@whileyouwonder: ✨ Ever catch yourself looking away while you’re the one talking? Guess what, according to research…neurotypicals don’t.💡 💛 Also… pre-release pricing is live for the Autistic Self-Identification Program, link’s in my bio 🎉🌻 Neurotypicals often hold eye contact while they speak to check reactions. Autistic people usually look away to think, manage sensory input, or find words more easily. Just remember, you don’t have to force eye contact to be connected. But…. if this is something you do and you’ve been wondering if you’re autistic… it’s definitely something to add to the list ✅ 📖 Doherty-Sneddon, G., Bruce, V., Bonner, L., Longbotham, S., & Doyle, C. (2002). Look away to think: Cognitive load and eye movement. Developmental Science, 5(4), 433–443. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00285 🧠 As always, what I share is based on my experience as an autistic autism assessor and speech pathologist, the lived experiences of the autistic community, and what I’ve seen across 8 years of autism assessments. These insights reflect common themes I’ve observed in 'clinical' settings, assessment conversations, and client storytelling. It may not apply to everyone, and research is still catching up on a lot of this! While this content is not intended as clinical advice, it draws on my lived and professional experience to make space for shared understanding and further discussion. I’d love to see more research in this space, and I’m always open to chatting with or supporting researchers – especially autistic researchers – who feel called to explore and build on these insights. There’s so much more to discover together!

Dasha🌻AutisticAutismAssessor

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Monday 10 November 2025 04:27:12 GMT