Nonverbal behaviour poll

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I have difficulty interpreting other people's non-verbal behaviour- body language and facial expressions - I often miss what people are trying to communicate non-verbally - body language, facial expressions ect. I can tell if someone has a different tone of voice or facial expression than usual and is trying to express some emotion- but not whether the person is afraid, surprised ect. When I worked in a daycare I would miss really obvious body language clues that kids would give that the other ladies got. The thing is I am expressive non verbally- I display my emotions in my facial expressions and body language-sometimes inappropriately to a situation but not just too little expression- and my tone of voice has always had emotion, never monotone or too little inflection. I don't understand why I can't interpret non-verbal cues if I can produce them-the two abilities should be related.

Here's the question: DO you have trouble with non-verbal expression/interpretation or both or neither and what is your diagnosis or what are you suspicions of disorders or lack there of?? Also if you do have trouble with non-verbal expression-what are the difficulties you have? I'm interested also in whether some people have trouble with only showing inflection in their voice OR facial expressions and not the other or if they're inseparable.

For the poll only answer of you are diagnosed with an ASD- I'm interested in others-but there would be too many options and I want to get numbers of those diagnosed on this site.

This has always been a big struggle for me, and only recently have I occasionally been able to successfully interpret a facial expression. But it is not anywhere as consistent as I would like it to be. For example, I have been seeing this chiropractor. For the first 3 visits, she was extremely talkative, vivacious and friendly. Then one day I came for my appointment, and she greeted me with a considerably toned down smile and whereas before she would waste about 10 minutes blabbing away, this time she led me right to the treatment table. I was out of there in one half hour! I got paranoid and wondered if she were upset with me, but my fiance had an appointment with her later on and saw that she was the same with him. From this I deduced that her change in mood had nothing to do with me. An Nt would have been able to narrow that down a lot swifter, I am sure. She might have been signaling a lot of things non verbally, but I just could not see it.

I can eggspress moar non-verbals than I can receive from other people.

For eggsample, I point at things for other people to look at, but I look at people's fingers when they point at things for me to look at.

In the course of my development, I lacked both reception and eggspression as a child, but I started to develop some non-verbals during adolescence, and my eggspression went ahead of my reception, and it still is and will be 4evar, since the eggspression comes from myself and the reception deals with stuff from other people.

/facepalm

I do that too and never even noticed until you said that.

I express better than I receive, but I mess up expressing often enough. People sometimes think I'm angry at them because of me sending the wrong nonverbal cues, for example.

I'm another person who expresses better than they receive but have issues on both sides.

I'm really frustrated at people assuming things based off of my body language rather than talking to me. It's apparently gotten more non-standard since I moved (I've generally gotten more autistic since I moved), and people assume things, and then later when they're talking about it tell me how it makes sense for them to assume this and don't realize that I'm not being able to control my body language like an NT either, not just not read it. Apparently I'll do things like go out of my way to make food for other people, bring it to them, and make it seem like I'm frustrated because I want the food for myself.

That direction is far better than reading other people's though.

I do this too! I can't follow a pointing finger to an object but I point for other people to find an object.

Well I guess there are others who at-least have more trouble with interpretation and expression........

Everyone tells me that I don't use abnormal non-verbals, unless they know what they're looking for. Usually I have none.
I can see the non-verbals and I know what different ones mean, but it's like a textbook knowledge (I can't place them in context well at all.)

My psychologist said that I have a monotone voice, but I think that's when I'm under stress. When happy my voice inflects TOO much.

So, both. Although my friends (who don't understand it too well) don't agree.

Weird.

And oh my goodness - I look at people's hands when they point.
Dang it.

Interesting....so you have more trouble with expression than interpretation because you can do the interpretation more systematically..... painstakingly learn to recognize non-verbal language.....makes sense.....I'm just too lazy to really try that.....actually I've started a few times to look up things like "how to read emotions" but I don't have strong enough self discipline to study it extensively.........

