Can see autism in people walking down the street?

Post Reply New Topic

I could tell a man had autism just by looking at him. He had a tight posture instead of relaxed and he was tapping his palm with his fingers as he walked, so he was stimming. It was really obvious. I looked at a NT person, just to compare their hands were normal and relaxed and their body language was relaxed.
Does anyone else notice this?

Also, some people you see obviously have a big 'inner world' or 'inner dialogue' or you might call it 'overactive' or 'very active mind' as you can see people talking to themselves or acting in a bizarre way but its probably making sense to their own selves.

And when talking to someone who has it, its even more obvious.

Yep. Sometimes autism is obvious.

Other times, though, it’s subtle.

I had a good friend in childhood whose older brother was severely autistic. This is why I could sometimes discern autism pretty quickly.

Only some professionals such as clinical psychologists have the skill and authority to diagnose autism. Even they have to follow a diagnostic procedure.
______________________________________

Having said that, plenty of precious lil "people" have had the nerve to make fun of the way I walked, and I suspect that it has to do with autism (and they did not know that they knew nothing about autism)

Of course they do. Of course doctors must follow a diagnostic procedure.

I wouldn't "diagnose" somebody with autism. I would just "strongly suspect."

I can recognise autism in males, but not females. Even females with severe, obvious autism, I can't always tell if it's autism or something else. But with males that show autistic behaviours, I can tell. I saw a guy with autism in the supermarket the other week, he had noise-cancelling headphones on and was flapping his arms, and had his parents or carers with him.

I can't always tell if a person might be mildly affected though, if they're just walking or acting normal. But everybody's different, and if a person has an unrelaxed gait or something it could mean a number of other things such as mental illness, social anxiety or learning difficulties or other things. But I think hand-flapping in adults seems to be the most obvious sign that someone is on the spectrum.

I don't flap my hands or rock or hold my hands in an odd position, so you wouldn't really guess that I'm on the spectrum if you didn't know me (actually people who do know me can't guess, as I just come across as a quirky or anxious NT).

I still get strangers staring at me though, usually girls in their 20s, and it creeps me out. I don't look at people though, I just look straight ahead like I don't care (in other words, confident and relaxed), but I can see their gaze in my periphery and it makes me feel self-conscious.

I've seen females with all the "classic signs" of autism.

There seems to be a "female" presentation. But there are also females who exhibit so-called "male" autism.

Once I met a person who, at first glance, I thought was on the spectrum, and he told me that he had diagnosed AS later that day. I didn’t even bring up the topic of autism. It was a very strange experience.

I'm not interested in being black and white rigid thinking of ten hours with a doctor only!! in real life we have to go off whatever information is before us, and make quick decisions based off that.

While I was diagnosed with Aspergers in 2001 as a young adult, I can tell you that even prior to that I had some insight into my differences, and I consciously emulated NT body language and walk/gait till it was more "natural" (and felt natural to me).

I think a great help towards this, was when I wasn't feeling persecuted as much as I had in my earlier years... the anxiety from being rejected and mistreated by others, which continued into my early 20s, had abated and I had a good job in CS/IT... so I didn't have that constant negative feedback loop eating away at me and translating into "rigid" posture and body language. I didn't have to contend with the dreaded "HPA axis" (google that term) where stress chemicals were constantly flooding my body.

Consequently, trusted people close to me told me that they couldn't tell if I was on the spectrum given "expected" autistic manifestations.

well the HPA axis is something new for me to obsess over, thanks for that

People with asperger's are targetted by bullies...so it stands to reason they are observing these traits and it sets off something in their brain.