Autistic posture and facial expression

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Joined: 18 Nov 2008
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06 Dec 2008, 10:26 pm

People have always commented on my body posture or the way I walk. Try as I might to keep my back straight it never stays that way. When I was younger it was literally uncomfortable to keep my back straight.
I remember when I was little people made fun of the way I ran.

Moop
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06 Dec 2008, 10:28 pm

Peoples always called me names and bullied me about my posture and the way I walked. I noticed people don't cross their arms when standing or walking, like I usually do.

Pithlet
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07 Dec 2008, 1:11 am

Kajjie wrote:

capriwim wrote:

This guide to AS that I read also said that people with AS often will rest their head and other body parts on stable surfaces, because of poor muscle tone. I found that interesting, because I do this myself all the time. But I'd never heard before that it was a characteristic of AS, so I'm curious if others do this too.

I do that! But I've never thought I have any problems with my muscles.
As for the hypermobility - I think Aspies can have trouble with proprioception (the ability to know where parts of your body are in relation to each other), which is a cause of hypermobility as you wouldn't know when you'd bent a joint too far.

A lot of people are mentioning blank facial expression - the expression I recognised in the program isn't blank. It's sorta tense/concentrated, I think. The eyebrows are down rather than resting.

millie - I think I have problem with regulating facial expressions. People often seem a bit confused by my facial expressions. I've seen myself looking stupidly happy (maniac grin) or riddiculously sad.

CleverKitten - I think your avatar looks neutral.

People are also mentioning posture and back problems - I think maybe i get backache because I don't stand properly - I slouch loads. I also bend my head down more than others: I walk with my head down, I bend over more than others when I'm working at a desk....

I actually have very good muscle tone, and I still rest my body parts on stable surfaces. I think for me this has to do with security rather than strength. When I'm leaning on or against something I don't have to worry about swaying or pacing, and if my back is against a wall, I don't have to worry about people coming up behind me unexpectedly. I always look for chairs with armrests because that too feels more secure than out in the open. I also tend to curl up while sitting, unless I'm around people I'm supposed to act more formal around.

Face is usually neutral, though I have kind of pouty features, so I'm frequently being accused of sulking.

outlier
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07 Dec 2008, 5:27 am

Years before learning of AS I glimpsed my reflection (and other people's) in a window while in line to get a train ticket. Everyone but me had their head in a straight, upright position. Mine was bent forward even when looking up. Struck me as odd.

My gait always made me self-conscious. Felt like it was bouncy and had both inhibited and purposeless-looking movements.

anna-banana
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07 Dec 2008, 12:00 pm

millie wrote:

I might add that not evryone with AS has a flat facial affect. Some of us with AS have the opposite problem - an inability to regulate facial expression - so that the expressions are quite strange and overly pronounced. THis is my gig. and I am embarrassed by it. I can appear like a cartoon character. I have done some digital fimling for my psych and it has been really upsetting to watch how rubbery my face is. It is the opposite extreme of the flat facial affect situation. and yes, it happens to some people with AS.

yes, I am this way too. I've been called cartoonish a few times, my friends also often tell me that when I talk I look like I'm trying to parody sitcom characters, my expressions are just so overdone :oops:

when it comes to posture I don't think there's anything unusual about me, except the fact that I also can't stand like normal people lol, I always either stand on the outer sides of my feet, with my legs crossed or with one foot resting on the other leg like a stork. when I was at school I would always stand with my back against the wall and with one leg pressed against the wall as well, I left loads of footprints like that and had constant trouble because of that.

I also noticed that when sitted on a normal chair I sit in a funny way, with my knees together and my feet turned inwards against each other. it looks really childish and ridiculous but I just don't notice it.

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blossoms
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07 Dec 2008, 12:18 pm

Yeah, dunno if it is an 'austistic posture and facial expression', but if you mean that blank stiff gaze, then I suppose that it is something people don't get about me. Once I was in a class and the teacher was commenting on something I said (it was about religion, ooooh very touchy) and I looked at her as she said something in response, she saw my stiff gaze as I listened, and replied 'before you beat me up about it', as if I was annoyed or something. I can assure you I was not annoyed at all! Why don't they just ask, instead of assuming...

My brother says that I have a perplexed face on usually and when speaking my eyes turn to the top. So yeah, it is all over the place. :lol:

As for a posture, then I have bad posture, can't straighten my back, or if I do it; it is not natural. So I am always slumped and looking at the ground when walking, don't look around, lost in my little own world.

Last edited by blossoms on 07 Dec 2008, 12:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

greenlandgem
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07 Dec 2008, 12:21 pm

Exile wrote:

There have been occasions in my past where people have actually gotten angry with me based on nothing but my facial expression. Sounds crazy, but it's happened more than once. Before now, I just wrote it off, believing that the persons involved had problems of their own and were externalizing them making moi the focus. Which, of course, has always prompted a quick "FO." Don't have time for idiots.

Now, however, I'm reconsidering. Maybe there IS something coming through with facial expression that I'm not aware of.

