ME:: Never hated eye contact or didn't deliberately not do it. I just talked without eye contact since I was a kid. I never thought it was a big deal,I thought it was Filipino somehow :-) LOL so wrong ?!? ; : Kory Andreas:: 'She made eye contact and used “appropriate gestures while she talked' ...You've Never Seen an Untraumatized Autistic Adult. Neither Have I - Autism Spectrum News
Discovered: Apr 23, 2026 05:51 (UTC) ME:: Never hated eye contact or didn’t deliberately not do it. I just talked without eye contact since I was a kid. I never thought it was a big deal,I thought it was Filipino somehow :-) LOL so wrong ?!? ; : Kory Andreas:: ‘She made eye contact and used “appropriate gestures while she talked’ …You’ve Never Seen an Untraumatized Autistic Adult. Neither Have I - Autism Spectrum News
QUOTE
A former client, “Sarah” emails just as I open my laptop, one hour into a five-hour psychological evaluation, in a desperate attempt to get graduate school accommodations. Within thirty minutes, the evaluating psychologist had already started expressing doubt that Sarah met diagnostic criteria. The reason? She made eye contact and used “appropriate gestures while she talked.”
My former client broke down crying. She explained that both were learned behaviors, developed under years of familial and social pressure. That she is almost constantly monitoring herself for the correct type of eye contact. She explained that she is exhausted, burnt out, and constantly unable to complete simple tasks because of the energy expended socially each day. Sarah shared documentation from our work together. The evaluator apologized and said, I believe you, unfortunately, without the non-verbal piece, you just don’t meet the criteria for Autism.
She ended her message with five words: “Fighting for my autistic life here.”
I read it twice. Then I walked into the room of 400 therapists who were there to learn about the Foundations of modern autism.
“We have much to do.”