The legs are kept widebased and the feet are flat and turned outward. In some this gait is also accompanied by mild lumbar lordosis, forward tilting of the pelvis, and slight flexion of the knees. More attentive children can perform in the moderate range and a minority can perform in some categories, like receptive social skills, in the mildly impaired range. It is generally acknowledged that cognitive abilities in AS are higher than indicated from developmental testing. Some AS children seem to have enough comprehension to be able to speak, but in even the highest functioning, conversational speech does not develop.
Hyperactivity is a more consistent behavior in AS than is the happy demeanor.
Attention span is short and can prevent social interaction by interfering with facial and other social cues of their partner. In young adults the hypermotoric state generally decreases. Feeding problems are frequent but not generally severe and usually manifest early as difficulty in sucking or swallowing. Tongue movements may be uncoordinated with thrusting and generalized oral-motor incoordination. There may be trouble initiating sucking and sustaining breast feeding, and bottle feeding may prove easier.