Asperger traits in females?

Post Reply New Topic

I have had acid reflux since I was tiny.

It's really common for those with ASD to have gastrointestinal issues, apparently. And there's a correlation between immune system abnormalities and ASD.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12010627

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3440848/

Cats don't have facial expressions in the way that humans are used to. Think of dogs. They have eyebrows, and they use them in similar ways to humans. They get "sad" eyes, "begging" eyes, "I love you" eyes. Their eyes move a lot as those of humans do. And they pant, and "grin." These are very obvious and clear expressions.

Cats do not move their eyebrows much, if at all. They likely don't have the muscles for it. Their eyes don't move as much. They show facial expression by pupil dilation, blinking, by the degree in which their eyelids are lowered, by showing their fangs just slightly while raising their lips, etc. More subtle, less human-like.

They tend to use their ears, tail, and body posturing to show emotion. They purr, too, for different reasons, but some cats don't do this much at all.

So with a cat, one has to take all of those things into account. People who don't know cats are missing clear signals of the cat's emotional state, and what the cat is trying to communicate. My cats will try to catch my eye, move their ears, head, and tail, and posture their body to get my attention so I know what they want. And it's clear as day to me. I'm not anthropomorphizing them either, and assigning meaning to that which has no meaning. I just understand their "language."

Doesn't seem very gender specific.

Makes sense. I have always had cats growing up so I can see the subtle facial moves. I see them in horses and lots of animals too. It's amazing how I miss them in people but notice them in animals.

^^^ My guess is that if you spent time "studying" people quietly, without feeling threatened in some way, that you would be able to pick up on more signals.

Unfortunately, people aren't usually quiet like animals. They are always talking, and gesturing, and trying to communicate with other people. There's often no chance to just observe without being confronted in some way. So there's only time to try to deal with the person and figure out what that person is trying to say. There's just too much going to be able to focus on subtle signals. Plus, human communication is much more complex so there's more to learn.

Animals are just being themselves, and can't use spoken language to communicate, so it's simpler with them.

I think you are right Yigeren. When I spend time with my cats or the horses in my life or my other animals, it is usually very quiet and relaxed. Often times we just sit together or with the horses stand together and enjoy each other's company and energy. Sometimes with the horses I even just stand in the field with them and spend quiet time just bonding or napping with them. With people there always seems to have to be something going on. Sometimes as a relaxing stim I stare at people's hair or faces and really look at all the details of the skin patterns or hair colors. It really relaxes me. But that makes people uncomfortable. It's hard to just look at them without being engaged in some kind of conversation. Animals don't mind at all. They know you are not being threatening if your energy is calm and relaxed and loving. They say never to stare horses in the eyes because they are prey animals. Well I stare "my horses" in the eyes all the time and they return the same long deep soft bonding gazes just like cats do. So I think you are absolutely right. If people just took the time to be together without the need to always be talking or doing something, if they could just be still and relax, I might learn to understand the subtle expressions better.

Pretty much everything applies here. It's the odd stuff that stands out, things that I always thought were just the way I roll, like how I get my hair cut about every couple of years whether it needs it or not, and blow dry it about as often. I'm finding lists like this incredibly useful as I try to figure out just what it means to be autistic, because they help explain why I and everyone else didn't clue in sooner.