Do people on the spectrum have a distinctive appearance?

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Not to offend any one but i think this is the how the classic autism stereotype looks like at least from what i heard.

[img][800:640]http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab217/mnby123/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps3f3ddd4f.jpg[/img]

The biggest thing I have noticed from real life Aspies is that they look young for their age and they tend to have some "features" of the opposite sex. The girls I know look a little masculine/tomboyish and the guys like me have soft faces and somewhat feminine features (it wasn't until almost my mid 20s I started shaving more than once a week). Might just be a coincidence or that the 'tough' looking Aspies never got singled out or picked on.

If by 'having a look' you mean the guys tend to have their hair messed up, one pant leg tucked into a sock, and one shirt tail tucked into thier waist band, but not the other, then I might concede that there could be an 'autistic look'. But no, there is no physical look.

Made it to the support group the other day. There is no way that the couple dozen folks at the meeting have any common physical 'look'. Some are Black, some look very Wasp, some look very Jewish, and so on. Some are big, some are petite. Just dont see any physical commonality.

i agree that we tend to look younger but i don't think it's genetic. it probably has more to do with grooming and fashion choices. young women tend to look younger when they're not wearing makeup and don't have their hair styled, and adult men often look like teenagers if they don't work out, have certain haircuts, wear hoodies and graphic tees etc.... if you look professional and put-together people will assume you're older. i dont think there are any other facial characteristics associated with asperger's.

that's just asperger's, though. there are a variety of disorders associated with lower-functioning autism that can cause characteristic appearances (fragile x, for example).

Double post, apologies. I got an error message and tried to resend it.

I have been told I look older than I am. I am one of the youngest in my year, but also one of the tallest and I look around my age.
So, I don't know.

I have often surprised people when I tell them my age - they genuinely believe that I'm up to ten years younger than I am. (I was born in the mid-1960s.)

Until now I'd always assumed (and stated to people) that it was because I haven't had kids to wear me out or a wife to nag me

Having scanned through the posts on this thread - well, now I'm less sure.

That picture looks a lot like my NT work colleague.

I would say no physical look, but I can pick it up easily from body language of people in social situations only. When they're just walking, though, not so much. You can't tell from pictures, either, and some aspies I know in person dress very fashionably, especially the girls (me included!).

It's hard to tell with me. If you didn't know I had anything, I'll just look shy or maybe nervous, or if you do guess anything you'd probably assume I just have mild learning difficulties or something. I don't have body language that screams out ''I have Asperger's''.

But if you was told I have Asperger's before meeting me, you'll probably meet me and think ''ah, yeah, I can sort of see she has it''. But I am not a stereotypical Aspie.

It seems the majority of Aspies I have met or know of or have seen on the telly all seem to wear glasses. I know it's not a distinctive Aspie thing because I know NTs that wear glasses too, and glasses are particularly common in older people anyway, but it seems the majority of young Aspies as I say seem to all wear glasses for some reason.

My eyesight is not as good as it should be but I do not want to wear glasses because I don't want to be part of the ''Aspies and glasses'' stereotype. Also I'm afraid to try contacts, although that is what I might have to do until I reach mid-40s, then I'll wear glasses.

My eyesight is very good.
I do not need to wear glasses.
Though my mum and sister do and my dad might need to soon.

I don't think wearing glasses makes me look like an Aspie. I think not wearing makeup and being depressed would make me look like an Aspie. I wear makeup to make me look NT and mask my depressed facial expression.