a foot in both camps
I think I'm most probably borderline AS, I don't like people looking at me and judging, I find interacting exhausting but I can read facial expression. In fact I've been called personable, its a great act I've got going!
I had another taxi driver experience. In London cabbies don't converse with customers too much, here its some kind of custom. The man was Lincolnshire and chatty but terribly aloof. I said "is there a mobile phone reception here" he replied "I would'nt know" he could have said I'm not sure. Oh well its very minor. He brought up a football topic I made a few ill-informed comments to appease the man, I decided this was better than leaving a nasty silence. I brought the subject of clay modelling up he replied (again) "I would'nt know about that".
I wish I did'nt care about these useless dialogues but more importantly I wish my destination was on a bus route to avoid verbal tennis with taxi men. Would someone with AS just have ignored him and not cared, I feel I worry to much about what the other person thinks, or their opinion of me, and crikey thats ridiculous it really does not matter!! !!
Man, I cant STAND people who try and stare me down without my participation.. what is with these people staring? Yesterday, 3 teens walked by me and the one closest to me was staring.. I tend to have excellent peripherals so I noticed his head was actually following me as I walked by them.. It was SO bad, I actually looked at him, eye to eye, and gave a nasty ass expression of 'wtf is wrong with you?' because he was doing it so much
Needless to say, he stopped looking so I guess I won that battle of 'staring like a moron' contest..
Hehe either that or you freaked him out.. I have 99% acuity in my peripheral vision as well so I tend to give people the creeps because I can be looking away and still see everything.
Ill be walking down a hallway looking at the wall with my head cocked at a weird angle (and not even realize it) and still sidestep people and boxes without looking.. I get asked how I do that all the time.
_________________
One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
-----------
"White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane
Needless to say, he stopped looking so I guess I won that battle of 'staring like a moron' contest..
You did the right thing by staring back at him. If you had not they would have started messing with you.
_________________
It are a fact
I know because of my learnings.
heh my brothers hate it when they try something 'behind my back'. none of them have yet been able to sneak up on me due to my acute senses!
oh, and i often walk and read at the same time, have not yet gotten into any major trouble (only occasionally scuffing the sidewalk, my spatial perception, peripheral or not, is weak at best). schoolmates have often tried to stop this habit of mine, but i really do prefer it to negotiating crowds, and people tend to give way to me when i barge ahead 'deeply engrossed' in my books!