Why do Aspergers people have that look?

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ediself
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10 Nov 2010, 5:49 am

Mumofsweetautiegirl wrote:
I've noticed that a lot of people on the spectrum have a blank sort of look in their eyes. My daughter has this as well; it was one of the things I pointed out to the pediatrician when she was first being assessed for ASD. I read somewhere that the eyes are where the most expression and emotion is shown; which is why the eyes in particular, probably stand out to me as being quite blank. One of the DSM-IV criteria for diagnosing autism is the marked impairment in eye to eye gaze, facial expressions, etc. I don't doubt that people with ASD feel plenty of emotion (I think they actually feel more than NTs) but for a lot of spectrumites, the emotion just doesn't show up in the eyes.


it shows in the heart rate and the sweaty palms though....



Rynessa
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10 Nov 2010, 1:08 pm

I was reading through this thread thinking, "Wow, look at all the people getting bent out of shape...don't see that often on WP." Then I remembered I was in the Parents' Discussion.

@Craig - I'm not offended by your comment, and I don't think it should have been removed. There're a lot of NTs in this forum, though, and you know how they get... :roll: :lol:



Craig28
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10 Nov 2010, 1:32 pm

Rynessa wrote:
There're a lot of NTs in this forum, though, and you know how they get


Oh yes! I know very very well.



theWanderer
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10 Nov 2010, 1:36 pm

Rynessa wrote:
@Craig - I'm not offended by your comment, and I don't think it should have been removed. There're a lot of NTs in this forum, though, and you know how they get... :roll: :lol:


Actually, I was the first person to be officially offended, and I am not NT. I may not have an official diagnosis - but AS is the first thing in over fifty years that can explain all the oddities in my life. I am just sick of being dumped on by NTs who like to link AS with everything unpleasant they can think of when they aren't just dumping on us for being different. Before I figured out I was AS, I was sick of news coverage that made a huge deal because some guy was AS and killed someone - why don't they make a big fuss about it every time someone blue-eyed is a killer? (I am not suggesting anything negative about anyone with blue eyes, merely that it would be equally absurd.)

If the OP is AS and intended mockery of that NT attitude, I apologise for missing the point - but I still think it was a bad idea. Much too easy for some NT to come along, point to that, and say, "See! 'They' are all psycho killers." Which is, of course, a load of ignorant bigotry - but that's exactly my point. Bigotry is far too common as it is, without providing fuel.


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bjtao
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10 Nov 2010, 1:40 pm

The OP is diagnosed AS according to his profile.



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10 Nov 2010, 1:50 pm

bjtao wrote:
The OP is diagnosed AS according to his profile.


I admit I didn't bother to check that - but my statement also had two parts, and I can't know his intention, aside from reading what he said.

I have no quarrel with the OP, only with that statement. Even if it was meant as mockery, I think it was carelessly done, and could easily be misused by bigots. And, if it was meant any other way, it would mean he has accepted the bigoted lies spread about us. Which is a very sad thing, and nothing I'd want to attack him for, but in that case the statement itself - understandable as it might be in one sense - is as objectionable as it would be coming from the bigots who taught him to think that way.

As I've said elsewhere, the Holocaust has been one of my special interests for almost forty years. And if there is one thing I have learned from studying all that very tragic history, it is this. Never, ever, permit bigotry - even unconscious or apparent bigotry - to go unchallenged. There was nothing uniquely dreadful about Germans, they were simply humans like anyone else who were exposed to propaganda and bigoted statements until many of them assumed those things must be true. If any people are exposed to such influences, sooner or later, they will turn on those they have learned to think of as 'bad'.


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Craig28
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10 Nov 2010, 1:52 pm

bjtao wrote:
The OP is diagnosed AS according to his profile.


The OP of this thread? :roll:



bjtao
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11 Nov 2010, 10:24 am

No, you silly.



Craig28
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11 Nov 2010, 10:33 am

bjtao wrote:
No, you silly.


You are the OP of this thread, not me.



ediself
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11 Nov 2010, 12:34 pm

Craig28 wrote:
bjtao wrote:
No, you silly.


You are the OP of this thread, not me.

bahahaha it took me quite a few seconds to get that one but we have a classic aspie moment right here :lol: it's "you silly "as in "silly you", not "you silly!!" as in "you are!!" :lol:



bjtao
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11 Nov 2010, 1:22 pm

LOL, I thought about that after posting...

Craig, they meant the OP of the comment, not of the thread.



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11 Nov 2010, 1:27 pm

I showed up late... but my view on it...

I wished I looked dreamy. I got my mother's perma-scowl in lieu of a blank expression. I can't switch my face off. If I don't have an expression, I look like I don't approve. It sucks.

And psycho killers look just like everyone else. Downright charming, sometimes. So I am told. Think of Ted Bundy. Everyone said how charming he was...

And finally, some of the coldest, cruelest, nastiest people I have every known were smilers. It's all flowery wallpaper over a rusty door to a very ugly place.

Don't make me quote the famous cliché . The outside means nothing.


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12 Nov 2010, 6:09 am

bjtao wrote:
This is not to be offensive at all to anyone...

Is there any medical reason that people with Aspergers have that kind of .... cloudy, far-off, feathery look in their eyes? Don't really know how to describe it. I am sure you know what I mean. It seems to be a common physical trait. Is there any medical reason for it?

The eyes of other PDD diagnosis children look different to me, some normal some just not-there, blank and empty. Seems to be somewhat consistent with the diagnosis??


Because we're really just pretending to listen.



ediself
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12 Nov 2010, 8:02 am

Chronos wrote:
bjtao wrote:
This is not to be offensive at all to anyone...

Is there any medical reason that people with Aspergers have that kind of .... cloudy, far-off, feathery look in their eyes? Don't really know how to describe it. I am sure you know what I mean. It seems to be a common physical trait. Is there any medical reason for it?

The eyes of other PDD diagnosis children look different to me, some normal some just not-there, blank and empty. Seems to be somewhat consistent with the diagnosis??


Because we're really just pretending to listen.


that's....not badly put actually :lol:



ZakFiend
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12 Nov 2010, 8:08 am

bjtao wrote:
This is not to be offensive at all to anyone...

Is there any medical reason that people with Aspergers have that kind of .... cloudy, far-off, feathery look in their eyes? Don't really know how to describe it. I am sure you know what I mean. It seems to be a common physical trait. Is there any medical reason for it?

The eyes of other PDD diagnosis children look different to me, some normal some just not-there, blank and empty. Seems to be somewhat consistent with the diagnosis??


See here:

http://aspergersgirl.com/index.php/topic,815.0.html



Eldanesh
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12 Nov 2010, 3:29 pm

It's a very common observation of AS people (including myself).

I happen to know that it is biological (medical is not a good word to use), in that there is a physical aspect that it relates to. I cannot recall at the moment if it is known on the chemical level (and therefore fully understood) but it is HIGHLY unlikely as the diagnosis itself is not understood completely on that level.

In other words, we have a pretty good guess at what causes it, and yes, it's due to mental processes. I doubt it has anything at all to do with the structure of the eye.

Does it mean anything? I doubt it is anything more or less a reflection of emotion and other such signals, and if so, those with AS would have distinct looking eye expressions because they have a distinct mental profile.

Alright, there is my reasonable but definitely not expert opinion on the subject. Take it as you will.