I walk like a runway model ;-)

no, seriously, I do, but I have had to train myself to walk in whatever way I do because I was seriously pigeon toed when I was a kid and had to train myself to keep from tripping over my toes all the time.

I have always attempted to correct my gait. My feet are slpayed, like a duck and I have a lazy shuffle.

Very conscious about correcting this walk since a child. I would trip over the joints in the foot paths all the time. Found counting the footpath squares into town made me pick my feet up.

Still conscious to turn my feet inwards and lift my feet.

Well, I just had my g-daughter walk down the hall, and yes she swings her arms. However, used to when she would climb steps she would talk one step then bring the other foot up to meet the one on the step, then continue advancing one more step at a time with both feet needing to be on each step before she would proceed to the next step. Gram

Interesting!
Someone wrote on one of the Facebook groups I'm in-
"This might not be related to asperger's at all, but I had to actually learn to swing my arms while I walk like it was some complex dance move. Everyone else just seemed to naturally move their arms when walking but I would walk with my arms straight down at my sides because arm-swinging seemed illogical. LOL. It was quite difficult to learn that it was right arm forward when left leg forward, etc, and I still think I probably look a bit like Im marching, but I try to make it look natural.

Anyone else have this issue? Or is this just a weird quirk not related to aspergers? LOLAsperger's Adults"

I replied that I used to 'bounce' walk like my dad & brother- until someone said to me in the street "You walk like a man!" Since then I've been careful to bounce less! I tend to always have my hands in my pockets to avoid the confusion of having to do anything with them, or I am always pushing a pram. The pockets thing used to cause problems when I lived in London- I can't remember the number of times I fell over at the tops of escalators on the tube with my hands stuck in my pockets!! I used to always almost get run over a lot too- Since I've had kids I'm MUCH more careful, but I wonder if that's an Aspie thing?
By the way, there are some great Facebook Aspie groups, and some of the same questions come up. 'Adults with Asperger's' is good- and there is a big discussion on this same topic!

Always as a kid I was picked on for my gait. I bounce when I walk and maybe motor-mouth talking to myself and swinging my arms. As a kid I would carry practically all my books and swing my briefcase.

I was teased especially by friends parents and they called me little professor.

As a kid I was forced physical fitness. I was a Fencer (even adult) which is all about poise since there is no free-form in Fencing, only correct postures. Same with Judo. That was I was taught poise. I was amazed at how lazy baseball, football and soccer was without regimented poise. If anyone argues this point they don't know what their talking about because Fencing and Martial arts have diagrams how to hold your body every second.

SigS is a good example like me. She consciously trained herself to walk and hold her body.

The consequences of no discipline is more teasing.

yep, I have to think about swinging arms, when I do, I get out of rhythm and have to readjust, I am in the self-diagnosis category, don't know if that is sad, finding a good unbiased diagnostician who is not collusionary with his/her discipline is another story. changing diagnoses is something they all seem to hate to do.

I thought it was just because my son was so tall 6'4" at age 16 that he didn't know how to carry himself. Also had a very hard time teaching him how to run. He likes to play sports but running comes as more of a challenge to him. Very interesting observation, I never thought of connecting that to a/s

Hmm... reminds me of John Cleese doing his bit about the Ministry of Funny Walks. Hysterical!!

Now, when my daughter runs, she looks like a kangaroo, generally keeping her arms bent with her hands like paws in front of her. I know she's going to catch grief for that, or if she does swing her arms, they are just about straight down and never cross behind her center of gravity. I'm thinking that she imagines she's an animal when she has to run. Hopefully she'll grow out of it because she doesn't seem to notice how peculiar it is.

I am very stiff with no arm movements. I usually walk on the sides of my feet, on the inside or the outside of the sole. I also walk on my toes a lot. I am very straight postured when I walk. I also walk with my head to the left side so that I can see everything on the right. It is only slight, but noticeable.

I learnt as a kid that I was supposed to swing my arms, so I taught myself to do it - except then everyone laughed at me because I was swinging them so high that they were swinging above my head! So then I stopped. I know I don't walk in a 'normal' way. I can't swing my hips like women are supposed to, and I am not graceful. But I try to walk with tummy tucked in, shoulders back, etc., to stop my posture standing out as very different.

Incidentally, I've just been reading 'Pretending to be Normal', where the author (who is Aspie) talks about bilateral coordination difficulties, which are apparently common in AS. It means it is hard to get one half of your body to do one thing and the other half to do another. I was thinking how that explains perfectly why I can swim so easily using breast stroke, where both sides are doing the same thing, but can't get the hang of front crawl at all! And now I am thinking it probably explains the arm swinging part of walking too.

I know that I had to correct my walk when I was younger. I feet splayed out, and I was very conscious of correcting it.

After I had surgery on my knees I had to learn how to walk again. It was like I had forgotten how to do it. It was very difficult, because I couldn't get all the movements together. I was also in Air Cadets, and learned to swing my arms correctly.

As to walking like a woman...I practiced for hours walking correctly in high heels. Literally for hours and hours. It wasn't natural for me.

It seems to me that much of it was consciously learned behaviour. I've always had a much longer gait than most my height. I've had to modify it to walk with others.

We are a weird bunch, aren't we? LOL

Hehe - I have totally given up trying to walk in high heels. I refuse to wear them any more. I think there is only a certain extent to which it's reasonable to fit into society, and if it's causing too much discomfort, we should be allowed to be ourselves and do what comes naturally to us instead. :-)

I would also add that I don't see myself as an Asperger 'sufferer'. I don't think it's something I suffer from. I suffer more from people trying to change me into society's mould. If I'm free to be myself, I don't suffer.