THERE IS NO MYSTERY

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You put it in a very great way. That was excellent. To the point.

The list is not perfect, and there are many exceptions. But, I know exactly what the OP is talking about. He is obviously gifted with 'pattern recognition' as many of us(aspies) are, and it just so happens that this is an area where he excels. I also find patterns naturally, and agree with his list. Like I said, the list is not perfect because this gift is mostly internal, and hard to accurately put into words.


I am willing to bet that if there were a line-up of 20 people, and 5 of them were moderate to low functioning autistics....that he(OP) or I, would be able to identify those five people, with surprising accuracy. And, I'm sure that many others could do the same. My point being....that there are universal characteristics that come with autism. For example...The very lowest functioning autistics would be easy to recognize by their photo alone, and the further away you move from that lowest point, the less likely it is that these traits will still be there. This will progress all the way up through AS, and continue all the way to NT. Of course, there will always be exceptions throughout the entire spectrum(low functioning thru NT), and all those will be variations from the baseline.

The list might not be perfect....but the ability to recognize autism physically, is real.

jb, that was a really balanced response. I think I'm inclined to agree that there may be something to pattern recognition; not anything of proof-positive or absolutely quantifiable but certainly capable of giving an inclination. It would take someone familiar with the quirks and intricacies of spectrum expressions to catch how mine have mutated and evolved, but I also do not doubt that one sensitive would pick up on them almost immediately.


M.

I dont know about that list of famous people, many of them are NT. But the list of facial traits are different. I have a few of them, such as

mind you that isnt that much. I think the only traits I have of note that are weird are the large eyes and the pointed elf ears and subtle androgyny.

Some more common facial features have been found in research or noted by professionals. Structures around the eye area, for instance.

I don't know about the rest of the list, but it fit me so well I started to get paranoid.

Jawbrodt...I am not questioning the sytematisation, the pattern recognition or the methodology.
I am questioning the content.

"Like I said, the list is not perfect because this gift is mostly internal, and hard to accurately put into words."

I thought he did OK, and I would say that he's around 70% accurate. He shouldn't have been so 'certain' with his post though. In order to make those statements it would take alot of research and study, before a precise baseline could be established. Off the top of his head...I still think he did a good job.

I'm getting really confused with how those physical traits are described, but I think I can relate to a few of them.

yeah. i do see what you are saying.

To original poster:

Do you also go by bumps on the head (phrenology)?

ruveyn

^ chuckle.

Jeez, don't give the list to Autism Speaks, they'll be rounding us up into guantanamo style camps.

What is Autism Speaks? I've never heard of it.

Beware, you wanted feedback.

Mine's not at all like that. No epicanthic fold either.

Yeah, if you don't smile much because you can't smile, then the corners of your mouth are often quite low.

Gosh, mine's huge and everything but you described.
If the bridge of the nose is flat and curvy they probably got Fetal-Alcohol-Syndrome.

So this sounds as if it could be about any shape of ears (square or pointed, large but elf like).

Many people have this and most are not autistic.

Can't be. Actually studies say that the head size of autistic toddlers is abnormally high, but not that of adults.

That was already commented on.

You know that's entirely due to behaviour. It may be that those with sensory issues prefer short fingernails.

Mine's like straw.

I have thick eye-brows.

I don't have that, thank god.

There are probably a couple of far-sighted folks here. It's just that many people are short-sighted rather than far-sighted.

A lot of people have this. It might however be true that especially those with sensory issues and social problems are very averse to getting their teeth corrected due to not being able to stand how it feels like or because they're unable to go to the dentist due to their social difficulties and possible co-morbid such as social anxiety.

Short or long? About every person has short or long legs.

I'm rather curvy and I'm not the only one.

I don't fit any but 3 of this list but I'm 100% autistic, fitting both AS and classical autism.

"Why neoteny should be so exaggerated in some humans is a mystery, but it clearly has something to do with genetics (aspie parents) and something to do with the environment – perhaps cold or a lack of sunlight, since many aspies seem to come from Scandinavia or Scotland."

Neoteny is maturational delay. See Gould's work, Ontogeny and Phylogeny. Maturational delay is closely associated with mother's uterine testosterone levels. See Baron-Cohen's work. Conditions characterized by maturational delay are directly related to environments that result in high female testosterone levels, at least seasonally, and a societal emphasis on characteristics that reinforce neotenous features (in Scandinavia blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin and lanky builds are all neotenous features developed to make it possible to process milk products as adults and absorb sunlight, bringing in Vitamins A and D). By developing the features of infants (light skin & lactate processing ability) the culture thrives.

Andrew

Thanks for the info, AndreT. You seem to know what I'm talking about.