Why do we look younger?

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I'm always told I look much younger than my age. The asperger specialist who diagnosed me said this is very common in aspies

I look younger because of my small build. I guess even my coordination and bodily movements are childish which add to it. nobody believes me when I say I am 26. Most say I don't look older than 18.

People thought I looked older than my physical age when I was a kid & teen because I hit puberty earlier than my peers. People asked me what high-school I was in when I was in Jr high. People who didn't know me or my age thought I was retorted after a bit because I behaved like I was a lot younger than I looked

I am less likely to do go to parties........but I've done the other things, and I still look younger.

The others might explain it.

The lack of facial expressions has been cited here as a reason, and it's dead-on.

Facial lines and frown marks form in most people relatively early in life, as a result of repeated facial expressions. You can even see them on teenagers sometimes. But given my poker face and wooden countenance, I don't have even the slightest hint of them at 30, and doubt I ever will.

The other thing is, staying out of the sun. Needless to say many of us don't get out of the house much. For me it's been a deliberate avoidance of sun exposure (which accounts for 70% of visible skin aging) that I have been practicing since I was in my mid-teens.

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Check out "Problem Child," my memoir of life with autism.

It has probably mentioned before but it could be due to our neeandertal genes. Arcoding to the neandertal theory (that's just a theory thought) people on the AS have more neandertal genes than others. According to this theory, neandertal used to live more than 100 years, and thus to age more slowly.

more info here http://www.rdos.net/eng/asperger.htm

Besides genetics....

Stress will age you.

IF you believe in statistics, the numbers say most adult Autistics are unemployed and living at home without children. The struggle to keep a job, pay a mortgage, and raise children causes: stress.

The Autistics who are independently living are either in group homes or refusing to enter the rat race inorder to keep up with the Joneses. Both lifestyles minimizes STRESS.


TheSunAlsoRises

I have had a lot of stress in my life. Still I look much younger than everyone else.

Completly agree. Aspies have in average much more stress than others because they are on the freaking wrong planet, but they still look younger.

I don't believe either in facial expression theory, I know lots of people with very expressive faces who don't have wrikles and look yonger. Also, there are some people who have wrikles and look yonger and some people don't have wrinkles but look old. What makes someone look young or old is hard to grasp. Personally I think it's in the genes.

Besides genetics......

As I stated in my post, Autistics do NOT(for the most part) have the TYPE of stress related to maintaining a 40hr week plus job, paying a monthly mortgage, and raising children. Why ? Because according to statistics people with Autism disproportionately do NOT have these things.

Everyone has stress. It's a fact of life. BUT, stress related to 'what'. This rat race will kill you and for the most part Autistics are NOT a part of IT.

For example: The president of the United States has stress related to dealing with national and global issues on a daily basis that effect billions of people in addition to stress related issues of the common every day man. For the most part, presidents don't age well, either.

Having to focus on self vs. having to balance that focus on self and others in spite of a condition is a whole other world.



TheSunAlsoRises

I think there's a lot of truth in this.

MMM I still maintain that aspies have more stress than others. Every life can be stressfull, that's for sure, but most of the people just do what they have to do and have stress now and then due to unexpected events occuring. The stress of an aspie - like me, is that you just don't feet anywhere, at least you feel this way, dealing with everyday life situation can be much more difficult. Aspies have more difficulties with people, feell more lonely and thus more depressed.

When you are an aspie, at least you have greats friends plus a confortable source of revenu doing something you like, that's gonna be a tough life for you.

It is only chess players who can precisely guess my age.
Nobody else thinks I look about 20.
They either think I am about high-school age (around 15-16), or some 30-year old homeless guy.

[img][800:768]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn189/DaveMoore24/0723220658.jpg[/img]

GUESS MY AGE

I look like im 15-16 when in reality im actually 18. im really self-conscious about it, but it will probably benefit me when im older.

TheWingman, if you could have research done on anything that would make your life easier, what would that be?

TheSunAlsoRises