How does aspergers affect the way you look?

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My expressions are either stonefaced or overexagerated, my voice is inconsistant, and I have a crazy glare in my eye. No matter if I try to emulate a NT or act myself, I am always being stigmatized as a dummy or a wacko by idiots from all walks of life.

I do think my AS makes me fatter, because I don't get as much physical activity as the other girls I know--I hate sports and I get my exercise by walking and biking; also my Internet and old-video-game obsession has made me pretty sedentary.

I should get obsessed with fitness or something. Then I wouldn't be overweight anymore.

But I hate the physical sensation of being wet... especially if it comes from being sweaty...

What a life!

I remember when I was a boy I used to have this thing with sneering at people. I wasn't aware of it but my mother used to carry on about it all the time. It went on for years when I was about 8-10 years old.

God it was unpleasant! My mother used to make with all the 'don't you like that person' stuff and could not understand that it was involuntary and didn't mean anything.

I have lack of facial expression and what I would describe as "detached" body language. People have often commented that I look bored or sad. I used to feel terrible when people said I looked as though I was unhappy. People were often hostile toward me if they perceived that I was bored by their company, or sad when I didn't have the right to be sad. As a result of this type of criticism I learned to fake my body language and facial expression to fit in with other people. This faking takes alot of energy, I can't keep it up for more than a few hours.

Very much so, and I always considered myself unattractive. While I stopped hating my looks in general, I still hate the way I look in photos. In 95% of my photos, I either look stilted, tense, or downright ugly. The number of pictures where I actually look good can be counted on one hand, and most of them are on dating sites that I use.

According to my friends and family, I don't look like I have Asperger's.

i hate this, what doesa person with aspergers look like?

My son's physical therapist said that his flat affect is caused by low tone (hypotonia) in his face. It can also cause the "bouncy" walk, although it isn't really bouncy so much as floppy and uneven or awkward.

Hypotonia can affect different areas of the body in different people, which is why I think, some people here don't have the same things. My son's is mostly in the upper body. My husband's is also internal and affects his digestion.

It also causes problems with handwriting, shoe tying, coordination, etc.

As far as the appearance, I read a book that said that aspies tend to have a youthful appearance, which is definitely true in mine and my husband's case. I can't remember the name of the book, but it was written by a woman who dated an aspie, and it was mentioned on the Tony Attwood site.

Loving mr. Spock!! !! !! !! !

I am told I walk kinda funny like I am in a hurry to get somewhere but I don't look any different to a "normal" person.

This page is an interesting read, particularly the comments about appearance at the bottom:
http://members.aol.com/doder1/autism1.htm

and in particular:

I'm the odd one out in terms of physical appearance and for years the girls have been hitting on me, of course, until i learned a bit on human behavior and body language I didn't realize it... (I was often ridiculed by/in front of others in my childhood so I basically had a hostile stance to others)

I'm a fast walker - I'll walk fast until my legs bust (not by increasing stride but by moving legs faster). I don't know about 'bouncy' though.

Some teachers of mine have commented that I am always smiling way too much - maybe its lack of control or I'm daydreaming about better things at the same time.

I found a solution. Bite the inside of the middle of your bottom lip. You can't help smiling.

One thing I find is the 'blank' facial expression I employ. I think this can be quite common with aspies unless very stirred or interested in something. Also people think I sometimes have a very 'worried' expression (prob. because I'm concerned or anxious about something at the time!). People have also commented on odd 'stiff' arms when walking. I often take a bag with me everywhere as cannot stand being empty-handed in social situs. (Comfort blanket?)

I have also often been told that I look miserable. I could be quite innocently minding my own business, and someone in my house would approach me, and say "You can cheer up now!" and I remember that made me both confused and annoyed, because I didn't need to cheer up, I had been perfectly happy.

I have learnt by heart the christmas-and-birthdays "Wow! It's great!" <insert cheesy grin here>. I use it every day though, when I feel obliged to say something. I often come home with my cheeks aching from "smiling" so much.

I get told I bounce when I walk and I used to do it moreso when I was a child.

As for the size of my head, its proportionate with my body, which is a good thing as I'm only little.....

I definitely have a blank look that people somehow take as me being upset about something. All my life, I constantly hear strangers say to me things like"Cheer up, it can't be that bad!" Or I go into a store to buy something, and the person at the counter will refuse me service until I smile for them. I know it sounds odd, but it happens way more frequently than you would think.

Mostly people say things about me looking unhappy when I'm actually quite happy. It always takes me by surprise because I feel like I'm grinning like an idiot, but apparently I look pretty glum.