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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

#71

Post by nickjj »

Are they accounting for foot shape?

I remember growing up and I always internally joked that my step dad sounded like a cyberdemon from Doom 2 when he walks. It would shake the walls. He wasn't heavy but his feet are really flat so he naturally hits hard on his heels.

I have some type of arch (I don't know if it's high or normal) but for my whole life people have half jokingly said I should stop sneaking up on them because I guess I walk really quiet.

I never measured or tried to gauge how I walk but after doing a few paces around, I would say the balls of my feet and middle of my foot hit the ground right before my heel. I would say in terms of weight distribution it feels like 70% balls of my feet, 5% middle / arch, 25% heel on each step when it hits the ground. I really feel almost nothing near the middle of the arch, maybe ~30% of the outer part hits the ground.

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

#75

Post by lenerdenator »

Honest question:

What does this really bring to the table as a diagnostic tool for autism?

By the time that you're evaluating gait, you're evaluating a lot of other things, too, since autism usually starts appearing during childhood. Obvious things, like trouble socializing, learning, and processing stimuli.

I'm not a doctor or involved in any sort of diagnosis, treatment, or curing of diseases or conditions, but given that the current head of the US Department of Health and Human Services is a whackjob when it comes to autism and other neurodivergent conditions, I don't see any benefit in offering a way to label people as this or that based on how they walk.

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

#76

Post by Der_Einzige »

hungmung wrote: post #10
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?

Yeah at least a few kindergarten and elementary school teachers were watching out for toe walkers since at least around the mid-90's. Source: I know people.

The school bullies sniffed out autistic kids like pigs on truffles with this being a clear tell.

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

#77

Post by Der_Einzige »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #13
msgodel wrote: post #4

Huh. My last girlfriend told me I had "the gay walk" and never could figure out what she meant. I wonder if this is it.

I emailed and spoke on the phone w/ my wife for a over a month before we met face-to-face. She told me, years later, she anticipated I'd have a particular gait. When we finally met I did not disappoint. She has described it as an "effeminate" gait. We recently moved into house with wood floors. I experience my daughter and wife's gaits in new way. Their footfalls have a distinct "thud-thud-thud" with the landing of t…

The beta gait vs the alpha thud.

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

#78

Post by Der_Einzige »

725686 wrote: post #18

For some reason, I dislike seeing people that walk "funny". I am particularly disgusted by people that walk with their feet facing outward a little too much.

Hey at least you’re honest!

A lot of people will try to bully you over a weird gait and specifically toe walking. Normies can and do judge people based off this shit. They do it all the time.

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

#79

Post by trhway »

boogieknite wrote: post #65

our school had a top female sprinter in washington state who walked "in-toe" and i knew at least one other track athlete who looked up to her and intentionally changed gait to walk in-toe in order to be more like the star sprinter when im walking by people facing my direction (past a row of seats at the airport, into a movie theater, etc) i become self aware and try to walk as relaxed and invisibly as possible. proba…

our sports teacher (USSR, mid-80ies) specifically instructed us to try to put feet "in-toe" when running - the logic was that most people are naturally slightly "out-toe" so making explicit effort for "in-toe" would result in "straight-toe" during running and thus maximize the feet leverage.

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

#80

Post by teaearlgraycold »

One thing I’ve wondered is how broad is the autism umbrella? How much do two autistic people have in common other than being different than neurotypicals and thus having social difficulties? It seems to me that a condition defined by a difficulty with social signals could be extremely diverse in its causes and actual underlying conditions.
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