• heliotrope@slrpnk.net
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          4 days ago

          A common quirk of autism is putting pressure on the fronts of your feet (though rarely as high as this) while walking.

          I do it a bit, but the only sign that I am is that my shoes wear down on the front faster than other people, while the heel generally stays intact.

          • NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            I really need Lemmy to stop pointing out things I didn’t notice I have been doing forever and then telling me it’s an autism thing.

          • Signtist@bookwyr.me
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            4 days ago

            Man, even that was a sign!? Is everything I’ve ever done just textbook autism?

            • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net
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              4 days ago

              If you’re as old as me the only thing books ever mentioned on [behavior now correlated with autism] is that some kids do it but they’ll “grow out of it.”

              • toynbee@piefed.social
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                2 days ago

                This is what the doctor said when my kid was newer to walking and, well, the kid did. I didn’t do anything to intervene and, to the best of my knowledge, neither did my wife.

                edit: Add missing gerund.

                • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net
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                  2 days ago

                  That’s awesome! Nobody should have to endure 10+ years of being called “twinkle toes” on the account of an unconscious behavior.

                  • toynbee@piefed.social
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                    2 days ago

                    Of course not! So long as it’s not physically endangering them in any way (for example, if it damaged tendons; or I might discourage doing it on the stairs, though I don’t think that ever came up) or otherwise causing them problems, then I want them to be who they are. That includes whatever manner is comfortable for their walking.

                    If it had been, for some reason, necessary to push for it to change, the way to do that would be through whatever treatment was needed (presumably with at least the help of professionals), not through mockery.

              • Omgpwnies@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                I “grew out of it” when I got too fat to stay on the balls of my feet all the time. However I still do every so often; and when I sit, I often tuck my feet under the chair so that I’m resting on them… so maybe not entirely grown out of it…

                • smh@slrpnk.net
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                  3 days ago

                  I do that, too, when I’m in a shared chair. I think it’s because my feet don’t reach the floor in chairs that aren’t adjusted for my height. Also, I’m autistic, hyper flexible, and have poor proprioception, so sitting on my legs gives me good feedback on where my limbs are.

                  My office chair is a kneeling chair, and I tend to sit with my feet where the knees should go. (I swap into office slippers, so it’s not outside shoes on my chair.)

            • heliotrope@slrpnk.net
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              4 days ago

              Not necessarily a sign; just a common quirk to have with the condition.

              Not all toe-walking is related to autism: it can also be musculoskeletal or related to other psychological conditions; and at the same time, not all autistic people walk like this.

          • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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            3 days ago

            I do this but only when I’m wearing sandals or am barefoot, if I’m in my boots I walking notably more on my heel. Seriously I have to swap the padding on them every once in awhile because I bore a hole in the damned things. I think it’s a balance thing.

          • MeatPilot@sh.itjust.works
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            4 days ago

            My shoes get worn down similarly because I have high arches and long ass toes, “tingers”. The middle arch never touches the ground.

            Finding the right shoes suck ass. I’ll get holes in the top and bottom of the front unless I have proper arch support.

            Plus side I’m very silent when I walk because there is less contact. So I’ve spent a lifetime scaring the shit out of people on accident.

          • colin@lemmy.uninsane.org
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            4 days ago

            non-ND people learn soon enough to not walk on their heels after living in a multi-storey house for a month. but sure, if you want to believe it’s unusual, i can’t stop you.

    • NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone
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      4 days ago

      Toe walking is a fairly common childhood autistic trait and one of the main things researchers associated with it early on.

      • Cam@scribe.disroot.org
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        3 days ago

        I even ran on my toes, never was diagnosed. It’s funny (not actually) reaching adulthood and everything start making sense.

        • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Running on the balls of your feet is a sprinting technique. It’s what a lot of people do. So not a definitive trait of autism.

          • WraithGear@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            i wonder if it’s why i am suffering from near crippling mortons neroma now. basically did the dinosaur walk for a long time, played DDR like that. still have short ligaments in my legs.

          • clif@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Also good for distance running … Or just all running. The impacts absorb in soft tissue when the knee is bent instead of in the knee joint.

    • Beetschnapps@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Basically anything someone divergent does is instantly unique to them and needs to be screamed all over Lemmy as their personality.

      In reality, people walk on their toes, heels or the balls of their feet. They often switch depending on context (walk on your heels in a hurry, in the balls of your feet rather than stomping etc.) No one really cares or feels special about it.

    • Sho@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Huh and here I just did it cause my house was creaky and my step-dad was a light sleeper. If we woke him we would get screamed at or worse. Walking toe/heel made me quieter in the dark.