I’m still on my journey of understanding the differences between autism and other. My focus today is eye contact, so let’s have a discussion!
Guiding questions:
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What do you think is the underlying difference that causes autistic people to use less eye contact than others?
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What does it feel like for you?
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How do you interpret other people’s eye contact?
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Do you avoid it, use short glances, or maintain NT-levels of eye contact?
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Does it vary by situation?
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Anything else you would like to discuss regarding eye contact?
Question is open to anyone. If not identified, then the assumption is the user is autistic. Otherwise, if you’re NT or other ND, please state so 🙂
I understand that eye contact is important for communication, but I just get intensely uncomfortable if it feels like more than a few seconds. I keep something I can fidget with around me at all times, to give a reason to break eye contact. I’ve also leaned into “animated” listening: exaggerated expressions so they know I’m listening. I think it also conveys more trust with the person, because they get much more comfortable sharing after a couple minutes even without lots of eye contact.