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Signs of autism could be encoded in the way you walk

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

#111

Post by starluz »

devmor wrote: post #108
ghushn3 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to agree, as an autistic person. And a lot of autistic people hold the belief that, "My autism is not a problem, your expectations that I behave like you do are the problem." If I need to move a little differently, or not hold eye contact when I speak, the fact that I get made fun of is the problem. If we just accepted, "hey, some people are like that" more, I think we'd have a lot fewer problems.

Well said. I am not autistic personally but working in tech and being into field-associated hobbies, I have a much more autism-dense social circle than the average person. This was awkward for me at first because it felt like I was either constantly irritated or being irritating to others by following my standard learned social conventions. Once I changed my expectations to clarify and verify intent instead of derive…

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

#112

Post by starluz »

fsckboy wrote: post #99
suzzer99 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High school is truly fun for maybe 15% of the students, is an utter nightmare for 15%, and has its moments but still generally sucks for everyone else.

maybe it's being 15 that sucks for 85%, and has nothing to do with high school at all.

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

#113

Post by OfficeChad »

yndoendo wrote: post #97

I am hesitant to post this because of JFK JR and ignoring with the politicians in power against ASD. Gait is not constant in the stride. It all depends on the footwear. The constant for me is being silent while walking. Be the ball of your feet or the heels. Having auditory issues / sensitive to sound, I walk to be silent and unheard. Walking and scaring wildlife and other humans was a personally taught process. I ca…

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

#115

Post by flanked-evergl »

benreesman wrote: post #93

I'm sure everyone involved means well, but we are really starting to embrace a culture of defining "normal" down to some arbitrary amount that seems to have no floor. I'm all for making sure that effective treatments are made available to anyone they might help, but couldn't a lot of this be addressed society just...being tolerant of diversity in people? Gating everyone through "thrives in American High School" as a…

Society is tolerant of diversity in people.

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

#116

Post by MangoToupe »

ghushn3 wrote: post #103
benreesman wrote: post #93

I'm sure everyone involved means well, but we are really starting to embrace a culture of defining "normal" down to some arbitrary amount that seems to have no floor. I'm all for making sure that effective treatments are made available to anyone they might help, but couldn't a lot of this be addressed society just...being tolerant of diversity in people? Gating everyone through "thrives in American High School" as a…

I tend to agree, as an autistic person. And a lot of autistic people hold the belief that, "My autism is not a problem, your expectations that I behave like you do are the problem." If I need to move a little differently, or not hold eye contact when I speak, the fact that I get made fun of is the problem. If we just accepted, "hey, some people are like that" more, I think we'd have a lot fewer problems.

> If we just accepted, "hey, some people are like that" more, I think we'd have a lot fewer problems.

This is how much of the world works. Johnny doesn't have autism, he's just really into trains. It would be incredibly rude to say much more.

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

#117

Post by MangoToupe »

bane wrote: post #85

I dunno, this seems kind of junk sciency. There's all kinds of reasons to walk all kinds of ways. Walking on toes, or pointing your feet have almost never been a notable feature of people I know who are clearly on the spectrum. Conversely, the people I know who do have notable gaits all come from something else and none of them (as far as I know) have autism. Anecdata: My paternal side has some kind of innate prefere…

> that turn into self-inhibiting labels that restrict personal development

Say more. Why do you see these labels as inhibitory rather than liberatory?

I have a complicated relationship with the label given a lack of a formal diagnosis and many years of accusations of ASD, and I haven't identified any positive side of a diagnosis and will likely never pursue one. But this doesn't mean the label hasn't helped me connect with others in my life with ASD, some very hand-wavy, and some non-verbal adults who must have live assisted. Do i actually have it? Does it even matter either way?

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

#118

Post by PeterStuer »

benreesman wrote: post #93

I'm sure everyone involved means well, but we are really starting to embrace a culture of defining "normal" down to some arbitrary amount that seems to have no floor. I'm all for making sure that effective treatments are made available to anyone they might help, but couldn't a lot of this be addressed society just...being tolerant of diversity in people? Gating everyone through "thrives in American High School" as a…

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

#119

Post by rustystump »

bane wrote: post #85

I dunno, this seems kind of junk sciency. There's all kinds of reasons to walk all kinds of ways. Walking on toes, or pointing your feet have almost never been a notable feature of people I know who are clearly on the spectrum. Conversely, the people I know who do have notable gaits all come from something else and none of them (as far as I know) have autism. Anecdata: My paternal side has some kind of innate prefere…

I agree. Idk if the science is junk but the article certainly reads that way.

As kids we always walked on our toes due to material arts + wanting to be ninjas. It also helps if you want to avoid stepping on things outside like pine needles and other prickly boys. To this day I still prefer being on my toes. I have nieces who are on the spectrum and they stomp around...

If I was a teen again, in all that awkward glory, I'd imagine labeling myself to "fit in" better after reading this.

But to be fair, my generation literally cut themselves for attention/help/fitting in so perhaps a little labeling isn't all that bad.

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

#120

Post by djaychela »

flanked-evergl wrote: post #115
benreesman wrote: post #93

I'm sure everyone involved means well, but we are really starting to embrace a culture of defining "normal" down to some arbitrary amount that seems to have no floor. I'm all for making sure that effective treatments are made available to anyone they might help, but couldn't a lot of this be addressed society just...being tolerant of diversity in people? Gating everyone through "thrives in American High School" as a…

Society is tolerant of diversity in people.

Is it? Certainly hasn't been the experience of my two autistic daughters who had years of difficulty and which led to real problems for a decade or so each during later later schooling and early work years. Both are now doing much better but it's been a long uphill battle for them. The same of my two sons but society is much more tolerant (but bit fully) off their symptoms as they tend to be viewed as 'male' tendencies, just severely amplified.
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