Caught stimming at work

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Joined: 18 Apr 2012
Age: 58
Gender: Female
Posts: 20
Location: Florida

24 Apr 2012, 11:42 pm

Hi....I have also been caught doing OCD behaviors at several various jobs, it was to self-soothe. As I got older, like past 40, it got a little weirder and I started stimming without knowing what it was, I just thought I was fidgety but now I know what the heck it is, it's also a self-soothing or comforting behavior. When my co workers started making fun of me, I developed the habit of barking, a sharp, high pitched toy poodle bark that made them cringe. They kinda stopped making fun of me, but also kinda stopped talking to me altogether. Mission accomplished, two ways ha ha, arf arf yap yap yap grrrrrrrr!
Sigh.

ooo
Velociraptor

Joined: 8 Apr 2012
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 494

28 Jun 2012, 1:08 am

ThinkTrees wrote:

Laugh with them, as if you see it as one of your charmingly unusual idiosyncrasies, and indeed with some dick-measuring pride thrown in, as your IQ probably really is higher than theirs.

Exactly.

Doing odd movements when NO ONE KNOWS you are different in any way is hardly discrimination. Maybe they thought you were trying to be funny. Either way, you're working there, presumably doing a good job, and getting paid. Laugh with them and that could be your trademark. A lot of people have some sort of signature gesture, laugh, phrase, or whatever. It's really not a big deal to have "quirks" (as they see it).

ooo
Velociraptor

Joined: 8 Apr 2012
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 494

28 Jun 2012, 1:09 am

BTDT wrote:

Agree with the other posters--don't bother trying to hide your quirks--everyone has them.

Save your energy for what is really important.

1) Management wants their salesmen to sell--they will overlook all sorts of minor stuff if you can sell.

2) Your coworkers will love you if you can handle difficult customers, so they don't have to deal with them. You may have unique abilities to handle certain customers that your coworkers don't want to know about.

This too.

I suppose you could make a comment to them that makes them not do it. But, I would rock the "Rainman" nickname. Kick their ***es in sales numbers, and rock the nickname to go with it.

aaahchu
Butterfly

Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 16

28 Jun 2012, 8:39 am

Perhaps you can stim in private? I just stim in the bathroom (I flap hands) when I need to

I also talk to myself in a different language when stressed....that said, I try to portay myself as the intelligent eccentric so that I can get away with the various stimming that I might accidently do when tired and thus accidently doing things infront of others....

shrox
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28 Jun 2012, 12:40 pm

Be like this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxWpU2IIzXI[/youtube]

sally7171
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 19 Jun 2012
Age: 55
Gender: Female
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Location: Florida

28 Jun 2012, 2:05 pm

Do NOT make a big deal out of this. If you make it a big deal you'll be ostricized even more, and people will only see you for your weirdness, not for the great work you do. Sometimes people catch me stimming at work or doing other odd things and they make fun of me but it's fine because I've learned to totally own my quirks. I have a self depricating sense of humor. It wasn't always this way, over the years I had to learn to overcome my hurt feelings and understand that my quirks are part of my charm. Now when someone catches me I laugh right with them and say something like "Oh, there I go again haha", or "haha go away, can't you see you're making me nervous?" Learn to appreciate your weirdo quirks and laugh about them. Others will start to perceive you as an interesting person rather than a socially inept freak.

_________________
Aspie score 138 of 200
Non-autistic score 70 of 200

shrox
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28 Jun 2012, 2:10 pm

sally7171 wrote:

Yes, and when you hear them starting to repeat your sayings when they do something, you know you've arrived.

kirayng
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28 Jun 2012, 2:15 pm

BTDT wrote:

I agree with this so much and it's very true in my industry as well where performance matters most (can't be a total asshat tho).

I'm frequently called upon to "deal" with, ahem, I mean train the new staff (and I've only been there about a month, wtf, anyways) because for some reason I'm able to focus and calm rowdy people and motivate sluggish ones. Who knows how or why... I surely don't.

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