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alexi
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11 Feb 2011, 2:38 am

I had read about "unusual gait" (walking style) being a sign of AS, but never thought that I walked strangely. I thought that it would exclusively mean walking awkwardly, too rigid, on tiptoes, etc. Then I read about "bouncy walking". In high school I was teased for walking "bouncy". I raised up and down a lot when I walked, and apparently it looked strange enough for them to bully me about it.

Anyone else do walk bouncy? Do you think it would be the "unusual gait" as part of AS?



Nerdykid
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11 Feb 2011, 5:21 am

I do this. I have better control over it now but when I was in high school and such I would almost skip when I was talking though the halls and such.



Kiseki
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11 Feb 2011, 5:26 am

I have a bouncy walk.


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StuartN
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11 Feb 2011, 6:08 am

alexi wrote:
Anyone else do walk bouncy? Do you think it would be the "unusual gait" as part of AS?


I worked on this SO hard in teenage, because I was teased so much. I used to rise up on the ball of each foot with each step, so the horizon, or my view over cars etc, would rise and fall as I was walking. I concentrated hard on the ankle movement to reduce the change in horizon.

I don't know if a bouncy gait is a sequel to toe-walking, which is a typical autistic spectrum characteristic.



higfam2
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11 Feb 2011, 6:47 am

I still have a bouncy gait, the happier I am the more noticable the bounce. A family member once told me that that paticular gait usually belongs to people with very positive outlooks on life. Personally I wish I could get rid of it, but all attempts in changing my gait have ended in failure. I can suppress my bounce for a little bit, but the molment I stop thinking about it it comes back. I guess its just a part of who I am. :P



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11 Feb 2011, 8:07 am

i'm starting to remember ever more things from childhood these days .. what struck me the other day was my dad telling me really forcefully once when i think i was round 12 .. looking me very intensely in the eye .. to please walk "normally" .. and then he showed me .. move your arms like this .. and your feet like this .. sigh ..

my thinking now is what resulted is that mechanical manner of movement some aspies / asd-ppl have .. i think it is because one tries very hard (unconsciously) to control oneself .. "seem normal" .. not sure which is best (worst?) .. the natural bounce or the artificial super-controlled puppet robot style :/


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11 Feb 2011, 8:16 am

I walk with my natural walk and I don't really care what people have to say about it.


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wavefreak58
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11 Feb 2011, 9:18 am

I have all sorts of weird walks, all depending on what's going on in my head. If I'm walking for exercise it's all about "perfect form". If I'm feeling a strong positive emotion it might be bouncy. I walk all schlumpy if I'm thinking really hard about something (I'll bump into walls when in this mode). I'll do these little hoppy skippy steps.

For me, everyday is Weird Walk Wednesday.


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11 Feb 2011, 9:27 am

I used to walk on my tiptoes and have a really bouncy walk as a child. I still have a slight bouncy walk now, but I no longer walk on my tiptoes. My toes actually curl under slightly because I did that and it's permanent apparently. Oooops.


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Cornflake
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11 Feb 2011, 12:24 pm

I used to be much more bouncy than I am now, but it's still pretty springy when I'm out and about. I also feel like I'm leaning forwards while walking but I've not seen a video of this so can't be too sure.
All of my walking modes are slightly on tiptoe - not exactly ballerina-style, but definitely toe-centric. :wink:

Occasionally I have sessions of wondering what the hell to do with my arms, which seem to be dangling around unnaturally so I either hold onto my house keys when out or just shove my hands into my pockets.

I really hate walking slowly though and always feel like I'm slouching along unless I'm really burning up shoe-rubber. :lol:


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17 Feb 2011, 7:27 am

higfam2 wrote:
I still have a bouncy gait, the happier I am the more noticable the bounce. A family member once told me that that paticular gait usually belongs to people with very positive outlooks on life.


Well, one is not a statistic, but I bounce, and I hate life, or at least I hate my life and I'm not too keen on humans in general either.

I was bullied for bouncing as I walk. The other kids used to take the absolute mickey out of me for it.

I thought I'd trained it out, but I've recently been told I still do it. The faster I walk, the more I bounce.

A bit of reading round shows it's characteristic, but not diagnostic, of Asperger Syndrome. Something to do with motor control, apparently.


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jackbus01
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17 Feb 2011, 8:47 am

I am not sure I have a problem with my gait, but I do have a problem with my speed. When I am with others I have to keep telling myself to walk slower. Everyone (and I mean almost everyone) says I speed walk. Obviously when I am alone it is not an issue. I think I just have a naturally fast speed, but everyone asks why I am in such a hurry.



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17 Feb 2011, 11:03 am

wavefreak58 wrote:
I have all sorts of weird walks, all depending on what's going on in my head. If I'm walking for exercise it's all about "perfect form". If I'm feeling a strong positive emotion it might be bouncy. I walk all schlumpy if I'm thinking really hard about something (I'll bump into walls when in this mode). I'll do these little hoppy skippy steps.

For me, everyday is Weird Walk Wednesday.


This is me too.

Plus sometimes my walk also changes because I notice the rhythm of whatever walk I'm doing and want to change the rhythm to change what's in my head.



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17 Feb 2011, 1:38 pm

To all of you with an unusual gait: do a one legged squat. (Look on youtube for an example.)

When you squat down: does your knee track straight up and down, or does it come way way inwards toward the other leg?

I'm guessing it's the latter.

Here's another test. Walk barefoot and observe your knee when your foot strikes the ground. Does it rotate inward? Yes? The issue is actually the angle of the foot in respect to the tibia. You may need custom orthodics (custom shoe insoles made just for you) to correct this. If left uncorrected it can lead to early joint failures later in life.

People with this issue subconsciously correct the problem by walking with the feet rotated outward, or (surprise surprise!) by walking on their toes. ;)



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17 Feb 2011, 1:55 pm

LOL I do this...only when I'm not really paying attention, though. Like when walking with my mp3 player, I walk *entirely* too fast and do bounce a little.

I can control it, but sometimes it feels like my body just wants to go faster than I can take it, and it doesn't look normal. I would probably run everywhere if that was acceptable and I caught myself running for about 45 seconds in the store last week :x



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17 Feb 2011, 1:59 pm

As mentioned, the faster I walk, the more I bounce.
It would be interesting to know if that bouncy gait is more efficient than "normal" walking. It may not be, since there's a push up (against gravity), but also forward.

I know I cover much more ground on my own than with just about anyone else!


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