Hi there Community, today I have a small question about your experiences with 'weird' or 'unnatural' way of smiling.
As a child, I would rarely smile. On most photos you'd find me staring somewhere with widely open eyes in a kind of flat awe- or confusion-like expression. People would tell me to smile and be happy and I would answer that 'But I am'.
The thing is that my 'smile' was easilly omissed. The right corner of my mouth would go slightly to the back but that's it. Later, it evolved into full blown right-side grimace that for me was an exaggerated smile(after all, I was told to smile because good little girls are happy). It was classified as a 'weird' smile. My mother would always tell me to 'smile normally'. Only at the beginning of the middle school I realised that a real smile has two traits I never used before:
1. Visible teeth.
2. Slightly 'closed' eyes, so that they would create 'crow feet' at the corners.
With many trials I've come to know how exactly the polite, happy and friendly smile looks like. Not too much teeth('Why are you showing your teeth like that? That's weird'). Not too closed eyes('Why you always close your eyes when you smile? It's weird'). Etc.
Yet, my real smile is still either invisible or considered weird and unnatural. Lately, on facebook, I found a profile of Morgan, an aspie boy, that is updated by his parents after a severe set of bullying the poor kid had to go through. Browsing through this I realised - He has the same kind of smile I always had.
I've read once a post by an autistic teacher that said that after years he can recognise those of his pupils that are autistic. He said that they have 'an Aspie smile', whatever it means.
Do you think it is possible for aspies to recognise each other with only a smile? Not the 'polite, NT-expected' one. The real one.
If yes, where does it come from? Is it because of the problems with expressiveness? Little to no connection with the facial muscles that needs to be developed through years of trials?
Any of your thoughts are welcome.
As a child, I would rarely smile. On most photos you'd find me staring somewhere with widely open eyes in a kind of flat awe- or confusion-like expression. People would tell me to smile and be happy and I would answer that 'But I am'.
The thing is that my 'smile' was easilly omissed. The right corner of my mouth would go slightly to the back but that's it. Later, it evolved into full blown right-side grimace that for me was an exaggerated smile(after all, I was told to smile because good little girls are happy). It was classified as a 'weird' smile. My mother would always tell me to 'smile normally'. Only at the beginning of the middle school I realised that a real smile has two traits I never used before:
1. Visible teeth.
2. Slightly 'closed' eyes, so that they would create 'crow feet' at the corners.
With many trials I've come to know how exactly the polite, happy and friendly smile looks like. Not too much teeth('Why are you showing your teeth like that? That's weird'). Not too closed eyes('Why you always close your eyes when you smile? It's weird'). Etc.
Yet, my real smile is still either invisible or considered weird and unnatural. Lately, on facebook, I found a profile of Morgan, an aspie boy, that is updated by his parents after a severe set of bullying the poor kid had to go through. Browsing through this I realised - He has the same kind of smile I always had.
I've read once a post by an autistic teacher that said that after years he can recognise those of his pupils that are autistic. He said that they have 'an Aspie smile', whatever it means.
Do you think it is possible for aspies to recognise each other with only a smile? Not the 'polite, NT-expected' one. The real one.
If yes, where does it come from? Is it because of the problems with expressiveness? Little to no connection with the facial muscles that needs to be developed through years of trials?
Any of your thoughts are welcome.