i think there's a combination of factors of recognition that happens: a posture, a walking gait, a fidgetiness or rigidity; a shirt buttoned to the neck and tucked tightly or the obviously worn favorite shirt pants, shoes well past their prime, certain behavior quirks that are out of the typical range.

i've noticed a certain beauty in children with autism that has to do with with an open innocent expression as they take in stimuli from every source in the environment. or when they're 'stimming', so intently focussed on something like a blade of grass or running fingers through sand, that their faces just open up to the universe, it seems.

police talk of instant recognition of a criminal type which gives you the feeling to cross the street when they are headed your way because of shiftiness, suspicious behavior quirks that earmark instantly. and i know of social behaviorists' theories that there is an instant recognition upon meeting people whether they are kindred spirits to you or not, regardless of physical features.

i think a lot more happens in an instant than what may seem possible, in the brain's scanning and assesing of people.

interesting blog. it has me thinking.

I have read about this here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/10/2

"Caught on camera: 3D images give early warning of genetic disorders in children

· Digital method could be used on two-year-olds
· Asperger's syndrome may be target for technique"

I think I have Asperger's, but I certainly don't have beautiful features. No modelling contract for me!

cathy c - I have experienced that gut reaction when I have first met people who turned out to be predators.

John - this look of Aspergers - do you recognise it mostly in men, or women too?

You ask if I recognize this look mostly in men . . . the answer is yes because most of the Aspergians I see are male. I see some females with this look, too. I've also seen this look in mothers of autistic and Aspergian kids, when the moms do not see themselves the same way. Then I encounter the opposite - I meet females who say, "I have Asperger's" yet I don't see the look.

Of course, that happens with guys too.

I don't have hard numbers to say if the match of "look" and Asperger diagnosis is more or less common in males or females

Furthermore, I suspect the "look" is merely a match to my own particular form of autism. When I meet someone who does not have "my look" have may well have his own look, and other people who match him but not me. At least, that stands to reason as a possibility

Thoughts Regarding Autism Spectrum Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Of these rare neurological disorders, Autism is the most common. The autism spectrum reflects the broad range of symptoms in which the names of these autism disorders have been given their own name for their disorder.

Autism is a disability that is suspected to be caused possibly by a brain development disorder of unknown etiology.

Others suspect the cause is some sort of neurological dysfunction- possibly with a genetic predisposition.

Autism is about 3 times more common in males than females as well, and it is unclear as to why this occurs.

Usually, symptoms of the disease present themselves before the toddler reaches the age of three.

Before Autism was more understood, others inaccurately labeled autistic people as childhood schizophrenia or as having a psychosis or mental retardation.

Symptoms of the autistic patient included limited or dysfunctional social and personal or intimate relationships with others, their intelligence is affected, and the autistic person typically is adverse to change.

Also, the autistic person tends to be compulsive and prefers to be alone. They lack eye contact as much as physical contact with other people.

Out of over two dozen diagnostic criteria utilized for these disorders, eight must be present to be considered autistic, according to the DSM. As with all passive developmental disorders, the person expresses language, social, and behavioral difficulties.

Treatment includes what are called psychotropic medications that delay the progression of the disorder, as well as relieve some of the symptoms of one who is autistic. Behavioral therapy is common as a treatment regimen as well. Boys get Autism much more than girls.

Then there is the controversy between many who claim that thimerosal- a preservative containing mercury, which is a neurotoxin that was used in vaccines until 2001, was the catalyst for autism in children.

Over 5000 lawsuits have been filed because of this belief, and some have been successful for the plaintiff. Yet most agree the correlation between thimersal and autism is void of scientific merit.

Furthermore, the cases of autism have not decreased since the preservative was discontinued in 2001.

Aside from Autism, the other four passive developmental disorders are known as autism spectrum disorders.

Asperger’s Syndrome is more common than autism, and the symptoms are milder, as there is minimal delay in language abilities, if at all. What is expressed with Asperger’s syndrome is mild autistic symptoms. In time, the patient may express atypical personality disorders, though.

While intelligence is within normal limits with the Asperger’s patient, social interactions and abilities preset difficulty for such a patient.

As with Autism, medications and behavioral therapy are treatment regimens with one with this syndrome.

Rett’s Syndrome or disorder presents with not only atypical behavior, but also suffers from restricted physical growth and movement. There is cognitive and social impairment as well. The disorder affects mostly girls, and the cause is due to a gene mutation.

Childhood Disintegrative disorder is rare, and is 10 times less common than autism. The disorder has a late onset with mild autistic symptoms. The disorder affects mostly boys, and regression is sudden and possible with this disorder.

Skills lost with this disorder may be language, social, self-care, as well as play or motor skills. Decreased function or impairment with this disorder may include social skills and behavioral flaws. Central Nervous System pathology is a suspected cause of this disorder.

Finally, there are passive development disorders that are not otherwise specified. This may include atypical autism, for example. Yet as with the rest of types of these disorders, the symptoms vary in their frequency and intensity, as well as the range of abilities of these developmental disorders vary widely as well.

Medicinal treatment is believed to be not necessary for the management of all of those who may have autistic spectrum disorders. Depending on the patient’s health care provider, medications may be prescribed by their doctor to manage any affective disorders autistics may present in an acute or chronic nature.

