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flutter
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15 Aug 2008, 3:21 pm

I've had an issue since childhood, you can see it going back to the earliest photos.... the right side of my face doesn't have much mobility.

When I smile, my left side goes way up, and my right side moves a couple millimeters, making it look like I'm more smirking then smiling.

I understand that facial expressions are often a problem for folks on the spectrum, and I have been wondering the last few days if this lack of mobility might be attributable to AS.

Has anyone else experienced this?



Who_Am_I
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16 Aug 2008, 2:52 am

The right side of my face is a lot more mobile than the left, which hardly moves at all unless I really concentrate on moving it.


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Aurore
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16 Aug 2008, 3:09 am

The problem for me is that the entirety of my face is too mobile. So I end up making all these ridiculous expressions without realizing it.


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EnglishLulu
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17 Aug 2008, 12:02 pm

I've absolutely no idea if this is relevant or not, might be a red herring, I don't even know if it affects children, but my father was briefly affected by something called Bell's palsy, and I very vaguely recall that's some kind of facial paralysis that can affect one side of the face. Could it be something like that?



aspiartist
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17 Aug 2008, 3:01 pm

I don't know but I have always had trouble with smiling and with facial expressions in general. I guess it could also go with the autism in not recognizing the social cues or knowing how to respond. I don't know if this problem is neurologically based as well but seems like it could be.



Magliabechi
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17 Aug 2008, 3:07 pm

I have problems with limited and idiosyncratic facial 'expression' - it really is a major problem that severely impacts my ability to form social relations. I do not, as far as I am aware, have problems with facial asymmetry, though.

Magliabechi.



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17 Aug 2008, 3:39 pm

EnglishLulu wrote:
I've absolutely no idea if this is relevant or not, might be a red herring, I don't even know if it affects children, but my father was briefly affected by something called Bell's palsy, and I very vaguely recall that's some kind of facial paralysis that can affect one side of the face. Could it be something like that?


Bell's palsy is more severe than what the OP is describing. The entire side of the face droops down- the mouth, eyes, etc. It is impossible for people to close the affected eye completely, so they have to have an elaborate wrap on it at night to prevent it from drying out. It also affects speech and eating. Bell's palsy is very obvious when you look at someone- they look like they've had a stroke.



Chaotica
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17 Aug 2008, 5:06 pm

Sometimes my face reflects no emotions at all. I guess I have some problems in my life because of this :scratch:



Anemone
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18 Aug 2008, 1:28 pm

My face is highly mobile. I could never do well at poker. :P

But yes it's true, my right side is more mobile than my left side, though not severely. Muscle control of each side of the body comes from the opposite side of the brain, so it makes sense that my left brain has more motor control over facial muscles than my right brain. Make sense?

I've had Bell's Palsy. Severity and recovery vary a lot (mine wasn't that severe and I recovered pretty much completely). I think I had differences in facial mobility on the two sides before I had BP though, although it's true that it was my left (less mobile) side that was affected. Interesting.



KingdomOfRats
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18 Aug 2008, 2:55 pm

for some,this problem could be medication related as well.
am dont understand what the original poster is saying well,but am would say if are on medication and face feels like it's had a stroke [one side drueling,all hanging down,wont keep up with other side etc] then it could be meds related,
am had that with gabapentin.


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