Anyone ever been told you look like you're on drugs?

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Roo95
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02 Aug 2017, 8:54 am

Hello. Throughout my life I have been told and accused a number of times that I look like I'm on drugs and was wondering if any other aspies have been told the same thing. Some examples are when I was at a car show with a couple friends, a guy in a car full of girls pulled up and began talking to my friends until his attention turned to me and he began saying how I look super stoned and asking what I was on, he was saying how cool I was and wanted a picture with me because of this, he didn't believe me when I told him I'm sober and every time I went to the car show he'd stop and talk to me every time with the same comments. Other examples are every time I visit my dad, my sister who lives there always comments on how stoned I look and sound and again I have to convince her I am sober. When i used to go to the gym with a friend, a gym instructor who would often come over and help us kept saying how i looked spaced out and away with the faries all the time. Also when I worked at a holiday camp as a cashier and a cook, several customers left reviews about me, saying how I was apparently stoned, on drugs, very slow and looked as if I'd come from another planet which made me quit my job as I got fed up with it but my colleagues picked up on it and knew I was autistic. Another example was while working at this holiday camp, security and the manager took me a side and asked what drugs I was on. I have had these comments every place I've ever worked and at school and college. People say I just look way too chilled out and laid back to be sober though inside my head is usually chaos and confusion, far from chilled. People know me now so I haven't had the comments for a while. I think my slow processing speed, and the fact that I am apparently very scatty and talk slightly slower than normal according to friends might be part of it. I did not do drugs then but I admit I do smoke weed now. Has anyone else experienced these comments before?



ZachGoodwin
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02 Aug 2017, 9:02 am

Yes, I have been told that.



IstominFan
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02 Aug 2017, 9:03 am

No, but people did notice that a certain medication I take did make me look sleepy. I knew I was taking way too much, and the doctor adjusted the dosage.



Jacoby
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02 Aug 2017, 9:04 am

Yes, I've been told this before.



ASPartOfMe
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02 Aug 2017, 9:17 am

Yep I have been told that especially in my 20's and 30's.


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02 Aug 2017, 9:19 am

Yes, a number of times, especially when i forget my shades... I naturally have somewhat watery /glazed eyes and especially in the area i live that is quit alternative, people will often ask if im stoned . Even more awkward when someone openly says that when you have a police officer standing a few steps back in the coffee que! Instant feeling of feeling guilty when one isnt... Awkward... 8O



Roo95
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02 Aug 2017, 9:25 am

ImageI am the one at the end with the long hair and closed eyes, looking stoned as an example



Last edited by Roo95 on 02 Aug 2017, 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

AspieUtah
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02 Aug 2017, 9:53 am

Yep. I had dilated pupils until my mid-twenties. Apparently, it's an autistic "thing."


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EzraS
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02 Aug 2017, 10:27 am

It's probably based on what's called autistic gaze or Asperger stare. Like a blank stare.



EverythingAndNothing
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02 Aug 2017, 10:36 am

I haven't been accused of this in years but this was a big issue in my teens. Therapists, doctors, my family, and my school counselor all thought I was on something. I even remember one time when I was about 15 when a police officer checked my pupils and commented that they looked pretty dilated even though I wasn't on anything. I think I just had a very blank expression all the time.



1Biggles1
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02 Aug 2017, 11:21 am

AspieUtah wrote:
Yep. I had dilated pupils until my mid-twenties. Apparently, it's an autistic "thing."


Yes, likewise. People have noticed that also and assumed i had been snorting something! Is that really an AS trait?
Intriguing.



AspieUtah
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02 Aug 2017, 11:51 am

1Biggles1 wrote:
...Is that really an AS trait?...

There are several research studies about this, but here is a recent one: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06829-1


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tothestars
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02 Aug 2017, 11:53 am

All the time.



JohnnyLurg
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02 Aug 2017, 12:17 pm

I've been told that I act like I'm on drugs, but not that I look like I am.



anti_gone
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02 Aug 2017, 3:04 pm

JohnnyLurg wrote:
I've been told that I act like I'm on drugs, but not that I look like I am.


Me too, because I couldn't find my own tent on a festival while I was perfectly sober. Having no sense of orientation and a really bad visual/spatial memory sucks...

People couldn't believe that a sober person wouldn't be able to find their own tent.



TheSpectrum
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02 Aug 2017, 6:35 pm

Yeah, a lot.


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