick with the rhythm stuff and forget the body altogether???
Learning dance steps is about as fun as have my teeth drilled. Mmm maybe dentist trips are a little more fun. I took some dance classes many years ago. Now I realized it takes an enormous amount of energy to learn them. It is no fun, I get a headache trying. If it was absolutely necessary I would do it but it is not so I will not put any more effort in it. I can do a more freestyle thing which is fun with my girlfriend but the structured dance is a nightmare.
Interesting..........
I've noticed some things -
I think normal people definitely pick up quickly that something is "off" with a person with AS. Its just something they see.
What I have seen are sort of big pointy chins, worry lines in the forehead (I think these can come early because of lots of extra stress and concern)
It seems like people with AS walk without swinging their arms, almost ape-like....... an odd gait and sort of an arm-flapping prance while running. Head tilted back, kind of a glare while running.
Perhaps breathing through the mouth and tend to go about with their mouth wide open all of the time. This I think can give kind of a gaping look, with eyes staring nowhere.
Seeing AS people in youtube in the last few years, I've also noticed that certain "quality" they all seem to have. I think NT's pick up on this, but I've noticed some slow deliberate speech (when trying to present) Kind of a lisp in talking.
I've also noticed the "long-arms" thing. I think I have longer arms.
Body:
Long Arms
Bony wrists
Slightly bell-shaped rib cage
Shorter-than-average distance between the ribs and hips
Shorter-than-average necks
Square shoulders
Arms hang out to the side, instead of being directed straight downward.
Head/Face
Intense or dreamy, deep-set eyes
Eyes slightly too close together
Prominent features
Large head
High, wide forehead
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been wondering what my problem really is, since I don't have the sign that involves having a rigid routine and hating for anything to change. But this, yes. Everything but square shoulders, and maybe not prominent features.
I've also read that asymmetrical facial features are a sign. Got that too. It's not extremely odd looking, but when I get new eyeglasses, two times the person measuring for the distance from nose to eyes has remarked that mine are different.
I don't know where the list came from (no time to go look it up now), and I don't think all of us have to have all the signs, but I like it. I'd like to be weird-looking and almost completely friendless for a reason. Know what I mean?
In older threads people have mentionned arched palates, too, and maxilo-facial differences. Like, a malocclusion, I think it was, for people who haven't had it corrected during childhood.
Just thought I'd add it to your new list.
I think there are distinct physical features of AS (not present in all but in many) but not autism. The strange gait is a key feature, walking like the person is about to fall over, and the strange running. Plus the staring into space and generally looking as if they were only physically present.
But I agree with a previous poster that to be certain a little interaction has to take place. So the gait & staring into space makes them pop up on the "Aspie-dar" and then if you get either no reaction to addressing them, or one word replies, plus mannerisms then that can be pretty conclusive.
A couple of weeks ago there was a news item on tv about support structures for people with AS and they interviewed a young woman, perhaps 21 or so, who had been dx'd as an adult. She was indistinguishable from an NT in looks and speech, bearing in mind it was just a headshot. So the physical thing may not absolutely always be present.
I understood the physical oddness to be one of the features Lorna Wing used to differentiate between AS and autism. I know this has all changed recently and the distinction is no longer officially made. Rightly or wrongly I found the distinction convincing. That's probably going off topic a bit, sorry.
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Sweetleaf
Veteran
Joined: 6 Jan 2011
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 34,487
Location: Somewhere in Colorado
Not sure if all of these have to do with AS but:
-I look younger then I am
-I never could keep up with the other kids in P.E class....I had noticable lack of flexibility which made some of the stretches impossible/extra difficult for me and a lot of times it was noticeable that I could not do quite as much like its possible to maybe get 5 push ups out of me but even that would be a major struggle. and sometimes I got accused of being lazy when in reality it seemed more like it was not a problem simple excercise could fix.
-A lot of times I walk around without moving my arms, if I think about it I'll move them like a normal person but if not then sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.......that could also be the depression though as it lowers my energy.
tentoedsloth
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 19 Oct 2011
Age: 69
Gender: Female
Posts: 67
Location: South Carolina, USA
Just thought I'd add it to your new list.
And thank YOU; I have a high arched palate. And I had to have braces on my teeth.
tentoedsloth
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 19 Oct 2011
Age: 69
Gender: Female
Posts: 67
Location: South Carolina, USA
PE was torture for me, most of all gymnastics. My parents made me practice at home and finally I could do a forward roll; it took even longer to get the backward one. Jumping over the horse was somewhat easier.
One of the reasons I chose the college I attended was that there was no PE requirement.
Sweetleaf
Veteran
Joined: 6 Jan 2011
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 34,487
Location: Somewhere in Colorado
PE was torture for me, most of all gymnastics. My parents made me practice at home and finally I could do a forward roll; it took even longer to get the backward one. Jumping over the horse was somewhat easier.
One of the reasons I chose the college I attended was that there was no PE requirement.
I never could get the backward one, and I doubt any amount of practice would have helped.
I also remember when I was in gymnastics(I doubt I wanted to be)......they ended up putting me with the pre-schoolers and kindergardeners even though I was in 3rd grade because that is where my gymnastics skill level was at. My mom finally let me quit when I told her how embarrassed I felt.
Body:
Long Arms
Bony wrists
Slightly bell-shaped rib cage
Shorter-than-average distance between the ribs and hips
Shorter-than-average necks
Square shoulders
Arms hang out to the side, instead of being directed straight downward.
Head/Face:
Intense or dreamy, deep-set eyes
Eyes slightly too close together
Prominent features
Large head
High, wide forehead
LOL all of this describes me apart from the head because it fits in proportion because of my tall 6,3 frame, I have also been told that my eyes have a dreary and stoned look about them, people thought I was a stoner when I was younger, Yep people picked on my beautiful eyes
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