I almost ALWAYS look at the ground when I walk...

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Just noticed this lately, although I'm sure I've done it all along...I'll look up occasionally to make sure I'm not about to walk in front of a car or into a wall. But then it's right back to the ground in front of me. But oddly enough, I still step in holes and turn ankles and trip over things. I'm guessing this is Aspie-related, but I'm not sure how.

I do this all the time. I'm not sure there's anything more than anecdotal reporting to suggest it's AS-related, though.

I often do, yes.

It could be AS-related, but I really don't know that for sure.

If it is, it could be a way of reducing sensory input; instead of looking at the big crazy world you're looking at the road ahead of you.

Plus, if you are dyspraxic (and I am), it might help you to stay balanced and walk more efficiently if you have visual feedback on where you are putting your feet.

But all this is just speculation. It could be complete and total coincidence.

I too look at the ground a huge percentage of the time, but for me it's usually because I want to avoid eye contact with strangers, as the streets are busy where I live and pedestrians are always around you. I don't like having to look at anybody and it's hard to look around at the world and not "brush eyes" with someone if the street has lots of people also walking past you.

I do try to look up and around more though, as I'm interested in birds and photography and I do miss out on a lot if I keep my eyes to the ground. It's a hard instinct to break though.


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i always look at the ground, i like the way it looks and it keeps the light out of my eyes,

I always used to do this but you can train yourself out of it. I didn't realise I never looked up until at some point my ballet teacher started commenting on it (I am a dancer). She focussed on it with me for a while, mentioning it in nearly every class and I realised I did it in day to day life but it is less obvious. When dancing, heads are so important so I decided to work on it. To try and make it natural/a habit I decided I had to do it in outside life as well. To start with it was really difficult: not only would I constantly forget and find myself looking at the floor but it felt very dangerous in a few different ways. Maybe because I'm short sighted (though this is corrected with lenses) I tend look just in front of me to make sure I'm not going to trip on anything so it felt a bit physically dangerous, like walking with your eyes shut, until I got used to it. But it also felt dangerous because there was the chance of meeting someone's eyes (hadn't even realised I was avoiding them - this was years before I got diagnosed) and having to know how/whether to acknowledge them. And it also felt incredibly arrogant or something. I am very shy by nature though have got better, and used to basically just try not to be noticed if at all possible, so to walk with my head held straight felt similar to if I had been contributing to conversations or giving opinions which at that point in my life would have been unthinkable.

But I worked on it, and it does now come naturally. I still worry about eye contact and acknowledging people though not as much, but I love to look at the sky and trees and things around me which I didn't notice as much before. I think it helped me to have a concrete reason to do it, somebody to remind me every day or two and an explicit way in which I was supposed to use the head and gaze.

I do that, too, because I can avoid eye contact that way.

But even more interesting is how every little irregularity, piece of trash or crack on the ground will grab my attention -- but at least I'm safe looking down. If I look up and if I'm in the city, my head will be moving all over the place looking at architectural details and signs which pop out at me, and I've almost bit hit by cars doing this. (Also, I look really weird when I do this, like a bobblehead.)

Anyway, who cares? Why not just keep looking at the ground? There's nothing wrong with it. There are lots of cool things on the ground. Like dog poop.

I do it too.

Once had someone tell me that it looks like 'I'm not proud of who I am'.

Baloney.

I think part of it is looking to make sure I don't step in something nasty. It is odd that everyone's saying the same thing, tho'. Maybe I do it for other reasons too?

I have nearly killed myself stepping in holes in the ground that were hidden by the grass. Watching the path you're walking just seems common sense.

When I'm on the treadmill, I can walk or jog hands-free, only if I keep my eyes on the machine. If I look anywhere else (like the TV), I have to hold on to the handles, or I'll wander off the tread and trip myself up. It's very connected to balance.

I always look at the floor. And I like to play that game where you avoid the cracks on the pavement. I like to walk along the curb too.

I do it.
1) I tend to trip over.
2) The sun is too bright.

Supposedly I would do this as a teen, but I was never aware of it until someone (usually my mom) pointed it out.

I do this a lot. I guess the reason could be so I could see where I am walking. My mom noticed this a lot and tells me to look up more so I can look more confident.

I started doing this in fourth grade because I kept bumping into people and things. Now it's become a habit.

I do this when i'm amongst people, whether they are on foot or in a car. However, im not sure what I do when I am alone, a mixture of up and down perhaps? I remeber reading something once, which said it's impossible to not change ones behaviour when around spectators. With this being the case looking down is a reaction to people. I get annoyed when I have an area of land to myself to enjoy, when suddenly someone enters my vicinity and I am forced to adjust! argghhh