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Elgee
Velociraptor
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Joined: 20 Dec 2021
Gender: Female
Posts: 450
Location: Med West

16 Jul 2023, 10:00 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Anonyma wrote:
I dont get this eye contact thing. I’ve recently discovered i’m an aspie and i’m just exploring what is concidered «normal».

I usually look at peoples mouth, hair, nose, shoulder, or something completely different when speaking to people.

I thought this was normal? Is this really an aspie thing?

Where do you look in a conversation, and what does NTs do? Do they stare right into each others eyes for the whole conversation?

I think its especially hard having eye contact with people i dont know, but also with people i do i know, i have to «remind» myself to look them in the eyes now and then.

No one has complained for my entire life, so i can’t see how this is very different from what NTs does?


Welcome to Wrong Planet.

You seem to have naturally picked up a coping mechanism that I was taught about on this website.

Eye contact is a cultural thing not an NT thing. In Norway it is considered an important aspect of communication. In Japan making eye contact is considered disrespectful.

The technique of looking near another person's eye but not directly into theirs is designed to avoid the discomfort many autistics feel when making eye contact without the other party to the conversation realizing you are not making eye contact.


Actually, eye contacts IS an NT thing. In cultures where it's expected, NTs don't need to be taught to "look people in the eye." In cultures where it's considered rude, children are TAUGHT early on to avoid eye contact. So, in Western cultures, eye contact is natural and instinctive (for NTs and a small number of autistics), but in those other cultures like Vietnam, Southeast Asia and Japan, avoiding eye contact is a learned behavior for NTs.



Elgee
Velociraptor
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Joined: 20 Dec 2021
Gender: Female
Posts: 450
Location: Med West

16 Jul 2023, 10:42 pm

There's a popular youtube channel about a lesbian couple and their teen autistic son, who's the bio son of one of the women. He's very goodlooking and this is one reason they have so many subscribers. The boy is non-verbal, and his bio mother said that he communicates by eye contact. There's video of him holding someone's face in his hands and staring into their eyes. She said he'll do this with people he newly meets. I don't recall the account name.



nomoore
Emu Egg
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Joined: 10 Nov 2021
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 7
Location: Texas

24 Jul 2023, 12:45 pm

I definitely have issues with eye contact.
It is normal for neurotypicals to maintain eye contact (where both are looking at the other's eyes at the same time) for a period of time and then break eye contact for a bit. They alternate eye contact with no eye contact throughout the conversation, instinctively knowing the timing for both parties to feel comfortable.

I can look at someone's eyes while they are talking and not looking at mine. But the moment they move their eyes to mine I have to look away. It is my instinct to look away the moment they try to make eye contact with me. If I don't I feel very uncomfortable, like they are peering deep into my soul and can see my awkwardness amplified through my eyes and are judging me for it. I feel judged for eye contact, like I'm doing it wrong and they are at any moment going to write me off for it and never talk to me again.

I have become better at maintaining eye contact as I've gotten older but I still have no idea how it is perceived by NTs. I might just think I'm better and in reality I'm making NTs very uncomfortable because I don't really know how to fake it well.



DuckHairback
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Joined: 27 Jan 2021
Age: 46
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Posts: 5,484
Location: Durotriges Territory

24 Jul 2023, 12:52 pm

I can do it very briefly. If I force myself to look in someone's eyes I can feel my brain recoiling. It's almost a physical sensation of my brain being grabbed and twisted. Hence I don't do it much.


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