Can you be AS with eye contact?

Post Reply New Topic

This topic most likely has been up some times before, but:

I've been diagnosed with AS two times, at an autism specialist center and at my own doctor, BUT the thing that makes me wonder is; I've always made eye contact (at times very intense) and never reallly had a problem with it. My body language/gestures are fine also, especially after I've taken theatre classes. I also have a diagnosed AS friend and she can make eye contact too, and don't really have a problem with it. Even in my AS report they note that I have good and cordinated eye contact, and use gestures/body language.

I've read on the internet that people with AS can't use body language and/or gestures and they don't make eye contact, but on other pages I've read it's a myth and they actually can (especially when its in girls girls) make eye contact.

So I am wondering, is it impossible for people with AS (especially girls) to make eye contact and be fine with it? And use body language or gestures? Because if so I must have been wrongly diagnosed. That said I do have most other symptoms of AS, other than I do have friends (NOT someone I hang out with often though).

Last edited by MissBeatrice on 01 Feb 2011, 1:27 pm, edited 4 times in total.

I usually also had no problems with eye contact and body language. Usually i also like to see people in their eyes and have no problem with it.

Only when i met that one single girl i loved so much, then something strange happened: i couldn't look into her face directly, it was to strong, and at the same time my body language was no more intutive. I didn't smile when happy or sth. like that, i maybe could do it, but i had to do it then conciously. I thought its just a being nervous thing. But when i read about the aspie thing, i slowly grasped that i got those problems only in very stressfull situtations.

byebye,
anton

I have no problems with either body language and eye contact. I think it's totally possible to have AS and do this. While it doesn't come to me by instinct, I have learned when and where to use both eye contact and body language from knowledge. It almost comes naturally for me. 'Almost' being a key word there.

as with the others.

if im really low on energy, stressed or something, ill avoid eyecontact because its easier then.

when im high energy i dont think of it at all.

I had trouble with eye contact more as a kid. My dad literally had to force me to look him in the eye. I wouldn't want to, otherwise.

Nowadays I look at people when I speak with them, though I still prefer it if I can just speak and not look at them. xD I'm happy when I'm busy doing something so I have an excuse.

It does depend on the person, though.

The diagnostic criteria do not require poor eye contact. If you meet the other criteria, you can still be correctly diagnosed with Asperger's

All aspies are different, some are okay with eye contact. In my case, sometimes I can do eye contact and sometimes it's hard for me. Aspies have the ability to learn social skills (to some extent), so it's not an impossibility for all aspies to make eye contact; being able to make eye contact wouldn't exclude you from a diagnosis. Some aspies try to learn to make eye contact but end up being too intense about it, which is why I highlighted that bit. Some people think female aspies have a tendency to notice the norm and pick up on those traits, and being that you're a female and you've taken classes that would encourage you to look at people, gesture at them, speak in a proper tone, etc it's not surprising that you have some of those skills.

Yes, but I find it very odd.

I had no concept of eye contact other than something people made you do when you were in trouble until I learned about AS and learned about all kinds of things I was supposed to be doing and never even thought of.

Were you just born with the concept of eye contact?

I find there is a difference between what I can't do and what I don't like doing. I don't enjoy making eye contact but I can and do with friends and family or if a situation requires it. Situations I can get away with not doing it i.e shop staff etc... I tend not too. Probably makes me seem rude

I can't easily make eye contact if I am relaying information that I need to process in my head first.

or if she's too perfect

I can do eye contact, but it doesn't come naturally to me. I always have to remind myself to make eye contact when I'm talking to people and it's something that I constantly have to think about. If I'm trying to have a serious conversation, it's easier for me not to bother; it's too much work and a distraction.

As for body language and gestures, I do both. I don't know how normal it looks to a NT. I think I look normal, but I have no idea, really.

It's just a symptom, a trait. Some people with Asperger's don't like eye contact, and others are fine with it. It's a wide spectrum.

I have wondered about this too and made a similar thread some time back.

I don't really have any problem w/eye contact either. With a few people who seem creepy to me, I avoid it. But otherwise I can look into someone's eyes.

I think you might need to assess what you FEEL when you look though. I generally feel nothing. I like the way eyes look- their shape and color- so that is what I focus on. I don't see any emotions in there. I also tend to stare (I have been told).

I can look at a person straight on if they are talking to me, and am able to follow the conversation. But, if I have to speak myself, I look to the side to formulate my thoughts, then back to the person when finished. I don't know why I do this.

I'm scary good at reading body language, but eye contact bothers me just thinking about it.

I have somewhat good eye contact. My eye contact is only bad when I'm nervous, traumatized, sad, or forget to give eye contact.

My eye contact will come and go throughout a conversation. I check back in to make sure they are still there, then wander off again so I can actually hear what they are saying without distraction.