how do you hold your self when you walk?

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There were previous threads about it, but I think a lot of people tend to hold their arms up near their torso.

I didn't know arm swinging was part of this discussion. I don't really. Not naturally. When I was a kid I didn't and I noticed I didn't (aka, other kids picked on me) so my parents spent time with me so that I could learn how to do it. I eventaully got it, but it was always a conscious effort, especially the whole opposite arm opposite leg part. It still doesn't come naturally and I usually have to remind myself to do it. My parents actually spent a lot of time very patiently teaching me how to do various things that I got the feeling most kids didn't have to learn.

I usually walk at a fast pace and I try to walk to it looks like I'm walking with a purpose and I try to leave my head up to look confident. I find that I swing my arms around a lot when I walk. I noticed that because when I was a teenager I was camping with my friend and she was holding her discman. One of my arms accidentally knocked down her discman and she was freaking out. I mean I know I don't do it extensively so it looks weird but they do swing up a bit.

I tend to look "like a caveman" (head down, shoulders slumped and feet in a slightly awkward position) when I walk. My parents would (and still do!) get on my case about the way I walk. I'm not sure if it's an aspie thing or a genetic thing: all people on my father's side walk the same way (I've even had complete strangers ask if I was related to him or anyone else in his family).

I've been walking with my arms swinging by my sides for years, don't make me think I can't do it for some reason. Usually I have one hand on my strap of my handbag (which is over my shoulder) and the other hand swinging or holding a carrier bag if I got one. If that ain't ''normal'' then what is?

Anyway, NTs don't march along the street in perfect rhythm like soldiers, where one arm is out of place and you stand out completely. In public, people are usually walking at different paces, heading for different destinations, not worrying about silly little details in other people, unless someone is doing something signifficantly attention-catching, which I KNOW I don't.

Doubt me on this one, and I am never going out in public again. I already suffer with Social Phobia and I'm a severe Autism-hater, don't make it worse.

Head down, shoulders forward and down, poor back posture, left hand holding my purse straps which are over my shoulder (HEAVY purse/hackerbag) right hand in my pocket flipping my Bic lighter over and over in my pocket (lately it's been a 1 Oz silver Buffalo coin) or playing with my keys(Don't know what to do with my hands if I don't have pockets). I have an odd gait, if I think about it to much about it while I'm in the act of walking I start to stress out and walk even worse. In my skater shoes I drag my heels, If I forget to switch from driving shoes to the skateboard shoes I toe walk like I'm in heels but not wearing heels. I DO NOT wear heels... Period. Waste of money, I scuff them up, snap off the heels etc.

In fact, everything I wear is made tough, it has to be to survive me wearing it.

I don't wear rings on my hands, they just end up mashed or destroyed. Ruined my engagement ring twice, it's in a baggy in my nightstand now...

I don't wear dangly earings because they bother the ever lovin sh*t out of me and they snag on EVERYTHING and I tend to fidget with my ears lots so I wear piercing studs(they have locking backings) or closed hoops.

Any necklace I wear is usually thick silver rope chain, I like the weight, I still manage to break them.

I have ruined countless pairs of glasses, the ones I have now are kids glasses, super bendy hyper articulated frames with scratch/shatter resistant lenses with magnetic clip on shades.

My coffee cups are all stainless steel. At least if I drop it or ding it on something it won't break.

I kept kicking, hitting, bouncing off the coffee table in the livingroom(spatial awareness?), it got to the point we couldn't repair it anymore so we built a coffee table out of stainless steel and put casters on the bottom. Now when I kick it the wheel goes right up between my toes (ouch) or it rolls away when I hit my shins on it. It does not flex.

I walk really fast, I have long legs and I just go fast. My BF has short legs and is forever telling me to slow down, take your time, what's the hurry etc. I try to slow down and it feels weird, that's when the bouncing on every step starts. Or tapping my toes between every step.

Hard to look cool and sexy when you trip over your own feet.