I never had much trouble with expression though......I mean I have weird gestures and facial expressions but not too few......so I always do express my emotions but for example when I get angry or annoyed at my mom I sound REALLY ANGRY and make fists or claws with my hands- so it looks like a really exaggerated demonstration of angry and it looks funny - my mom laughs at this- but I've never been described as "expressionless" or "too little expression" and my voice even as a kid had inflection/ emotion....sometimes I talk too slowly or too quickly, too formally with too much annunciation-too loudly or quietly-but not monotone................... and eye contact didn't come naturally- that was the one expression thing I lacked as a kid-didn't look at people when I talked/listened to them-I sometimes get an exaggerated/staring kind of look when I make eye contact (when I'm nervous about being "social" and not making a bad impression) but it doesn't feel "painful" or "terrifying"to do as I've heard others describe ......................

I don't have a diagnosis yet, but I'm so uber-literal that I considered "non-verbal communication" to be oxymoronic until just recently. In other words, I've always thought that without verbal comm there almost wasn't any.

To further elaborate, for example: Unless someone is actually doubled over with a pained expression on their face (a.k.a. sick or injured), I can't tell *if* people are trying to convey ANY message at all... And such expressions as aforementioned would be involuntary for the most part anyhow so it almost couldn't be considered communication since it's not intentional.

I have more trouble with nonverbal expression, than nonverbal interpretation.

I have more trouble with non-verbal expression then interpretation which is kinda trippy sometimes because I will be practically reading what the person is expressing and not knowing what to do in the mist and feeling really bad about it later. For me, its always been more of an issue with actions mainly because even when I was little, I was always an advid observer. I used to stand on the side, observe and not really do much else. I get very anxious a lot.

According to my mom communicating unintentionally is still communicating. As I explained above I'm expressive so I'll do things like clench my my hands/fingers when I'm upset without realizing it and have a "look" and my mom will say "don't give me that look" or don't do the "claws" which is what she calls my weird angry gesture with my hands- and I've said before that I didn't intend to communicate anything to her - it was just an instinctive reaction-I'm not even facing her when I do it usually- but she says it's still communication- you are sending a message and another is receiving it....or in your case another is sending a message and you're receiving it.

I also have trouble with noticing the subtle expressions....I only notice the exaggerated ones.........do you have trouble with expressing yourself non-verbally (monotone voice, lack of expressions etc)?

I am systematic and analytical: everything runs along a method for me, and I understand by categorizing and organizing and diagramming. I was in acting and film school as a kid, so I think that's where my knowledge came from...but I incorporate it in an autistic way...
I once took a quiz on how systematic I am, and I am overwhelmingly so. I developed OCD over it, but it's the basis.

If I don't have a method for it, it doesn't get done. Even brushing teeth....
The same with understanding nonverbals - if the same one happens at the same time then I categorize it as connected.
So much work - maybe that's why I'm so tired all the darn time.

I make all kinds of weird facial eggspressions, but I can't seem to make many of the standard ones. I really can't do the standard tones of voices. I can't even begin to fake them properly.

Yeah, I know, I know. "Unintentional communication" bothers me just as bad as non-verbal. I guess you confirmed my suspicions about my hopelessness, since I have incomplete definitions of the true scope of communication.

I guess I make people squirm in their seats when I address people. It's very ironic, since at times they're more likely to not pay attention to me than I am to return the favor. If there's any salvation, it's that people can tell I'm not mean-spirited. Attempts to break monotony result in being all over the place (enthusiastic = childlike, louder = angry-sounding, sad = flat, etc).

[buff tabbies rock, btw]

I have always had issues with both of these. However, I never really noticed/thought about it until I started trying to date/struggling with relationship issues with the opposite sex. Then my handicaps proved very large & very crippling. Probable reason why I got the "Creep" label so often in college. Sending the wrong messages, etc.

Sincerely,
Matthew