My son does not have curved pinkies and he isn't on the spectrum. My husband is on the spectrum and his pinkies don't look curved to me.

Interesting story... and there is much to add:

The source mentioned by Mommytotwoboys also presents another more thorough article about "the hand in autism": fingerprints, dermatoglyphics and autism

It's interesting to notice that in that study most significant results were also related to the litle finger.

PS. Beyond the little finger: the so-called low 'digit ratio' (2D:4D finger ratio

(Sorry ... an error occured while posting)

PS. Beyond the little finger - the so-called low 'digit ratio' (2D:4D finger ratio smaller than 0.94) has also turned out in various studies to reveal a significant clue for autism, see: Finger length related to autism!.

Interesting indeed. Myself and my boys are on spectrum but pretty straight pinkies... however, my niece has this (her father has this) and I suspect she's on the spectrum although her father, mother, and now new step mom don't seem to hear me :) So, I'm going to pass this on to the step mom (one of my best friends) and see if they hear me now :) 

I have Asperger's, and my pinky curves out, not in. My middle finger has an intense curve to the outside though, and I have a low 2D:4d ratio (0.93). 

@maniac_rose@xanga - @Martijn van Mensvoort - @Erika_Steele@xanga - @mikkyh - @heatherbabes - @Weya@xanga - @frogger11758 - @amyunicorn@xanga -
Thank you all for your replies and comments on my curved pinky post!  I never knew that comments were added to my Autisable blog!  I am just now finding these!

I wrote an update on my blog that I hadn't even looked at my own pinkies and my left one is curved!  And my middle fingers are so curved.  And thanks for pointing out the 2D:4D thing.  I had not seen that and on my left my 2D and 4D are about the same length and on my right my 2D is significantly shorter than my 4D.  Crazy!  I never even thought to look at my own hands.  I wonder waht all this means for me?

@Erika_Steele@xanga - yeah, I pretty much agree.  All in good fun!

My son has very curved pinkies, and is not on the spectrum as far as we know....he is however not your typical kid he has always been a little different.

I've just recently learned, depending on how objectively/subjectively I judge myself, that I have between 10 and 12 indicators of fetal alcohol effects.  My two curved pinkies are on the firm positives list. What a journey!  Thanks for the blog posts. I'm completing my second degree in a very demanding field with a 4.0 GPA on a 4 point scale, by the way.  I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.  I am. I did.  I will. 

my mother and her seven siblings all inherited the crooked pinky from my grandfather.  my brother and sister do not have it, but I do.

Fascinating.

Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!

I'm 28 and have had clinodactyly since birth. It runs in the pateral side of my family and usually skips a generation. I excell in math and most sciences as well as literature and writing. I am, however, a terrible speller and grammer is my downfall. I am analytical and think logically and while I can relate to others emotions I tend to dismiss the credibility of my own. I have never been told by a doctor that I have dyslexia but spell check seems to diagnose me regularly. I do have ADHD or ADD, I wish I had paid better attention when the doctor told me which.

Clinodactyly is also sometimes paired with other joint defects (or as I like to say differences). One is a gap between the large toe and the one next to it. (go ahead and check your feet or your loved ones feet......) I am lucky enough to also have this=). I am double jointed (from my mother's side)  which makes this gap sometimes painful because my toes are flexible to a default and that tends to wear on my nerves. I believe most, if not all people with down syndrome also have both clinodactyly and this gap.

The reason you may not have autism or down syndrome but still display these minor physical defects (differences=)) is because they are characteristics of chromsomal mutations (love that word don't you). From my very limited research and education it appears that down syndrome and clinodactyly both derived from complications with the 21st chromosome. I THINK autism research is showing links to the 16th chromosome, but my MD diploma has someone elses name on it.

I first started looking into the origin of my crooked pinkies when I stayed with a family who had adopted two children with down syndrome after having one of their own biologically. Sitting at the table one evening I noticed the small hand slapping it's highchair looked oddly familar, and as I slowly crept my eyes around the table at the others my shock was multiplied. Not only had I never met anyone with cooked pinkies before, but here I was faced with three at the same time, and they all had down syndrome. I asked their mother about it and showed her my own, and she chimed, "Well you are the smartest person with down syndrome I've ever met." After noticing their toes I hit the computer, but again, even my www degree is still quite limited.

I stumbled on this site while looking into the possibility of correcting my pinkies. (Anyone with information on that?) As much as I am accustomed to the minor life adjustments they call for, I am forever irritated at the discomfort of their constant rubbing on my ring finger. Whether I'm holding something or picking something up after 28 years of feeling awkward I wanted to see if I could just fix them already.

I will say that if they are not fixable I will always have one reminder that they are special and beautiful. The oldest and biological child with down syndrome from the family I stayed with was crying one evening after a more difficult day at school. When I sat down with 16 year old April and ask her to tell me about it, she cried that she just wanted to be like everybody else and that she didn't want down syndrome and she didn't want her stupid crooked pinkies. I smiled, looked at her tear filled face, extended my hands and told her, "We are all unique, and each one of us is special, but as you can see we are not all that different from one another."      -KG-