Stereotypical Aspergers?

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anbuend
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23 Mar 2006, 7:33 pm

Brainsforbreakfast wrote:

Don't kid yourself. There is no such thing as a stereotypical look. Not biologicaly speaking.

There are two kinds of stereotypical looks that are biologically based.

One is in how autistic people move and react to our environments, which can be very visible in terms of gait and mannerisms and posture and facial expression and so forth.

Another is in the fact that there are a number of genetic patterns that make it more likely that a person will be autistic, and that also have characteristic differences in the structure of the face and/or body. (There are also some subtle patterns of facial appearance that are more common in autistic people and have to do with a certain phase of fetal development.)

Either of those (or both combined) can result in a stereotypical "look".

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rajih
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23 Mar 2006, 7:39 pm

odeon wrote:

Honest answers to some of the online Aspie tests can do that also, with the added advantage of not having to annoy people with rude questions.

If they are true friends, then they won't mind a few questions about how they perceive (generic) you. As a matter of fact, they may even appreciate that you're taking responsibility for your actions and checking in with how they feel about stuff you do/say to them.

If they think you're being rude and annoying by asking a few questions about their perceptions, then they're not your friends to begin with. Or, it's possible, that they're terribly ignorant about what being a friend means.

Perhaps i'm wrong.

odeon
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24 Mar 2006, 3:38 am

rajih wrote:

odeon wrote:

Honest answers to some of the online Aspie tests can do that also, with the added advantage of not having to annoy people with rude questions.

I don't know if you are, but in my experience, it's better (at least first) to find out about a possible ASD on your own, rather than to ask your friends, because once they're made aware of it, you can't make it go away. They will treat you differently.

I'd be wary about revealing too much.

ster
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24 Mar 2006, 6:46 am

OMG! you look just like my son!

CockneyRebel
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24 Mar 2006, 10:26 am

I don't think that there is a speciffic look. We pretty much look like average people, and we each have our own apperance, like everybody else. If somebody was to look at a picture of me, with my Austin Powers-type Glasses, they might say that I look like an Aspie.

rajih
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24 Mar 2006, 1:05 pm

odeon wrote:

Again, if you have people who are true friends in your life, that is not something that needs to be an issue. If they abandon you based on the fact that you're an Aspie/Autie, then as far as i'm concerned, you're better off without them. i won't have friends who don't accept the real ME, complete with all of my strengths and flaws. i realize i have a really high standard for my friends, but it's nothing that i don't practice myself.

This being said, if the stigma is ever to be removed from having an ASD, then we need to not be afraid of the reactions/responses of others, NT or not. We need to own our power, and to do that, we need to live with pride, not shame, in who we are.

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odeon
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24 Mar 2006, 1:31 pm

rajih wrote:

This being said, if the stigma is ever to be removed from having an ASD, then we need to not be afraid of the reactions/responses of others, NT or not. We need to own our power, and to do that, we need to live with pride, not shame, in who we are.

Not shame. Just some realism. It's never going to be as dramatic as some friends actually abandoning you or anything like that, it's going to be far more subtle. Too subtle for many of us, me included.

TigerFire
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24 Mar 2006, 2:21 pm

odeon wrote:

rajih wrote:

Realism huh? Anyway have you seen Dark Star around here these days? I don't see his name anymore.

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Jetson
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26 Mar 2006, 5:15 am

anbuend wrote:

I agree on this one. There's no stereotypical physical manifestation of AS that you can see in a static photograph, unlike Downs Syndrome for example. Aspies come in all shapes and sizes. Where the stereotype comes into play is when we're in a social situation. That's when diagnotic terms like "paucity of expression" or "contradictory verbal and non-verbal language" become obvious to those around us. Now if you told us that those pics were of the happiest and/or saddest moments of your life then we'd have something to go on because then the lack of expression wouldn't be simply a case of boredom.

anbuend wrote:

Another is in the fact that there are a number of genetic patterns that make it more likely that a person will be autistic, and that also have characteristic differences in the structure of the face and/or body. (There are also some subtle patterns of facial appearance that are more common in autistic people and have to do with a certain phase of fetal development.)

Either of those (or both combined) can result in a stereotypical "look".

I've never heard anyone else ever mention autism-related changes in appearance, whether based on genetics or fetal development. If you are thinking of odd postures or stereotypical movement patterns then that's really a matter of behavior, not appearance.

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neptunevsmars
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26 Mar 2006, 5:58 am

BeeBee wrote:

That's the new style. My 14 year-old's hair is the same. As is a significant minority of the other 14 year olds in his high school. Saves me a ton of money...no more barber shop for him!

I had a mullet at 14 and it was an extremely bad one. Sure it was 1985 but I'm still not going to criticize any teenager's hairstyle. Young males have to do things with their hair while they still have it.

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