"The Asperger's Stare"

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I have been told by some that I have a weird stare. People say that I just "zone out" or "disappear" sometimes. I can feel myself doing it, sometimes I just have to because there are moments when being "present" feels like it requires too much energy.

I also sometimes just stare at certain details, and, as someone else on this thread mentioned too, now that I am more interested in human faces and can give more eye contact than before, I often catch myself staring at the details of someone´s face in the train, grocery store, or whatever. (And only realize too late that it´s "rude").

When I was in school, I was beaten up by 2 girls because I was "looking at them". For years, people teased me or accused me of being a "flake" because I zoned out- (I was put down by some ballet directors for not being "present" at all times). Once, I was given a part onstage to play "an autistic person", because the director noticed that I had this stare- (this was back in the days before AS was known about, so he, nor even I hadn´t any idea that I may be on the spectrum myself). When I "go somewhere", people always try to "bring me back". So, there seems to be some evidence that I do this stare. However, when I look at other Aspies (including Liane Holliday Willey´s picture) they seem "normal" to me, and I don´t see anything that could be remotely unsettling to anyone. But maybe that´s just my perspective....

That penetrating glance topic

My fave picture of the W-man. Thanks for posting.

I had to laugh at Super Mario. What a keeper.

Yeah I have a knack for finding funny pictures His name is Weegee he's Luigi's backwards cousin

I have very intense stare and greyish blue eyes.

Either, my eyes are entirely empty and soulless, or intensely focused and creepy.

People have said I have eyes of serial killer or insane demagogue.

Oh yeah. I got it.

Interesting... I have "that stare" as well. I normally avoid eye-contact, but I have that look whenever I have zoned out, or if I'm looking directly at a camera. I don't look at people's eyes. I look 'through' them completely, as if they're not there.

Also, my eyes do not change when I smile. If I were to cover my face and only show my eyes, and I was repeatedly alternating between smiles and frowns, you would not be able to tell the difference!

Interesting indeed! I don't have it as much as i did as a kid, but i still definitely have it. As a kid, it was pretty much permanent.

Last edited by Dilemma on 22 Jun 2009, 1:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This sounds exactly like me.

I am rarely in the moment, unless you give me a very heavy stimulus, like extreme loud music.

I almost always have something in my head that I'm fixating on.

When I talk to people, I dont make much eye contact, but try to do so sporadically.I try not to make prolonged eye contact, since i have that creepy gaze.That is why I do the sporadic thing...people wont notice.Other times I just keep to myself.

I don't see why people don't like our eyes I personally prefer our cold soulless stare to others

Oh, holy crap that's scary.

Yeah but I love it. Its my desktop

You, sir, are the most terrifying person. Ever.

Woot Score one for the dark winter

Here's a bonus

I'm almost positive I don't have "the stare" for no one has ever suggested that I have a weird gaze. I had one report that I stared at one or two people for long periods of time when I was fiddling. That's because I'm off in my music world and my eyes just go straight ahead and don't move. I don't think there was anything qualitatively creepy about the stare, though...

My eyes have a tendency to flit around, and I know that I often don't look at people when they are talking to me or when I'm talking to them.

I haven't noticed the stare on the spectrum folks that I met in person. However, it seems whenever someone posts a video of themselves here on WP, they have the stare.

It's hard to pretend you're looking at a person when you're looking at a camera. A lot of NT's have "the stare" when talking to their web cam.