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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

#201

Post by dns_snek »

forgotoldacc wrote: post #159
cardanome wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you've got autism and the biggest thing that stands out is the way you walk... I don't think dragging a kid to a doctor to be told they're not normal is really all that beneficial. There are very strict criteria on how people are to be diagnosed. More importantly you are NOT getting diagnosed if you are just happy and don't need any help. You can NOT be diagnosed with autism without any support needs. Same as yo…

I hear this a lot but also know a lot of people who were put on meds when they were young and didn't really understand what was going on. I also have an adult friend put on an antipsychotic to treat their moderate depression. They went through horrifying side effects while doctors kept telling them to stick with it. They're going through even more horrifying side effects during the third week of their withdrawal. The…

Neither [1] nor [2] are studies showing that ADHD medication is over-prescribed. [1] isn't a study, it's a glorified blog post. [2] is a study that looked into the rate at which contraindicated medications are prescribed (6%).

Prescribing contraindicated medication is a reason to be cautious and weigh the risks against the benefits. It does not indicate that the combination is unwarranted.

> But if we're at a point where we're nitpicking and saying, "Your kid walks on their toes. That's bad. Let's get them diagnosed. Then get some meds", yeah, it's horrifying and absolutely indefensible.

Nobody is diagnosing anyone with autism based on how they walk, but it might be a sign to seek an evaluation, usually when it's accompanied by other symptoms. Furthermore there's no medication for autism.

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

#202

Post by Calavar »

ndr wrote: post #192
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…

It's even worse when one uses "common" as proxy for "normal"/"healthy". EG see: https://x.com/hjluks/status/1943754923570520483

Seems like exactly the opposite. He is saying the common finding (75% of people) is abnormal.

He also says "These weren’t overweight or sedentary individuals" which makes me think he didn't thoroughly read the abstract, which says the main finding is that sedentary people have decreased markers of mitochondrial respiration relative to moderately active people.

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

#203

Post by drewcoo »

suzzer99 wrote: post #96
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…

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.

What percent of students learn to pull stats out of thin air?

Everyone I knew then, even the "cool kids," thought high school was some bleak hell punctuated with moments of extraordinary joy. I have no idea whether that's due to hormones or school or what.

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

#204

Post by blamestross »

imp0cat wrote: post #137
ModernMech wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most autistic people I know wear sandals all year round. People laugh about sandals and socks but you're right -- shoes are evil! I'll take looking like a dork over having sore feet all the time.

I am sorry if this comes as and ad, but you need to experience some modern cushioned sneakers, ie: https://runrepeat.com/asics-gel-nimbus-27 You can walk, run, stomp around in them all day and your feet will thank you. They do have some cons though. They are expensive and not very eco-friendly (hard to recycle).

I have such a pair for running longer distances. This scan was part of choosing them.

They hurt a lot to get used to (Mostly barefoot for 8 years makes for a hard transition) but now they are good (necessary even) for jogging and distance running.

They still feel like horrible rubber hooves you strap onto your feet.

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

#205

Post by npteljes »

MangoToupe wrote: post #156
npteljes wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's more like how the world is said to be working, but not how it actually works. There is a huge difference between how people express their tolerance and expectations and what they actually okay with, with no extra internal feelings. It really would be incredibly rude to say much more, and so it's not said, but it's all there in inside, coded in unspoken feelings and expectations. I'd like to draw a parallel wit…

I encourage you to examine how much of this is specific to western culture, and in particular business-oriented western culture. Expectations and tolerance vary widely from community to community even in the US, but I submit autistic individuals are likely to struggle the most in highly atomized cultures. It's a very deep and broad topic so I don't expect you to see much at a glance, but I do believe there's a reason…

That's an interesting intersection that you brought up, I have not considered it at all. I'm sorry that this comment doesn't bring anything to the discussion, but I wanted to give feedback that it made me think.

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

#206

Post by 542354234235 »

aleph_minus_one wrote: post #196
chneu wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question: what's your skin color and where do you live? Edit: looks like white guy from Norway which explains why you'd think that.

> Serious question: what's your skin color and where do you live? The obsession with skin color and race seems to be a very US-American thing.

Its as American as apple pie and baseball.

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

#207

Post by BrandoElFollito »

sandworm101 wrote: post #178
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The eye contact thing is interesting. I hate to make eye contact because I concentrate better when not watching the other person. And then I remember I should and it gets creepy because I am staring. This is to say that everyone is slightly different and a healthy dose of tolerance goes a long way. After all, some of your behaviour is probably annoying to others and you do not even realize it.

I read a paper once about female celebs/models and eyesight. They tend to have poorer-than-average vision. The theory was than poor eyesight increased thier percieved eye contact with stangers. (They could not see the other person and so would not look away.) This made them more noticable by others, which is not a bad thing when trying to get jobs in entertainment. An other theory was that they needed to try harder t…

I am short-sighted and when I take off my glasses, I can look at the other person because everything is blurry and I can concentrate better.

A French actor (Christophe Lambert) has a special expression when he looks at the camera. It is because he is short-sighted and does not look exactly in the typical spot other would look at. He could not use contact lenses so there was no way to change that. The people who fought with him in the Highlander series (with swords) said that it was always an adventure because he was not really sure where he was hitting.

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

#208

Post by [deleted] »

Calavar wrote: post #202
ndr wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's even worse when one uses "common" as proxy for "normal"/"healthy". EG see: https://x.com/hjluks/status/1943754923570520483

Seems like exactly the opposite. He is saying the common finding (75% of people) is abnormal. He also says "These weren’t overweight or sedentary individuals" which makes me think he didn't thoroughly read the abstract, which says the main finding is that sedentary people have decreased markers of mitochondrial respiration relative to moderately active people.

[deleted]

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

#209

Post by watwut »

john01dav wrote: post #155
klipt wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess the question is why did we start labeling slightly socially awkward people as the same category as the people you describe in the first place?

The social protocol that low support needs autistic people use is similar to the social protocol that some higher (meaning those who can communicate) support needs autistic people use. The fundamental difference in my opinion (which is primarily formed from fairly extensive personal experience and thinking about it) is that autistic communication is fundamentally collaborative, while allistic communication is fundame…

One of the issues with autism is lower ability to recognize and communicate own emotions and needs. Other people do not get direct straightforward information, they get less information, because autistic himself/herself have no idea. One of very typical results is very emotional autistic person who will insist they are totally rational and non emotional in the moment. It can also cause autistic to have lower emotional control, because emotions are harder to control when you do not understand them.

Autistic are not collaborative - they frequently end up locked in own heads completely ignoring what other people openly directly say.

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

#210

Post by watwut »

chneu wrote: post #162
CalRobert wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The redefinition of "autism" from "can't talk, stims constantly, maybe bangs head against the wall, serious danger to themselves" to "kinda awkward savant" seems like it has been profoundly harmful to people who want to find new therapies for those in the former group. Maybe normalizing it was a way for insurance companies and school districts to get out of funding appropriate measures for people who literally can no…

Autism wasn't redefined like that. Not by the medical community. Social media took hold and it became the new OCD. People think liking straight lines on their desk means they have OCD. Same with autism, people think not liking a loud noise is autism. I think a lot of people confuse neurodivergent with autistic as well. The whole field needs a reorganization anyway. I've talked to dozens of therapists about this and I…

Actually medical professional will diagnose people who are high functioning, because that is what the diagnosis is. Autism criteria were never "can't talk, stims constantly, maybe bangs head against the wall, serious danger to themselves".

And conversely, autistic as a savant was a thing 25 years ago. Long before the social media.

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