Rigid awkward postures?

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I have read a lot about "stimming" and the various movements that people do , but does anyone "freeze" in weird positions? I have this habit of standing or sitting with hands curled in fists against my chest, stomach, or the front of my thighs. It has to be awkward looking and unattractive, so I do try to correct myself when I catch myself doing it. Today at Walmart I was doing it while looking for some new hair color, and I do it all the time when I am walking the dog, watching TV or standing in the kitchen trying to remember why I went in there. It is not involuntary, like a palsy (it looks like that though), but it is unintentional. I don't notice when I start doing it, but I can relax and stop it. Anyone ever heard of that or experience it?

I always get like this when there are strangers around me or maybe it is because of stressful situation? For example in school corridor i sit and stand like "frozen" in certain positions. When i notice then i try to fix my pose because it might seem weird. Sometimes it does not disturb me much. I go to a special school and there are many other people who are different in some ways, so i can be a little bit awkward as i am. Only place i am not "frozen" is at home or sometimes at friends place. Though if there are many strangers at home and no free place to be then i get stiff again.
At basic school i was often bullied because of it. I seemed weird i guess. At breaks i looked others and they were usually relaxed. I tried to be like them, because i did not want to be bullied in front of other all the time. So i watched how they did their thing. I learned to put hands in pockets and look "cool". Also learned to cross my hands. I actually was a bit less bullied then. But it was never natural for me. Today i do not have those stances anymore. I prefer to be like i am. Whatever they like to think or say to me because of it.

@tenalpgnorw:
LOL "freeze! ....Hammatime!" duunununu....nunu.....nunu

I can see why Walmart would do it for some ( I read yours after I posted this thread btw) because it is a tense atmosphere and over-stimulating. But I do it while I walk the dog- I hold the leash in one clenched fist and I have both fists pressed to the front of my thighs as I walk. Think how awkward that looks LOL! Also, while I am zoning out in the kitchen- maybe that is it. I do it when my mind is wandering or I am concentrating. I dunno but I dont like it.

Now that I think of it I have always had some trouble with my hands. I would always try to figure out where to put them- I guess I never mastered it.

yes,my hands are always in fists and my arms are positioned curled up in front of me - a bit like a cat!

I can't sit in one posture for very long; the blood supply to my members and extremities tends to get cut off and I constantly have to jiggle myself about to get the juices flowing again.

I put my fists in my front pockets all the time and I tend to stand straight. Which probably does look like a board all stiff and unbending. I never thought of this before. Now, I'm going to pay attention to myself more.

I remember watching one of those late night talk shows and seeing this guy named Tay Zonday who blew up on MySpace. He did the song Chocolate Rain; his music is sort of alternative/house/electronic/folk - eclectic.

He sat toward the edge of the chair, IIRC, and his arms were just hanging straight down. It was so odd, but now I'm thinking, "Could he be????"

Only he knows at this point.

I hope I am not causing anyone to be self-conscious!

I have no idea how long I have been doing this. I just noticed it recently, but then it makes sense that things will be more noticeable now that I am aware of the AS possibility. I have probably done these things my whole life, which adds to the whole awkwardness. That, and the fact that my arms and legs are really long. I am not disproportionate, because my "wingspan" matches my height, but people often think I am if they just look at my arms- it is an illusion. I am an artist so I know anatomical proportion -my fingertips reach exactly where they should on my legs- no further, LOL.

Presently, I'm leaning really far forward, elbows on my thighs, with my legs bent in the pretzel position. This position is a pretty typical one for me. At other times, I'll sit with my feet tucked under me, or my knees drawn up to my chest. I'll sit with one leg hanging down from the chair with my foot on the floor, the other folded over or under the thigh of the first leg. When I do sit with my feet hanging down from the chair in a semi-normal position (which I try to do when I'm in public) I tend to stick my feet too far out in front of me, and I generally don't notice it until someone trips over my feet and gets annoyed with me. I also tend to lean really far forward all the time. In photos where I'm sitting next to other people, I always look much shorter than everyone else, even if I'm sitting next to someone who's around my height or slightly shorter because of the way I slouch forward. When I'm not leaning really far forward, I'm leaning really far back. I do find myself instictively rocking back and forth at times. I usually try to stop myself from this ever since middle school, when a well meaning peer called me on this, saying I'd been rocking back and forth, and it looks really odd to other people. She told me that this is generally a symptom of schizophrenia, and I should never rock ever again. I don't seem to be able to sit up straight. I can sometimes do it for a few seconds if I force myself, but it takes a heck of a lot of concentration, and is highly uncomfortable. Thus, I'm not generally inclined to bother with that.
I really don't feel comfortable standing in one place, unless I'm leaning against something. I can stand without leaning, but it's not comfortable for me. I'm inclined to lean against, or put my hand on something for support without even noticing I'm doing it. I've gotten yelled at walking through metal detectors, because I'll have my hand up against the side of the thing when walking through it, and I won't notice I'm doing it. Another time, I was in an art museum where there was mirror exhibit. A museum employee yelled at me because I had my hand on the mirror in front of me, and I wasn't supposed to touch anything. I didn't notice I had my hand there until the guy yelled at me. I was just instinctively steadying myself against the nearest solid item. I also tend to stand slighlty lopsided with one leg bent, and the other foot jutted out several inches in front of me. When there's nothing to lean on, I tend to stand with my arms crossed in front of me, or my hands resting on my hips/ lower back.
I have significant vestibular issues, which is the likely reason why my body postures are so odd. I don't really see any way of remedying this, as it takes too much effort and concentration to position myself like a normal human.

OouterBouroughGirl,are you tall or taller than average. I do all the things you describe too, and I slouch soooooo badly. In pictures I look fat because I am hunched over in an unflattering pose usually. I am not fat at all, and in some older pics I was rail thin but looked overweight. Posture is so important! Anyway, I am on the taller side of average for a woman- 5'7", and I have long legs, so I find I have to fold myself up to be comfortable. I try not to lean or brace myself on stuff because I am trying to maintain my core, but lifelong habits are really hard to break. I am flexible, so I can fold all of me up to the size of a small child if I need to. My daughter isn't as flexible as I am and she is 10! And THAT makes it all the more weird that I have "rigid postures" LOL

I have a lot of pics where I am hunched over in the same posture...and my hands are always oddly positioned with my fingers curled...

I think people are more familiar with schizophrenia, but the signs and symptoms are only similar to AS from the outside. The inner machinations are totally different! There may have been misdiagnoses in the past for non-verbal autistics. In fact, I am sure I have read about that!