Aspie Manifestation: Walk & Talk

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Newly diagnosed with Aspergers here.

Is it normal to have a strange walk and to talk in a strange manner if you have Aspergers? I just want to know if this is common, or if I am another flavour of weird as well.

The Talk

People have always said I talk in a funny manner. Sometimes fast, sometimes stilted, often changing in the same sentence. If you're a musician, imagine someone talking like a Prog Rock band playing a piece with rapidly alternating time signatures and tempos. That's me.

I took a class once where I had to give a speech. I tried to get out of it, but there was no convincing my lecturer. When he gave me my critique, he said that the content was good, but that I spoke in a "jerky" way. Another member of the class told him to "just come out and say it: you think Nathan's a jerk". Made me laugh.

The Walk

Ever since I was a kid I have had a strange, bouncy walk. Hard to describe. More of an organised stumble than an elegant strut. In High School I would sometimes turn around to see kids following me, mockingly walking like I do. No matter how hard I try, I can't change it. I just don't seem to know what a "proper" walk looks like.

Is my experience unique. Is it normal in an "Aspergers" way?

Yep, totally normal Aspie traits, called "odd prosody" and "awkward gait" in the diagnostic literature. (That bouncy motion is caused by "toe walking", or placing the weight on the balls of the feet instead of the heels when stepping.)

This might sound strange, but it is a huge relief to hear that. It is good to know that there are other people who walk and talk like me and that there is a cause. I don't really notice it, but others do and it has bothered me for a long time for this reason.

THANK YOU!