Can you tell by looking at ones face if they have Asperger's?

[kg4fxg]

So can you tell if a person is on the spectrum just by looking at their face? I mean is there anything you would label as a dead give away? If you were out could you identify random Apies and if so what would give it away?

Thanks
Bill

 

[King_Oni]

Well, I believe it's quite common a lot of aspies have that distinct "stare" so that might be good indication.

 

[ThDude]

Not just their face. Their actions, and the way they speak.

This girl came into work the other day with her mother and they ordered some subs. While I was making the subs I watched the girl rearrange the chips we have put out and ignored her mothers calls for her to come design her sandwitch.

There were smaller things I saw too, no eye contact, she didn't have a hand flap but she kept rubbing her knuckles.

 

[King_Oni]

Not just their face. Their actions, and the way they speak.

This girl came into work the other day with her mother and they ordered some subs. While I was making the subs I watched the girl rearrange the chips we have put out and ignored her mothers calls for her to come design her sandwitch.

There were smaller things I saw too, no eye contact, she didn't have a hand flap but she kept rubbing her knuckles.

Mannerisms might be one as well.

There's a lot of stuff that might be associated with autism.

But I believe what kg4fxg meant was if you didn't have any other information but just the face, could you tell?

 

[Gomendosi]

Seriously, I wouldn’t know what to look for as I only really look at people superficially for work purposes; I don’t look them in the eye per se, but at their top lip so I can keep an eye on the whole top half from the chest up. If I want to appear to look them in the eye, I look at the end of their nose as this is in that same zone and only a real expert knows you’re not looking them in the eye.
This is not at all a duplicitous act; I just don’t looking at people if I actually don’t have to?!?

I am going to say though, look for traits that you have noticed or that others have said they have noticed, in you, if your potential exhibits symptoms akin to what you know you are perceived as having and as you know you’re on the spectrum it may be a good chance then that they are as well.
Personally speaking, if I could identify an aspie from across a room I firmly believe I wouldn’t be half as lonely or isolated as I feel I am and so I will definitely follow this thread avidly ; ]

 

[Gomendosi]

Incidentally, I forgot to mention that by traits I mean facial cues, things including but not limited to: biting lips, odd sounds, darting eyes, vacant expression, and mismatched emotional display

 

[ThDude]

Well this girl had a very chiseled face, very sharp jaw and shape. Reminded me somewhat of a cat.

 

[epath13]

I think - no, people who you might think have Asperger's might end up being absolutely regular folks or maybe, sometimes, having a mental illness. And some people might appear absolutely normal but actually have Asperger's. The same goes for Autism (on a lower functioning side) in some cases you might guess right but you can't right away assume if a person behaves in a certain way than he or she has Autism, it might be something else. It also depends on the situation you're in, if, let's say, you're in an environment where you know, there's going to be a lot of people with Autism etc, then larger percentage of your assumptions will most likely be correct. I bring my son to school every week day (he's in Special Ed Autism class) and I've noticed they've got a new assistant or something, she seems like a pretty typical Aspie who hasn't put a lot of effort into working on her traits, but then again I can't really be sure, I don't have enough evidence.

one more thing, that I've decided to add - what I mean by typical - most commonly portrayed - I would say almost stereotypical.

 

[kg4fxg]

Personally speaking, if I could identify an aspie from across a room I firmly believe I wouldn’t be half as lonely or isolated as I feel I am and so I will definitely follow this thread avidly ; ]

This is all good and I wish I could just look and tell, I would not feel so lonely either. Please, feel free to drift off the subject. Mannerisms are great to share. I never understood what was meant by hand flapping until I saw a You Tube video with a girl doing it. I am sure the mannerisms are a hint of a give away. But I realize we are just guessing.

Unfortunately, the spectrum is very wide and the list of mannerisms can seem exhausting. But I find this whole conversation fascinating.

Thank you
Bill (Kg4fxg)

 

[Caspar]

I don't think it is possible to tell. Aspies like regular folks, have distinct personalities (introvert, extrovert, etc...) so there are just too many variables to address. Sure, aspies may be correlated with lack of facial expression, that fake forced smile in pictures, a larger head, and other things. But there are confounding variables that can lead to the same things too.