However, cognitive and behavioral therapy prove to be most beneficial for all the different types of Passive Development Disorders that exist for reasons yet to be defined.

www.autism-society.org

Dan Abshear

My guess would be, it's in and only in the eyes,concerning the differences. Sincerely,David

i.cannot.recognize.face.have.condition..i.am.kanners.type.but.i.recognize.autistics.well.too...i.like.patterns.and.notice.peoples.patterns.to.recognize.them...i.can.tell.people.by.pattern.maybe.reason.should.be.in.how.we.are.able.to.have.such.focus...i.mean.to.say.in.details...i.can.recognize.men.and.women...for.me.is.pattern...

I highly suspect that I'm Aspergian. In my family I think it's somewhat genetic, I'm also highly suspect of my mother, father and my son. We're all different from my husband, sister and daughter. In all of our cases one thing I noticed is that our Aspergian eyes are different than the more neurotypical people in the family's eyes. I've also met someone outside of my family whose eyes have the same look and he's also pretty clearly Aspergian.

The best way I can describe it is that the neurotypical eyes look kind of "dead" to me, whereas the Aspergian eyes are very lively and have a distinct "sparkle" to them. It wouldn't surprise me if this were the case ... your eyes are directly connected to your brain.

There have been a number of interesting responses.

Several of you suggested that the eyes may hold the key. That may be, but I've had some experience with "the look" in photos, and they don't have enough detail for eye signals.

So I agree the eyes may hold a clue, but I'm not confident they or any one area holds a complete answer.

I'm also interested by the last commenter, who said NT eyes look flat to her, and Aspergian eyes look alive. I've heard exactly the opposite from NT people, and this contrast is fascinating.

I think the signals we pick are subtle indeed and hard to describe in words. But keep the ideas coming!

John

John, I have seen a photo of you somewhere online, where you are looking downwards and smiling. Possibly you are also sitting down. Something about it reminds me of my father.

There's a trailer here for a movie about a guy with Asperger's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92U6OnVZG3U

I am assuming the actor is non-AS, and to my eyes he appears to be doing a good job of appearing Aspergian. So WRT to the look of autism, perhaps it would be interesting to get the perspective of the actor playing the Asperger character. I'd ask him, when he was playing the part, what did he think he was he aiming for? What did the script or director tell him to do? I'd like to know his choice of words to describe the look of autism.

I know I'm a little late in this discussion but thought I'd post my opinion anyway because I find it an interesting topic. When my son was first suspected of having autism I searched a lot of literature online but also found some support groups to help me cope and learn about it. I found CafeMom and in the autism group the moms posted pictures of their kids with autism in one common thread. I looked at picture after picture and started noticing that the kids all looked similiar. First of all, they all were beautiful and then I noticed that almost all the kids had acorn shaped eyes. Other moms commented on this similarity too. I always thought it'd be an interesting research topic.

Overall I think of the saying "its takes one to know one" this has wide connotations but really I believe it comes down to certain mannerisms that are typically aspergers. My x husband and his newphew are both aspergers and share things that could be father- son things like facial expressions, mannerisms, ways of thinking and other things as well as a deeper understanding of each other even though they havbe not spent much time together during the newphew's life, he is now 20. I can see these aspects in other people and generally have a 'sense' of the condition which is hard to put my finger on.

I had just noticed another child the other day who looked remarkably like my youngest son. They could have been twins. Facial features... perhaps a look for one type and a look for another type .. that kind of thing... yes. Indeed.

I don't recognize faces so much as the patterns of the faces, if that makes sense. I look at the surroundings where I see them. So if I see a church member at Wal-mart, I may not recognize them! So this is an interesting thought.

Because.... I can recognize others with Autism of various kinds. It's like autism-radar. I read bout it being similar to gay-dar not too long ago somewhere.

Interesting thoughts indeed.

John, I have read several of your postings so far. You do a very good job! Keep it coming :)

Yes, I guess it should not be so hard for an Aspie recognizing another Aspie, even immediately. Think about this, people who live in the spectrum are extremely different than neural typicals. I dont want to sound like a syndromist but Aspies are MUCH better people than neural typicals. It's almost like we are pure, and they are dirty. Pure of what? Idk, maybe honesty? Its a well known fact between us that telling the truth always comes naturally out of our mouths, while neural typicals are very natural lairs, everything they do is a little lie. I will be fair and say there are Aspies out there that do learn how to lie with time, but that is because this world is hard enough for neural typicals, imagine how hard it is for those with Aspergers. So with this in mind the purity of an Aspie stands out, even more so to those with experience in the spectrum.

I also have to say this. I know I sound like I'm being hard on neural typicals but really, if there were a higher percentage of Aspies Earth would run alot more smoothly.

I think there is a "look" ... I agree with Penny: there's a slight uptilt to the lower, outer corner of the eye. There's also an air of something like composure; a greater degree of self-containedness. And detachment, of course.

You do have beautiful eyes. They seem luminous - not that our eyes are never luminous! Yours more often seem so, perhaps because of that slightly unfocussed stare you do.

And, yes, you often have a beautiful face. As John said, many of you seem to enjoy "sculpted" features - though not predominantly enough to call it a marker. You age more slowly, too. This is probably because you don't do a whole lot in the way of facial expressions, so you get fewer wrinkles!

Katrin Bentley said in her book, "Alone Together", that when she met her husband he reminded her of "Barbie's Ken". This was my own exact thought when I met my Aspie ex!

Even personality types can have different sub categories. Aspies and NT are just the main ones.

Y'know I've done this myself before. I'm a 23 year old Aspergian male and I've ritualistically found myself having a suspicion of others being Aspergians and often I've been right. I don't know what it is really.

Well yes Im certainly beautiful but its kin of been ruined by the nightmare of a neuro-typical domianted world.