Who can make eye contact????

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Hi!
I'm prof diagnosed but I do make eye contact naturally, I've made eye contact ever since I was a baby. People keep on saying that you can't make eye contact if you're AS. But are there other diagnosed in here that actually CAN make eye contact??
Also I do not stim very much, but I do sometimes. Especially if Im talking in front of a crowd or with many people.

All of us 'can'; most of us just find it uncomfortable.

There's another thread already started on eye contact - but if you want to continue this poll you might add other options - primarily "I make eye contact only when relaxed"

I can make myself but only briefly and it's uncomfortable. I am a little better with people I'm very close to like my wife and children but it'll still something I have to consciously do rather than just happens

To you who do not make eye contact:
Where do you look? In the floor? On the persons mouth, nose? Or where?

as to where I look, anywhewre, it varies. If I am [this happened Thursday] REALLY interested in what the other is saying I can statre intently at the center of the face [which includes eyes, but I do not focus there]. If I am trying to say something important and hard especially if emotive I have to look nowhdere, up to closing the eyes.

I can make eye contact but I don't really like it, yet I also know that it's a social norm to make eye contact so I endeavour to pretend I make as much as possible.

I tend to look at people's mouths and foreheads more than their eyes. Apparently people have noticed I don't make good eye contact, though, despite my best attempts.

The general "normal" eye contact is to look away every couple of seconds, then resume eye contact. Prolonged eye contact can be interpreted as hostile.

I always make eye contact. But I also really like seeing what people's eye colors are

After a little practice, I have been making sufficient eye contact without much trouble.

It doesnt make me uncomfterble. I just dont get any info from it as much as body language.

I've had a strange experience with it, I hated looking people in the eyes and forced myself to and now despite how I tend to find it uncomfortable I find it I do it now and ..sigh.. I was told a month or so ago by a social worker that I stare and that people can find it confronting, so I give up

It depends. Sometimes I just used to stare at people, until somebody told me it was impolite and I went from that to very little eye contact. Now, I don't really know. I always worry about making too much or too little of it, so it's quite uncomfortable

I read a book about social thinking (one of the ones from socialthinking.com) and it says that eye contact is an expression, not a literal term. people use their eyes to think about what others might be thinking. the "eye contact" means being aware of the direction eyes point to take it into consideration about what they may be thinking/feeling. checking in every once in a while is exactly what eye contact used correctly would involve. staring at eyes would be interpretted as either anger or intenseness (sometimes used in flirting, it is one of the signals along with being lightly touched).

Can do, but find the mouth more informative.

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Last edited by Willard on 01 Sep 2010, 11:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I make forced eye contact Choopey. If I have to think about what I am saying, I stare off into something big like a wall or a patch of grass or at carpet. That way I'm not distracted and can think about what I want to say clearly. I can say YES or NO or MAYBE while I'm looking someone in the eye other than that forget it. BTW very interesting screen name.