Anyone of you overly observant?

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I've noticed some things that most people don't notice like I have noticed that a lot of autistic people are either really skinny or overweight. Is being overly observant common with autism?

I tend to be hypervigilant, keenly aware of little sounds and visual details. Some of that is PTSD, but I've heard other autistics tend to be like this too. Small details that are out of place tend to jump out and register in our attention. One way I've noticed I'm observant in different ways than NTs is that most folks waiting at a traffic light seem to be looking to other cars and how they are accelerating or stopping for them to decide to go or stop. I watch the traffic lights very carefully. So when the light turns green I just look left and right then proceed while NTs in the next lane will sit there watching what others are doing - sort of like a delayed response.

I believe it can be, in that area especially if that's something your interested in: i.e. details about people's physique/physical appearance or if you're into fitness, sports, etc. And you're right about the weight issue, I've noticed that somewhat too, particularly the overweight issue. While some of us are athletic, alot of us aren't in shape (like myself), much as I wish I were. Though I lost 4 pounds in the last couple months so that's a small start I guess. lol

Yea I totally believe autism affects metabolism. No Doubt

I am. Almost to a fault. Once while flying in my employers plane I noticed a very slight change in the sound of one of the engines. I asked about it and was assured that all was well. He went to leave the next day and could not because one of the fuel pumps had failed. I notice small things like this all the time.

I think that Aspergers may include an ability to increase focused attention. This would result in the perception of things others might miss. However, focused attention is often at the expense of decreased attention to other things so that while one might notice things one is focused on, it is possible to miss other things.

I've noticed the weight thing too, but I'd hypothesise that most people on the spectrum have an addictive personality, and that in combination with a large number of food intolerances probably equals more regular indulgence in unhealthy foods.

Maybe food intolerances play a part in the underweight autistic too, but instead of overindulging in unhealthy food, they just don't eat much instead. I've seen a couple of people on this forum say that they forget to eat, and I'd imagine that plays a role.

If metabolism was the problem with autistics, I'd imagine most of us would be overweight, or most of us would be underweight rather than most of us just being one extreme or the other.

How do you even forget to eat if you have extremely painful hunger pains? That's one part I don't understand. When i'm hungry I need food immediately or else I start to feel weak and my chest feels that it's about to close. Also some people say that when you feel hungry it might mean you feel thirsty instead and thirst disguises itself as hunger sometimes. Well for me that's not true when I feel hungry i'm hungry. I also believe autism either gives you a extremely fast metabolism or a slow one. Which is why autistic people are one extreme or the other. It's just the luck of the draw.

I don't know about overly observant, but I certainly seem to notice different things than most people around me do - and at the same time don't notice things which are obvious to them. I can be very hyper-vigilant when anxious, but even when I'm not, my attention just doesn't seem drawn to the same aspects of the world as most other people.

If my attention is sufficiently hyper-focused on something else, the message simply doesn't get through, and it will only come to my conscious awareness when I snap out of the "flow state" - the same goes for a lot of other "body signals" for me.

If you perceive something that aint there (isn't so) then you're not being "overly observant". You're being 'nonobservant'.

I used to active in a autism support group that had a couple of dozen membeers. They came in all body types with the highest part of the bell curve being average (as with any population). So no, I doubt that autistics go to the two extremes the way that you are suggesting (based upon my limited observation).

Yes. When I enter a public place I am very shortly overwhelmed by details. All of my senses (and my response to them) are extremely powerful. Though I cannot verbally explain what I am seeing, it is locked inside of me.

One of the traits that many Aspies deal with is hypersensitivity. It can drive some of us into meltdowns. But if you can overcome the bad side effects, there are some advantages.

It is like being the fictional character called Sherlock Holmes. We notice details and the reasons behind the details better than NTs.

For example, I know around 10 seconds before a major earthquake is about to strike. An earthquake makes a very low subsonic rumble. I detect this rumble around 10 seconds before the ground begins to shake. It is a result of hearing oversensitivity combined with logic.

I know around 8 hours before a major storm system passed through. My pinky finger was dislocated by a football when I was a teenager. Although they put the joints back together, I can feel pain in that joint as the humidity builds up.

These are not just an Aspie trait, NT also perceive this. When my wife was pregnant, it was very easy to spot all the pregnant women in the grocery store that we shopped at. Your eyes are drawn to them. Also when you have a child, you spot every infant in the store. You are naturally drawn to them.

In the case of Aspies and overweight/underweight anomaly, I might give an explanation for this observation. Many Aspies are not fans of exercise. Our awkwardness tends to limit our ability to become involved in team sports when we are in school. Therefore over the years we tend to become overweight. We tend to become couch potatoes and spend many hours in front of a video game. But another element is in play primarily in female Aspies. They associate not being accepted by their peer group with their weight and many focus on diet and losing weight which sometimes leads to conditions of anorexia and bulimia.

I’m very observant. I think it’s because I’m extremely shy and don’t talk much.

It’s usually a good thing because it makes me a better listener and helps me understand people more than I would have.

I'm hyperaware of noise. I tell my coworkers all the time how a patron's coughing or sniffing is driving me crazy and they are completely unaware of the sound. I hear people walk in the library with jangling key chains and I can't focus on anything.

The hyperfocus thing has been helpful with my job though. Since I shelve books, I can quickly tell when books aren't sorted correctly by their call number or if they are a children's book that was put in the teen section or a biography mixed in with the regular nonfiction.

People always told me, as a child, "WOW! That's very observant of you!" when I'd point out random things. If I'm in a car, I'm usually looking around me and enjoying the movement of the car and the scenes that are passing me by, so I don't lose myself in my phone ever. Also, my phone is a poor people's pay-as-you-go phone, so it's really glitchy.
I always notice when something isn't right, when something's off, and when there's an elephant in the room, I will be that person to point it out. I don't like it when certain things go unnoticed. I like to give credit to every little spec of dust in this universe.
I have come to the conclusion that people don't like me because of this. I'm not chill. I'll just blurt out the obvious that no one wants to talk about, and it's seen as rude and immature, but then again, that's why some people like me. I'm terrified of myself because I work in a big corporation with a bunch of people, and one day I'm going to say something really racist! I've already made sexist remarks without realizing it. I'm a female. How can I be accused of sexism? (Oh...you still can still be sexist if you're a female, trust me.)

I thought it was an NT trait to notice details about other people and their physique, fashion style and behaviours. Autistic people seem more drawn to patterns on objects. I don't care how fat or thin people are, and I don't like judging people, but I do get drawn to things that are out of place. But I don't pay much attention to how a pattern is on, say, floor tiles, unless it's deliberately designed to catch your eye (which is the same for everybody), but if there's a floor tile that's a different colour to all the other floor tiles, I will point it out and find it amusing.