My Inability to Make Eye Contact Does Not Need to Be 'Fixed'

Concentration, empathy, and attention have long been linked to a pair of eyes meeting directly. It's often intimated that if someone isn't looking you in the eye when they speak to you, they should be treated with suspicion, or at the very least the content of what they said should be treated as such. "Look me in the eye and tell me that" is a term used almost interchangeably with "tell me the truth." But what if it's difficult for a person to maintain eye contact? Should that person be judged as insincere, untrustworthy, or socially flawed? For those with autism who struggle to hold someone's gaze, these assumptions are often made. And, as someone who's suffered as a result of these assumptions, I want people to understand why they're so damaging. *** Difficulty in maintaining eye contact is such a known part of the autistic experience that John Elder Robinson titled his autobiography about life with Asperger's Look Me in the Eye. The Indiana Resource Center for Autism describes the many ways this difficulty can manifest: "Some people who have autism actively avoid eye contact and appear confused and anxious when it occurs. Some seemed to make eye contact relatively early but later reported they were actually looking at something that fascinated them (such as their reflection in one's eyeglasses). When cued 'Look at me,' some make eye contact that recipients experience more as a staring gaze than as a communicative exchange. Some gradually learn to make eye contact and...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news