You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: [AUTISM] The Mechanics of a Smile
The struggle is real and a decent smile is just the beginning. Eye contact training is a big one, I had to observe quite a few people before I could get it right and even managed to fool a psychologist in to thinking there wasnt any autism here. Too much eye contact and ur a creep too little and the autism sticks out like a sore thumb. I try to have my eye contact in 3-5 second intervals with little breaks during a conversation. Another big one I have to stop doing is staring off into space and zoning out when my brain is working at 100%
YES @oliverstoney - YOU GET IT. Eye contact was a big struggle for me too. You know what comes to mind? The National Geographic documentaries about monkeys. Their eyes are always moving because if they stare it's a sign of aggression. So I'm always thinking, OMG, I need to keep moving my eyes and head like a monkey...which, is exaggerating just a tiny bit - but sometimes it's how I feel, especially when I'm more likely to stare. As for the zoning out stuff...yeah, I do that too - but the older I get the more I can blame that on age. SQUIRREL!!!!