Stimming

[chinaberry]

Sorry if this has been done to death! But I just read an article about it and suddenly lots of stuff which I thought were just weird little things of mine have got a new name

The other day I was busy making a new friend (wow) and I didn't realise but I was stimming like mad (tapping my shoes). She asked to listen to an earbud (I was plugged in) and she listened for a few minutes and the song was pretty slow and stuff at first, and then she was like "I don't get it...is the song why you're doing that?". I said "what?" and she pointed at my feet, and I got the message and stopped. I wasn't really embarrassed. But I am embarrassed if someone notices my hand flapping or something.

What stimming do you do? I stim so much, all day. When I'm phoning I pace constantly without realising. My favourite thing has always been swinging and I usually rock when I'm alone or eating, and especially in bed at the end of the day. I'll rock on and off my bed (it's waist highish). In primary school I remember once scratching my arm nonstop in the afternoon until it was raw and bleeding, the people on my table made a big fuss about it, and I felt like I was crazy, but it was satisfying! I clench all the time and stim verbally (if I'm excited I'll say a certain word over and over), I scratch my palm and jerk my head to get air into my eyes. That one's pretty new, I started doing it a couple of years ago or so. We were watching a film last Sunday and out of the corner of my eye I could see my dad watching me do it four or five times in a row and then he commented on it, he said "do you realise you've got a tic?". Haha, my poor dad

So what are yours? And how long do you do them for, how much more do you do them than the average NT?

 

[smithgirl656]

could you post a link to the article? it sounds very interesting

 

[hazel]

hello everyone, i've been thinking recently whether i do actually stim or not because i have always thought i have'nt since i do not flap my hands or rock alot. here are the things that i do- let me know if you think they are stimming behaviours or not ...

i tap my fingers all the time often without realising- like simple drum patterns

when i am reading about my interests i always grind my teeth/jaw (again without doing it conciously)

when i am very excited i clasp my hands together quite firmly or open and close them ( this makes whatever is exicting more exciting)

let me know what you think - hazel.

 

[Calvert]

Yes, those would be classed as stims.

 

[hazel]

Yes, those would be classed as stims.

thanks calvert i thought they might have been

 

[BruceCM_Aspergic]

Can I call my occaisional fidgets 'stims', too? Will it make any difference at all if I do?

 

[ByronT]

No answers from me Hazel I'm afraid but I can relate to those.

I suspect that 'stimming' does cover a wide range of movements, and that the usual ones given are just examples.

I also wonder whether going over repetitive thoughts/getting stuck in a mental rut is another example of 'stimming', just not physically...?

I've noticed a new one that I've started doing over the past couple of years and that's insistently clicking my fingers when I'm trying to remember something.

 

[krisi]

Everyone "stims"--even neurotypicals. Those are stims, and so is bouncing one's leg (a LOT of girls I know do this in class), jumping up and down repeatedly, and bouncing on the balls of your feet. It's just any repetitive movement that does not have an overt cause. Mostly, they're self-regulatory behaviors, even in NT's. Doing things like bouncing their leg or clicking their pen in class helps them stay calm and focused. Flapping my hands helps me calm down. You noted one antecedent--reading about your interests. Check to see if the other behaviors have antecedents. I don't think you need to stop doing what you're doing (some autism therapy focuses on reducing/eliminating stim behaviors), but it's good to have that insight about yourself regarding what situations cause you to stim in what ways.

 

[Kempy]

Yeah, I would regard those as stims. I don't think I notice my stims most of the time. I stim a lot in private and honestly thought everyone stimmed like me when excited. It turns out they don't.

 

[sunrayhits]

I stim sometimes, hand flapping, leg bouncing etc, but I can control it which is lucky. I do it to calm myself, but if the situation came about that I shouldn't be doing it, then I could. And yeah I link to the article could be good
I also chew the skin from my fingers and the inside of my mouth, and often scratch whole patches of skin off my feet and ankles. That isn't so good.

 

[hazel]

Can I call my occaisional fidgets 'stims', too? Will it make any difference at all if I do?

sarcasm ? i don't get it..

 

[superboyian]

That is definitely stimming I must say.

 

[chinaberry]

I don't think the grinding is. I'm always clenching my teeth because of stress. More so if I'm in a public space. That's not really a stim, unless every single stress-coping/influenced device in the world which loads of NTs do is now considered stimming. I mean. Making bread is 'therapeutic', but it's not stimming.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

What about head scratching?

Been doing it for years, more like a self harming thing.

Just got a head massager for 6 pounds.

Works really well.

I really want to answer the door while Im using it.

Like a flexible whisk with bendy metal fronds.

 

[Gracey]

What about head scratching?

Been doing it for years, more like a self harming thing.

Just got a head massager for 6 pounds.

Works really well.

I really want to answer the door while Im using it.

Like a flexible whisk with bendy metal fronds.

I don't scratch my head ...unless I've been wearing a hat for a while then there is nothing on this Earth more satisfying than have a good old scalp scratch after taking hat off.

I "twiddle" more than scratch. Twirl hair between fingers.
It looks as if I'm receding on the left side of my forehead because of twiddling over the years.

I vote you answer the door wearing your bendy metal whisk if this is your want.
Beggar them all Mr Fridge, beggar them all.