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Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

sciencealert.com

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Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#51

Post by generalizations »

Melatonic wrote: post #46
generalizations wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC, toe-walking is actually healthier and puts less strain on the foot. It's a very good way to run long distance, once the muscles are acclimated. I suspect some of us still do that naturally as children for that reason and therefore only adjust due to societal pressure.

I think you are mistaking toe-walking with landing fairly flat footed (the way most people tend to run with more minimalist barefoot style shoes) Running purely on the balls of your feet seems like its more of a sprinting thing

It's def also a sprinting thing, but it can also be a normal running gait - it lets your leg muscles serve as shock absorbers. And if you've ever heard of the description of an athletic person as someone with a 'cat-like' walking gait, I think toe-walking is what's meant.

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#52

Post by dns_snek »

dkga wrote: post #50
dns_snek wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are very hard criteria for an diagnosis and it requires that every other explanation for the behavior is excluded before a diagnosis can be made. Is this standard truly being upheld? Most stories I've heard from people in US & UK go something like "I filled out some forms, hopped on a call/saw a psychiatrist for 30-60 minutes and walked out with a diagnosis and a prescription". Sometimes people even joke abou…

“Prescription”?

I don't understand the scare quotes, prescription for ADHD medication, typically psychostimulants.

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#53

Post by unethical_ban »

cardanome wrote: post #31
bluefirebrand wrote: post #17

I suspect that there are signs of autism or other neurodivergences encoded in a lot of our body language, and we're really only starting to qualify what those behaviors are But we also should be careful not to over-diagnose neurodivergence based on outward behavior. Not everyone who fidgets is ADHD

In fact people with ADHD have also their peculiar walks: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H1YsnuaYY-g > based on outward behavior Yes, neurodivergence can only be diagnosed based on how you work on the inside. It is not possible to diagnose based on outside behavior as people can show symptoms very differently and can mask their symptoms. And no, you obviously can not diagnose people based on how they walk. If anything…

Seeing shared experience is one thing, but I don't trust Shorts/Reels to be an authority on anything important like medical diagnoses. It should be like wikipedia: She should have a link to a scientific paper or doctor corroborating her entertainment skit.

As I read through your entire comment, I see you might agree. And yes, I've seen that woman on Reels before, some of her observations I can confirm, such as "body double" or whatever it's called where you are more productive when interacting with someone else, even if they aren't helping you with something.

Aside: I don't think my PCP is the #1 person to talk to regarding variations in ADHD treatment. I have adderall, which can help sometimes focus me on a task and bypass the anxiety of talking/typing through issues at work. But I loathe using it daily. I wonder if any other medication works differently. Ritalin is different but similar.

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#54

Post by paulpauper »

elric wrote: post #26

Human locomation is surprisingly complex. Maybe not that surprising, what with roughly 20 bones and 30 muscles in a single foot. That doesn't even include the joints needed for motion and the muscles required to move your legs or swing your arms while you walk. Allegedly some law enforcement uses gait analysis to identify and follow individual people on CCTV recordings. Gait has diagnostic value in some neurological…

It's not some. now they all use gait analysis . higher resolution and frame rate makes this more reliable.

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#55

Post by paulpauper »

nailer wrote: post #44

Why is toe walking bad? The fastest humans and animals do it. Facts aren't data, but as a counter to the narrative in this article: in my own experience strong calf muscles likely related to autism have allowed me to place at running events as someone with <2 years competitive running experience, and my mother to be the national champion at her age range for a decade.

Sounds uncomfortable. putting so much weight on toes.

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#58

Post by munificent »

Telemakhos wrote: post #19
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #3

- toe-walking, walking on the balls of the feet - in-toeing, walking with one or both feet turned inwards - out-toeing, walking with one or both feet turned out. I thought that toe walking was called out two decades ago when I was in university - I remember it being mentioned in a psych class. Otherwise, that kind of includes everyone who doesn't walk with feet straight, doesn't it?

People should be careful with basing psychological stereotypes on gait, as there's already an extensive legacy framework of stereotypes based on gait—are these new stereotypes meaningfully different medical observations grounded in facts, or are they just more stereotypes? Literature on Native Americans, for example, often claims that they walk on the balls of the feet in distinction to "the Anglo," who walks on his…

My understanding is that forefoot striking is common in any culture where going barefoot is typical. It doesn't feel good to slam your bare heel onto the ground all the time. It's only tolerable if you're wearing shoes.

We should really consider heel striking to be the unusual non-default behavior here, the same as how prevalence of chairs means many Westerners have shortened Achilles tendons and lost the ability to do a comfortable deep squat which has been a fundamental human posture for longer than we've been a species.

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#59

Post by boogieknite »

elric wrote: post #26

Human locomation is surprisingly complex. Maybe not that surprising, what with roughly 20 bones and 30 muscles in a single foot. That doesn't even include the joints needed for motion and the muscles required to move your legs or swing your arms while you walk. Allegedly some law enforcement uses gait analysis to identify and follow individual people on CCTV recordings. Gait has diagnostic value in some neurological…

and i use gait analysis to identify law enforcement. they all walk like theyre holding invisible barrels against their hips

Re: Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

#60

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

Telemakhos wrote: post #19
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #3

- toe-walking, walking on the balls of the feet - in-toeing, walking with one or both feet turned inwards - out-toeing, walking with one or both feet turned out. I thought that toe walking was called out two decades ago when I was in university - I remember it being mentioned in a psych class. Otherwise, that kind of includes everyone who doesn't walk with feet straight, doesn't it?

People should be careful with basing psychological stereotypes on gait, as there's already an extensive legacy framework of stereotypes based on gait—are these new stereotypes meaningfully different medical observations grounded in facts, or are they just more stereotypes? Literature on Native Americans, for example, often claims that they walk on the balls of the feet in distinction to "the Anglo," who walks on his…

What are the moral implications of different cultures habitually walking with a forefoot strike vs a heel strike?
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