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Weird Stim

MyLifeAsAnAspie

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I was watching a YouTube video on stimming and the presenter had the controversial opinion that true autistic stimming is all consuming and not done while otherwise mentally engaged. I found this interesting because I have always had this weird stim-like practice that is all consuming. Reading the comments for the video, a found a woman who described the same practice. She had a better description of it than I have been able to write "Ever since I was really young I do this thing where I tense up, do a very repetitive motion with my hands, my face looks like I’m having a seizure ( cross eyed? I’m not sure), and I’m totally into the feeling and almost like I’m blocked out from the world". She also writes "I don’t seem to be Autistic but I am very creative".

In another YouTube video about ASD research, the researcher describes "staring, with posturing" which a presume to be something similar.

Is anyone familiar with this?
 
Huh, I am stimming right now lol one leg is bobbing up and down and when I am told by my husband to stop, because it is annoying, it takes such an enormous effort to stop.

I never heard of stimming, until I discovered aspergers and whoa, at last, that is what is going on.

Not sure that I do what you describe, but then again, it was my husband who told me I get into obsessions, so perhaps I do and not aware of it.
 
Staring with posturing.
I don't see how that is a stim. It's a statement!

Stimming IMO is a way of self soothing.
 
I wiggle. Posturing and staring, perhaps. l notice l am very alert about my posture and try not shuffle my feet to much. l clasp my hands in back or in front of my body and try to assume a bit of a smile without overt staring.
 
Head banger here, when upset. Maybe not a stim but part of my swaying body to & fro. I do the foot wiggle, I shudder, my face has a regular twitch which alarms people. My eyes flutter, & I make grunting & shushing sounds when occupied. I am a sight to behold when in a full-blown anxiety attack, I sweat & stamp. I hate myself. To clarify, some of these sooth me while concentrating. The others are reactions to anxiety.
 
Believe it not, there is a whole body of politics related to stimming. Some say it has to be all consuming, others say no. Some say it's just a fidget with no purpose, others say no, it serves a clear purpose. Every time you read something else about stimming, it contradicts a different source.

In the end, it is clear it's up to the person to identify their own stim and its purpose.

I would be very cautious of a provider who attempted to stop someone from doing their stims. I do understand some are socially challenging, but so what? People are rude and have their own socially unacceptable behaviours. So there are some ACCEPTABLE "socially unacceptable behaviours" and some UNACCEPTABLE "socially unacceptable behaviours"?

When the powers that be try to control disability, it's important for the disabled community (and loved ones) to take a stand and refuse to be allow a non-injurous and necessary item to be up for grabs. Of course, the powers that be often control basic needs so self-advocacy can only go so far in some scenarios. But where there are options and choices, Hands Off My Stim!
 
octopus-attack.jpg


The thread got me thinking about octopuses, which are quite intelligent and if they stimmed.

The octopus pictured is not attacking the man btw. He just thought he had stumbled upon a life-sized diver figurine that you put in aquariums and was checking it out. Once he realized his mistake they sorted it out.

;)
 
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There are stims I do while focused on other things, and there's stims where when I do them I don't really focus on anything but doing that stim. I think it just depends on the person and why they're stimming in the first place.
 
"true autistic stimming"

As opposed to what? False autistic stimming? True nonautistic stimming? What if it is only 95% pervasive?

The minute someone says that, it suggests to me they are looking to minimize its prevalence and eliminate people from qualifying. It's not the real deal. You're not a "true" (fill in the blank).

It can also be lazy all-or-nothing thinking. Far easier to check off boxes of yes/no questions with no other choices and tally a pass-fail score than to confront the entire gestalt and accept that the world is nothing but many shades of grey. (No, I don't mean that B&D movie.).

Almost every human alive stims a little, once in a while. It is called fidgeting and what it does is stimulate the brain. It is a way to distract from one's situation while not shutting down, whether that something is a boring lecture, a strong emotion, or sensory overstimulation. Now, that distraction can be slight or it can be nearly total but the principle is the same. It is a biological response that can be initiated by any of a number of different environmental stressors.

Stimming, like autism, is not an either/or proposition. Just as autism varies in severity and at the high functional end blends imperceptibly into the NT population, stimming varies in intensity and frequency and blends imperceptibly into ordinary fidgeting.

When people make exclusionary pronouncements like that there is, unfortunately, usually no way to challenge them directly. It certainly isn't science.
 
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"true autistic stimming"

As opposed to what? False autistic stimming? True nonautistic stimming? What if it is only 95% pervasive?

The minute someone says that, it suggests to me they are looking to minimize its prevalence and eliminate people from qualifying. It's not the real deal. You're not a "true" (fill in the blank).

It can also be lazy all-or-nothing thinking. Far easier to check off boxes of yes/no questions with no other choices and tally a pass-fail score than to confront the entire gestalt and accept that the world is nothing but many shades of grey. (No, I don't mean that B&D movie.).

Almost every human alive stims a little, once in a while. It is called fidgeting and what it does is stimulate the brain. It is a way to distract from one's situation while not shutting down, whether that something is a boring lecture, a strong emotion, or sensory overstimulation. Now, that distraction can be slight or it can be nearly total but the principle is the same. It is a biological response that can be initiated by any of a number of different environmental stressors.

Stimming, like autism, is not an either/or proposition. Just as autism varies in severity and at the high functional end blends imperceptibly into the NT population, stimming varies in intensity and frequency and blends imperceptibly into ordinary fidgeting.

When people make exclusionary pronouncements like that there is, unfortunately, usually no way to challenge them directly. It certainly isn't science.

I guess I don't understand what the purpose of getting all hung up on what "true autistic stimming" is. Someone looking in from the outside and making a categorical claim, in other words. I mean, what purpose would that serve? I am genuinely perplexed. o_O
 
Sometimes things get too much for me. Honestly, stimming is only a part of ASD. I masked for years, no decades. zozie is right, nothing to see here, nothing to get hung up on. I am starting a new post: How do you want to see Earth end? And when? My answer: Nuclear holocaust & next Tuesday. Oh yes, he is in a mean mood today.
IMG_20200405_0002.jpg
 

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