Fear of smiling when saying sorry

I think this is a significant component of autism/aspergers.

The problem is the people who define autism only take account of conspicuous poor eye contact - in terms of "gaze aversion" - avoiding eye contact by looking away.

They pooh pooh the idea that there is difficulty reading facial expressions, it is only supposed to be about eye contact - information conveyed by the eyes - and if you appear to be looking in the right direction, apparently you've no problem with that.

In reality, I suspect, there is a great deal more to this, but I have to offer it up as a theory:

Not only do people with autism/aspergers have difficulty reading facial expressions, they have difficulty generating the appropriate facial expression.

Many people with autism are reported to have a blank or sad facial expression. Many people report smiling to avoid being accused of a sad face. Others report feeling uncomfortable about whether their facial expression is right. It is a big issue - but neglected by health porofessionals.

In terms of reading facial expression and reading information conveyed by the eyes, its not about whether people make eye contact, but whether they can take in and respond correctly to information conveyed by facial expression. People complain of being overwhelmed by this information and being unable to make sense of it, and finding it easier to look away. Also the fact some people are able to make eye contact doesn't mean they are using the information conveyed correctly.

Conversely, and possibly for similar reasons, peiople with autism/spergers have difficulty generating appropriate facial expressions. They may be accused of having the wrong facial expression to back what they are trying to say. Hence, to avoid criticism, some people resort to a blank, empty looking facial expression, sometimes appearing as a sad face, as an easier option than trying to get it right.

So a difficulty about whether you are smiling when you shouldn't is a likely manifestation of autism.

Trouble is autism is low priority research. We get the dumbest, most up their own ....., the most unscientific "quacks" - So this crucial issue in understanding autism has never been adequately researched.

I think this is a significant component of autism/aspergers.

The problem is the people who define autism only take account of conspicuous poor eye contact - in terms of "gaze aversion" - avoiding eye contact by looking away.

They pooh pooh the idea that there is difficulty reading facial expressions, it is only supposed to be about eye contact - information conveyed by the eyes - and if you appear to be looking in the right direction, apparently you've no problem with that.

In reality, I suspect, there is a great deal more to this, but I have to offer it up as a theory:

Not only do people with autism/aspergers have difficulty reading facial expressions, they have difficulty generating the appropriate facial expression.

Many people with autism are reported to have a blank or sad facial expression. Many people report smiling to avoid being accused of a sad face. Others report feeling uncomfortable about whether their facial expression is right. It is a big issue - but neglected by health porofessionals.

In terms of reading facial expression and reading information conveyed by the eyes, its not about whether people make eye contact, but whether they can take in and respond correctly to information conveyed by facial expression. People complain of being overwhelmed by this information and being unable to make sense of it, and finding it easier to look away. Also the fact some people are able to make eye contact doesn't mean they are using the information conveyed correctly.

Conversely, and possibly for similar reasons, peiople with autism/spergers have difficulty generating appropriate facial expressions. They may be accused of having the wrong facial expression to back what they are trying to say. Hence, to avoid criticism, some people resort to a blank, empty looking facial expression, sometimes appearing as a sad face, as an easier option than trying to get it right.

So a difficulty about whether you are smiling when you shouldn't is a likely manifestation of autism.

Trouble is autism is low priority research. We get the dumbest, most up their own ....., the most unscientific "quacks" - So this crucial issue in understanding autism has never been adequately researched.