I've learned a blank, bland, or neutral expression though, and wear this one most of the time. Problem with that is, that what seems blank to me is often misperceived by others as something completely different. I feel as if I'm projecting NOTHING, and yet, somehow, observers see all kinds of things. Arrogance, aloofness, and egotism mainly. And oooohhhh boy, if I try to simply be dignified, people instantly label it in the worst ways imaginable. I'm inscrutable, unapproachable, even "intimidating." This stuff makes so little sense to me. I want to scream at them to get a spinal column and grow up and quit blaming me for their infantile insecurities. Because, in the end, I'm the one who pays for such idiocy.

After years of this nonsense, finally just gave up and decided to use it. If people are going to act like children, I'll treat them as I would a child. Sounds bad, but there are still yet some people who manage to amount to more than just another one to ignore.

:roll:

Exile, I was going to comment in this thread but it seems there is no need. You have said it for me.

That being said, I'm now going to comment.

I have had perfect strangers approach me and tell me to cheer up. Once, at a concert, <i>four different people</i> did this. At a concert! I was really enjoying myself, just wasn't grinning like a maniac! In fact, it lessened my enjoyment significantly, being accused of being miserable. This happens a lot.

Anna-banana - I seem to have a combination of the two. When I am not interacting with anyone, my expression is apparently very flat and even grumpy - but when I engage in an active conversation I have been told many times (in a positive way, I think) how expressive and amusing my facial expressions are. Weird!

....I find it hard to sit still in a chair, or standing at a concert, without adopting an awkward position. Never thought about it before. Wow, the symptoms just come out of the woodwork, really....

Bradleigh
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07 Dec 2008, 12:22 pm

I have a kind of slumped posture, with my head forward, I think it is not right as most people go straight up. I think I used when I was a kid and at times still do have what I call an autistic facial expression, which includes me with my mouth opend slightly and apearing a bit expresionless, kind of a bit like what you sometimes see the more heavely affected autistic people. Also you can often see that the more heavely ones can seem to da thing with their arms where they seem to have bent wrists or something, an I have thought I do a simular thing, some of the way I look at times must make me look like I am Low Functioning.

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07 Dec 2008, 1:21 pm

Moop wrote:

Peoples always called me names and bullied me about my posture and the way I walked. I noticed people don't cross their arms when standing or walking, like I usually do.

Same here. I wasn't terribly bullied about the way that I walked, it was just one group of girls. I just figured that they were just being mean, as girls seem to have a propensity for such, but I got it confirmed by a friend that I do in fact walk "funny". Didn't really care much about it, though.

I also tend to cross my arms all the time. I cannot stand my limbs being away from my body. It's very uncomfortable for me. People have misinterpreted my stance, and the way I hold myself in all sorts of negative ways. Usually, they think that I'm mad, bored, arrogant.... the list goes on, and on when in reality I'm not feeling any of those things.

In every group, or class picture that I was in growing up it's easy to spot me. I'm always about as far removed from everyone else as one can possibly get, yet still be in the picture. I'm all tucked in, looking like I'm trying to guard every last bit of personal space that one possibly can in that situation.

pandd
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07 Dec 2008, 1:47 pm

capriwim wrote:

I do.

Vulcan
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07 Dec 2008, 2:07 pm

i always try to smile even though i dont "feel" like smiling as if i smile ect people seem to treat me better, but i dont know if i am doing it right as some days people look funny/strange at me, i might just be paranoid though?

i think over the years i have become more aware of how people react to me, but i dont always get it right.. i try my best though.. i do wish i could just be myself without all this fake stuff, but right now i am like a fine drilled dog, i dont know how to let go of my trix..

also i too lean on things all the time to support my body....

Kajjie
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07 Dec 2008, 3:10 pm

Bradleigh wrote:

I think I used when I was a kid and at times still do have what I call an autistic facial expression, which includes me with my mouth opend slightly and apearing a bit expresionless, kind of a bit like what you sometimes see the more heavely affected autistic people. Also you can often see that the more heavely ones can seem to da thing with their arms where they seem to have bent wrists or something, an I have thought I do a simular thing, some of the way I look at times must make me look like I am Low Functioning.

I don't know what the wrist thing is, but I have my mouth open slightly a lot of the time. I also wonder if the way I look makes me look like I am mentally disabled.

Vimse
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07 Dec 2008, 6:58 pm

People always commented on my body posture and the way I walked when I was younger. Do not get comments anymore, but my doctor said that my posture and body movements made him suspect asperger syndrom. So I guess there is something strange about it.

buryuntime
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07 Dec 2008, 7:17 pm

I used to get made fun of for the way I walked. My feet were pointed out oddly and I would have to stare at my feet when I walked and focus entirely on walking or I would have a hard time walking straight. I've gotten better at walking "normally", however, but I still bump into things quite often. I'm not sure about my posture.

SamwiseGamgee
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11 Feb 2009, 8:25 pm

I usually sit like this woman:

The picture is from the back of the book Women From Another Planet. I was actually totally surprised to see someone else sitting like that because I really thought I was the only one. I've never paid much attention to how I walk, but I tend to stand awkwardly because it's more comfortable. And all my life people have annoyingly told me to "cheer up" when I was perfectly content so there's at least something wrong with my neutral look. And I do sometimes have my mouth open a little but I don't know for how long because whenever I notice it I stop doing it.

Abstract_Logic
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11 Feb 2009, 9:34 pm

I noticed that I stand funny. I also don't exhibit much emotion as far as facial expressions go.

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