Are there Aspies that CAN read body language?

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Hello there!

My screen name is SoftKitty and I am totally new here. I´ve recently found out that I might have Aspergers, but I am not sure, so I am now waiting to be tested. The problem is that I am in a long line of clients, and will/won´t be diagnosed only after 10 months (!). That´s a horribly long time for me, so I am trying to find informations on my own.

The problem with my upcoming diagnosis lies here: I fit nearly every criteria for Aspergers, but I actually AM ABLE to read other people´s body language very well. I even seem to know what they are thinking. However, it is weird that I I can´t find out other people´s intentions. So I dunno if they are my friends, if they want to date me, or even if they secretly don´t like me.

My question is: are there any DIAGNOSED Aspies that actually CAN READ body landuage? I stressed out the word "diagnosed" because ONLY THEN I can be sure that I am not imagining that I might have it, too. You know, I´ve been trying to find out my diagnosis for nearly 20 years. And after so much effort, I feel kinda desperate. So please, help me if you can. Thank you very much.

Unofficially diagnosed by a psych, and yes, I can read body language. It's the sort of thing I picked up - when x happens, usually y follows. Probably not too different from allistic people.

In my case, however, the psych made sure to stress that it was mild Asperger's, so undoubtedly it depends on where along the spectrum you are.

That´s it. I don´t know because I have not been diagnosed yet. It´s possibly only mild AS, tho. Or I am somewhere in the middle. It´s not severe. I CAN function quite well, I am a good worker, but I am useless in my love life. I don´t even know how to kiss. I had to find kissing manuals before I dared to kiss my second boyfriend (with the first, I was only on few dates), and even after that, I merely chewed him as a horse.

Last edited by SoftKitty on 13 Oct 2012, 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

A lot of people, even if they don't understand it intuitively, learn to read body language to some degree but for many it takes an exhausting amount of mental energy. And the more people you have to read the more energy it takes. For instance if you go get a cup of coffee with one person in a quiet shop you may be fine but if you go to a party you'll be really tired after a couple of hours. (or in my case 5 seconds)

Last edited by jonny23 on 13 Oct 2012, 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have been diagnosed with asperger, and i can read body language not all the time, but kinda good, but i think almost all autistic people, learn by time how to read body language, some persons turns to be good, others dont, is just like someone said in the other reply.

X happen usually "Y" follows

People Laugh, ergo they are happy.

Things like this, but even right now after a long time, i can say im not very good at this, i sometimes see people crying for happines, dont really understand how this happen.

Or people that laugh when they are getting molested or they are getting hurt, cant understand this to.

So i can understand sometimes only the more basics things of body language,but hey its something and help me to fit in a little better.

So probably most aspies can read body language even a little bit, because they learn how to as the time goes by.

Autistics have eyes and a brain, so all of us must be able to read body language to some degree. The degree to which we can do so innately depends on the individual. Most of us have difficulty with it.

To me, the easiest to read is usually when someone is happy and content. On the other hand, if they are getting madder and madder at someone, I can hardly read that at all.

By forcing myself to socialise in my youth I did eventually get reasonably competent at reading body language and facial expressions. But as I now choose to mostly keep myself to myself these days, I think I've lost that ability to some extent. It's hard to explain - I do notice it, but it's almost like I just can't be bothered to react to it / process it.

I usually cringe when I think about how I interacted when I was younger. I thought I was doing fine but really I wasn't.

I have been officially diagnosed with Asperger's for several years now, and I find I understand the most obvious and basic body language because I'm not that stupid or anything. Nodding head means yes. Shaking head means no Shrugging shoulders means I don't know. Duh. I've seen kids shows and read books that taught non-verbal body language and face expressions. Of course in real life it's not that simple. Some people laugh or smile when they're nervous or even talking about something horrible that happened to them "I was beaten and molested by my brother when I was eight lololololol *smile smile* because they've been brainwashed into covering up bad feelings, something society tries to make us all do almost right after we're born. A person who is frowning could be angry, but they could also be sad, tired, lonely, sick, bored, grumpy, frightened, and on and on. There is subtle non-verbal language shown in photographs that most NT people don't notice, like this one photo I saw of a man shaking his son's hand during his graduation. It explained that although both are smiling and happy looking for the camera the father looks as if he's pulling his son's hand close to him because he may be finding it hard to "let go" of him. But then again, there has to be deep psychological meaning in everything now, including our favorite color of underwear.

Anyway it really bothers me that just because you lack one or two traits of Asperger's or they aren't that severe you just can't possibly have it. That's like saying someone can't possibly have a cold because they aren't coughing but they have a fever and are sniffling and stuffed up.

I can read it if it's really overt. Anything subtle though is completely lost on me. I never really realized just how much communication I miss in body language/facial expressions until recently.

Yes. And actually I'm generally very good at picking up nonverbal stuff, body language, what other people think about me etc... I'm actually better at that than most NTs.. the problem is, I still don't know how people expect me to react though.

I'm diagnosed and I'm able to read body language.

undiagnosed, I'm good with reading facial expressions and eyes. But I recently bought a book on reading body language which opened up a whole new world to me.

I know the basics. Beyond the basics, I have no idear. I don't think in those ways, so I can't think of the rest myself.

(No official diagnosis.) I'm better than most at reading body language, but I feel that this is exactly the reason why I don't last for more than 10 minutes in an unfamiliar social situation with people I don't know. I even know how to respond, but if there is more than one person, I get a sort of social executive dysfunction. What to do first? I don't know and my mind goes blank, so I say nothing at all.

Last edited by NewDawn on 13 Oct 2012, 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.