Why do people on the spectrum look young for their age?

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Joined: 14 Feb 2011
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Location: mostly, in my head.

07 Mar 2012, 3:08 pm

I'm 38.
I look like a teenager.
And a young one at that (was asked for ID to get into a 15 certificate film at the cinema not that long ago).

I am a terrible judge of how old people are by looking at them, so I never make assumptions. Yet people are forever assuming I'm significantly younger than I am - even after I have told them how old I am!!

Pandora_Box
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07 Mar 2012, 4:03 pm

It has to do with social growth. It's our peer groups who really shape us. All though yes family will be family, it's really the people around us that help us grow. A lack of a social environment creates stunted growth. I cannot remember where that article is, but I read an article on this. I'm short in stature and haven't aged much because of a lack of a peer group.

Here's another article too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/ ... eandhealth

That can answer the question. All though that's my about family environment. Anyway, social exteriour factors effect our external factors of growth.

vetwithAS
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07 Mar 2012, 7:31 pm

I find I experience quite the opposite. People tend to guess I'm older than I am. These days guesses are a few years over, but when I had a goatee it was way worse. I had one time back in my early 20s someone said I looked to be in my late 30s.

lostinthewoods
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07 Mar 2012, 9:59 pm

Joe90 wrote:

I've noticed Aspie males look approximately their age or older than Aspie females (this might not be the case - it's just what I've experienced). Aspie females, like myself, tend to look younger then our age because maybe some females on the spectrum have problems motivating themselves into making an effort with their appearence. I've noticed young NT females who look younger than their age when they're not wearing make-up or have a hairstyle or anything. Once when I changed my hairstyle had a makeover, I actually looked way older, and other people pointed that out too. But I've met quite a few males on the spectrum and they kind of looked approximately their age. In fact one of them was 19 but looked about 30. He was tall, dark and handsome, with a nice stubble and full eyebrows, and he even gave off a confident, cocky vibe. Quite lucky really.

You made me remember a very odd situation: I decided to (for the first time in my life) go to a hairdresser and do the whole hair-make-up thing. My friends and work mates didn't recognize me! I was sooooo embarassed.

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justalouise
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07 Mar 2012, 10:15 pm

I'm 27 and I've had a lot of people in the last year or so tell me that I look 16 or 17.

Ohiophile
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14 Apr 2012, 5:30 pm

Could be related to the vitamin D theory of autism. Low vit D = low testosterone = look younger. Ever notice that kids are not playing outside anymore? Helicopter parents combined with TV/Computer/Video Games mean less time outside and no vitamin D absorption. Plus people are paranoid about skin cancer and they wear tons of sunblock. Are intelligent, asperger types more likely to spend time indoors because of focused interests as well and thus lack adequate vitamin D? Here are some articles about vitamin D and autism:

Vitamin D Deficiency cause autism

Link Autism and Vitamin D

It is known that there are higher than average rates of autism among Somali immigrants in Minnesota:

Minneapolis Autism

Autism rates are higher in rainy areas:

Autism higher in rainy areas

all_white
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14 Apr 2012, 5:46 pm

b9 wrote:

it is ironic that my sedentary lifestyle which he condemned me for when we were young proved to be beneficial to me as we grew older.

i will outlive him and i did nothing but relax while he worked his bones to powder to achieve fitness.

maybe i will be challenged about what i posted because i guess it is not good advice. it is just my situation.

I think there is a happy medium.

Pushing your body too hard in the obsessive pursuit of fitness can cause serious injury.

Being an obese, asthmatic couch potato can cause serious disease.

It's best to be somewhere in between.

However, I do not think that being sedentary is likely to influence how young-looking your face is, so I don't see how it relates to the topic.

Matt62
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14 Apr 2012, 7:46 pm

Hmm, well I actually did the obsessive fitness thing (running/racing) in the 1980s. So that is not really the cause, either. I used to think maybe because my eyes being sensitive to light, I avoided the sun too much. Might be a smidge of truth in that. But I tend to get decent tans & love being out of doors in good weather (sometimes bad too!).
I really DO think its related to whatever gene helped contribute to my condition.
Of course, the whole swapped with normal human infant when my Fay parents decided not to raise me, or repay some debt in the convuluted laws of the sidhe still might apply.
LOL

Sincerely (except the last sentence),
Matthew

Kinme
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15 Apr 2012, 12:21 am

Ganondox wrote:

Because we are sexxy and awesome.

Before someone starts to flame me I'm joking.

Yes, this is true. That explains why in a nutshell.

Kinme
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15 Apr 2012, 12:38 am

I've been told that I look 13 and I am 20. I'll be 21 this year. As for why we look younger a lot of the time, I have no idea.

Ohiophile
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09 Jan 2013, 9:34 pm

This could be related to all of the harmful pesticides which are legal in America. 30 out of 37 pesticides are hormone disruptors. They are also neurotoxic, which could be responsible for the rise in autism.

answeraspergers
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10 Jan 2013, 7:10 am

im 32 pass for 26

Sylvastor
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10 Jan 2013, 7:37 am

Hmm...
Good question.
I have no idea.
When I was a child and young teenager, people thought I was older, I once even didn't get a cheaper bus-trip on holidays because the bus driver thought I was older than I actually was (and I and my parents forgot to take my school ID card with me to prov that), the driver was stubborn and we had to pay more in the end... Maybe the way I acted and behaved influenced people's judgement on my age.

I don't know how it is now. There is a fair chance that the card turned - or not. Maybe it became neutral by now, family members who didn't see me in ages and are not as close as my closest relatives (thus forget my age) can judge my age fairly well by now.
Honestly, I don't know, simply because I don't go to locations where you are being judged by age (like clubs) anyway and because my contact with other people (in person) decreased.

justalouise wrote:

My first guess is that since we tend to be less expressive, facially, the skin on our faces shows less everyday wear than people who use theirs on a more regular basis.

Just an idea!

I considered this a possibility too that when someone has limited facial expression the skin would not wear off as fast because it stretches and contradicts less than when always in usage.

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Last edited by Sylvastor on 10 Jan 2013, 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

lonelyguy
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10 Jan 2013, 9:13 am

I am 27yrs old and always get asked if i am over 18...everyone says i have a baby face..it was even stated when i got diagnosed that i looked much younger than my age... maybe an AS thing!

Murderface
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10 Jan 2013, 9:33 pm

I have been able to grow a full beard since I was 16 so people always thought I was older. Now I don't know.

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MikeW999
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10 Jan 2013, 9:37 pm

SkipNip wrote:

I'm 26 but look about 18. I know one other person who is diagnosed with high functioning autism and he also looks much younger than he is. From reading threads on this forum, I see that this is a common theme among people with high functioning autism. Any theories as to why people with HFA look younger than they are?

It's a good thing, stop complaining.

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