Well I know I don't have an odd gait. Just because I've got AS doesn't mean I don't know what the word ''normal'' and anything that looks normal actually is. I've often caught my reflection unexpectedly in shop windows and I stand/walk perfectly normal. Even when I met up with my social worker in public once she said that I walk nicely and don't need to work on posture or the way I walk, and she is there to help so I know she will give me honest feedback.

On WP forums it always seems to be a case of ''you're Aspie, you are always doing something different and will never be the same as NTs'' and ''if you get complimented by an NT it's all lies because NTs always lie''. Those two are stereotypes and aren't necessarily true for everybody.

My shoulders are stiff and my hands are in the pockets or always holding something. I think my balance is bad so I don't swing my arms much plus I don't like moving too much of my body when I walk. I think I've loosened up a bit and need to get my shoulders to be normal which I am practicing on. I think its because of anxiety.

Depends on my mood if I am anxious I look really tense but in a good mood fairly loose with a fast pace. Most of my friends/family have to tell me to slow down.
Anyone else hate it when slower moving people get in the way?
My average pace is 1 mile in 12min

Compensation. That is what I call it anyway. Whenever I have found myself to be lacking in some ability, whether mental or physical, I find a way to mitigate that deficiency. Case in point: You walk with an awkward gait. You've found a way to compensate for it. Good job I say. I've tried but failed in that regard. I don't have the motor coordination to pull it off.



NTs brains process multiple stream of data concurrently, whereas ours do not. They are able to notice those "silly little details" about others while maintaining their pace without crashing into other people because they don't suffer from the same deficiency that we do. While autism can be a blessing in certain regards, it is nevertheless a disease/disorder.



Who doesn't hate autism? I know I'm not fond of it. But as they say, you play the hand you're dealt.

slouching while looking down. some wrist flapping. long strides.

I walk with my hands sticking out and fingers away from each other. I look around as I walk. I swing my arms as I walk too. I also walk fast. I also tend to look at the ground as I walk and I try to remember to look up. I am not sure if I walk normal. I can remember my mother saying I didn't as a kid because that way felt comfortable for me. I also used to walk with my butt out too. I think I still stand and walk that way. It feels like I am leaning back if I try and stand right.

If it's raining outside or windy, I just tend to look forward and not look around because I hate getting rain in my face and wind blowing my hair in my face. I like shut everything out as I walk and I only see what is in front of me as I look at the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldnLxTablA8

About 10 Aspies could have walked by and I wouldn't of noticed. They are just all strangers to me.

Telling somebody with Social Phobia/Anxiety, and a paranoid obsession over people judging, that I will never be able to escape coming drawing negative attention is very discouraging.

ps, maybe this would catch more attention and make people laugh:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hz4W25J5RY

Last edited by Joe90 on 20 Jun 2012, 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

Her laughing sounded like mine and I have done that too, going up the escalators like that because it's fun. But then my parents would be ordering me to stop. I haven't done it in a while because I am too busy and I don't want to get in peoples way.

What would you prefer? That everyone reaffirm what you yourself believe to be "wrong" with you?

You have made numerous comments that suggest you are anything but autistic. Before you take it the wrong way, let me just say, you've got one of those golden tickets. Run with it and be content.

I have AS, but by saying people on the spectrum have awkward posture is just generalizing, which means just because I'm Aspie doesn't mean I walk noticeably differently. I used to walk hunched over when I was younger, but I have worked on that and now I am able to walk with my shoulders back, to the usual position most people walk in. They always say that posture can have a positive impact on your impression, and I stick by that because I've read it in books on how to be/look more confident, and also I was told that when I had CBT, so it does work. And I've been holding myself up for so long now that it is natural to me. The only times when I do feel I'm going a bit out of rhythm with my walking is when I'm walking past big crowds of teenagers or other figures that hold an intimidating vibe. So I can even sense myself when I am doing something odd. Just because I have AS doesn't mean I have 0 self-awareness.
Otherwise, I find I do not walk in a critical way, and I also observe NT behaviour aswell so I can pick up on what's supposed to be good and what's supposed to be bad.