No Problem with Eye Contact?

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U R BLESSD IF U DONT HAVE AN EYE CONTACT PROBLEM, MIGHT AS WELL NOT BE AS OR AUTISTIC

I don't look at eyes when I talk to someone, I look at their mouth. My Austistic son now does eye contact because since he was 10 months old and wouldn't look into my eyes when I talked to him, I would tell him to look at peoples faces when they talk to you, so now he does mouth contact as well.

I also would not look into people's eyes when I was a kid and my mom forced me to by holding my head and saying LOOK AT ME! I don't do that to my son, but my husband does it to him, and I have asked him to not get in his face like that, that it intimidates him, just ask him to look at your eyes and he will...

AshtonWA
Aspergers Mom with 2 Autistic Sons

Seems very unusual, since abnormal eye contact seems to be one of the most universal specific features.

I didn't learn you were supposed to make eye contact until highschool, unless you were being reprimanded by a teacher.

The concept of "impairment of eye contact" doesn't necessarily mean having *just* having issues with making eye contact at all. There are some people on the spectrum who have no problem making eye contact, except their problem is that they make *too much* eye contact.

The "normal" method of using eye contact is to look into someone's eyes for a few seconds at a time, then looking away for a seconds or so before resuming eye contact. Rinse and repeat. Usually people will give others that small "break" in eye contact because otherwise it gets too intense.

You may notice the expression, to "stare down" at someone - using too much eye contact can be perceived as aggressive and/or challenging.

Humans aren't the only ones who dislike too much eye contact. Dogs have similar issues. Stare down at a dog you're not familiar with and more often than not, they will be very displeased.

Staring into someone's eyes without any breaks would, therefore, be considered a "marked impairment", if you're not doing it to deliberately challenge or antagonise someone.

I do have a tendency to look away when someone tries to make eye contact with my, but I do force myself to look someone in the eye when I'm at work. Feels odd for me to do it, but I have to do it to blend in with the rest of society.

I have problems with eye contact with my female befriender. You see, she's married and my subconsious is telling me that the only man to look into her eyes is her husband. Get me?

AFAIK, the "making and breaking" of eye contact is fairly "natural" for those not on the spectrum. I don't think most people are generally aware of themselves doing it, unless you point it out to them.

Generally, non-ASD people view eye contact as a way of touching, and maintaining base with someone during the course of a conversation. It's to show that they are listening and paying attention in a friendly way.

If this doesn't come naturally, then it will have to be a learned skill. I tend to remind myself to cycle through the eye contact/break/eye contact phase when I can. Another tactic is to look at a person's forehead or lips, which gives the impression that you are looking at someone.

Eye contact is only easy for me if I'm extremely pissed at the person and am actively yelling.

Other than that, I bounce around and try to keep checking in with the eyes.

Oh... it also doesn't seem to be an issue if my face is extremely close to the other person's face ie--touching foreheads ect.

One post says that in other cultures eye contact is frowned upon. So, is eye contact something that just comes "naturally" with being human, or is it something that is "naturally" picked up since it is expected of you in society?