 

[WildCat]

Short answer - no. Long answer - no, as that's another main feature of autism spectrum disorders: very miniscule to no physical cues at all for people to pick you apart from a crowd. It's all in the brain . People with autism are slightly more likely to have minor physical cues, but they're so subtle to the average person that it's really not worth it to jump to conclusions.

I could probably accurately guess as I have a radar for "weird", not by relying on physical features but on mannerisms, but even then I couldn't tell if it is Asperger's, autism, or something else completely different as people with other neurological disorders are just as likely to exhibit the same kinds of odd behavior from time to time. It would, of course, be rude to take a survey of everyone in a given place to see what they could be diagnosed with, and even if it is true keep in mind that some people invent labels for theirselves for the sake of justifying their behavior or other reasons, even if they never meet the criteria for a given condition in the first place. You'd be surprised how many people could be or would diagonse their self with ADD, for example, so it's something I take with a grain of salt lest there's any further evidence or cues to be taken into account.

 

[kasmanaft08]

I agree with King Oni, that theres the stare and the common mannerisms (or lack thereof) that you can catch if you look. Except I also agree with jonanthan in that unless you kind of have a radar for it, and know what to look for, most of it will be rather subtle to many. The majortity of people dont know what to look for, either, and go by stereotypes with diagnosing themselves or others. Because ive spent so long on autism sites, when people tell me things i can spot consistencies, but before i couldnt even though i knew my own diagnosis, if that makes any sense. I dont think im alone in saying that im not great with first impressions or talking to people in person, so i dont expect to pick up on subtle things like that immediately.

Them majority of people dont assume i have it until they usually know me for a bit or live with me and will start connecting that im a bit stranger than they expected. Ive never told anyone and have them be suprised by it, though. But the majority of people just think im a bit eccentric or quirky somehow and shrug it off as nerdy or awkward.

Ps
Forgive the bad typing, im borrowing a computer and its awkward.

 

[. . .]

I've noticed that people on the spectrum often have a larger-than-average sized head and tend to look rather . . . nerdy.

 

[Spinning Compass]

Usually it's the behavior that is a dead giveaway for me.

 

[iuuyyueww]

woops, 2 year old thread. anyway

I think you can

I also think people with aspergers have more of a Celtic-phenotype.

Also, their voice and body language is massive give away

Take a look at the following people believed to have aspergers, and certainly behaved like it

paul morphy, great chess player

good video on messi.

actor paul dano

singer elliott smith

 

[Progster]

I don't think you can tell just by looking at a person's face, I think you need to observe the person for a while before you can guess at that. If a person is severly autistic you can probably see it within about 10 minutes, but if a person has mild AS and has good public coping skills you may not know until you spend time with the person and get to know the person better. Also, as was pointed out by jonathan above, people with other neurological disorders such as dyspraxia may show similar traits and behaviour, so really, you would have to know a person well to make such an assumption.

I don't agree with iuuyyeuw's suggestion that people with AS have a more celtic phenotype, because people from all cultures have AS, there are no such racial or cultural variations.

 

[iuuyyueww]

also, this is interesting

Is it autism? Facial features that show disorder - Photo 10 - Pictures - CBS News

 

[Judge]

So can you tell if a person is on the spectrum just by looking at their face?

Nope...not me. I'd have to interact or observe them for a sustained amount of time to even consider such a conclusion. That said, I can look back on my life decades ago and surmise that some people I worked worth were likely on the spectrum. But never based on anything relative only to their faces.

 

[Ste11aeres]

Sometimes I can identify people as Aspies, but that is based on their behavior, (and sometimes clothes).
Going by their face, one can't tell.

 

[Judge]

Sometimes I can identify people as Aspies, but that is based on their behavior, (and sometimes clothes).
Going by their face, one can't tell.

Interesting...by clothing. I don't have a clue along such lines.

Can you elaborate in any detail? Mens and womens clothing?