Aspberger's syndrome

[Segilla]

I recently piucked up courage to ask an old friend why he usually found it difficult to make eye contact when speaking, though when listening this is not a problem.
Is this a symptom of mild Aspberger's?

[cazzz1975]

yes its common amongst individuals with an autistic spectrum disorder like aspergers

[daffy654]

Aspergers sufferers don't usually suffer the problem of making eye contact with people they are familiar with, unlike people with Autism. They do avoid eye contact with strangers though.

[nextqueen]

well i find i dont make full eye contact with people i dont know for very long, does this mean i have apergers?

[Nosha123]

a child I met on the weekend has aspergers - and had no problem making eye contact...

people with aspergers are apparently very honest (they dont have the capacity to lie) - and also dont understand phrases or sayings such as 'its raining cats and dogs'

[cazzz1975]

not all asperger sufferers struggle with eye contact, but a large amount of them do, poor eye contact can also be caused by a lot of other problems, thankfully there is a lot more to autistic spectrum disorders than eye contact so its worth looking at other causes as well.

[cazzz1975]

your friend may suffer from some sort of social anxiety/phobia

[Segilla]

He has indeed struggled all his life, he told me, and now aged nearly 80 he still finds that it disconcerts people who don't know him well.