Biting Yourself

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No, I don't bite myself. I do have other steryotypies that are commonly associated with LFA and intellectual disability like twirling a string in front of my face and humming to block out noise. I do these things in private now (mainly-occasionally hum in a very crowded public place) but used to do them in public and private and they got me in a lot of trouble as a kid. Also there's a girl in my university ASD support group who bites her knuckles and has huge bloody scabs on her knuckles from biting them. She even does it in public when she's stressed. Her diagnosis is Asperger's and she's very high functioning and very intelligent (does reasonably well in school without even trying). I read an article that discussed highlights from the DSM V development committee discussions about the new ASD category. One of the things I remember reading was that studies have shown that often in high functioning individuals steryotypies are transitory (only there when patient is young) so this symptom should be de-emphasized in diagnosing high functioning ASD cases. Professionals do believe that perseverative interests and not steryotypies are more common in high functioning people. I still do my steryotypies though and my diagnosis is Asperger's and my verbal IQ is 126 and the other girl in my ASD group has an Asperger's (high functioning) diagnosis as well and she bites herself so you're not alone.

Alongside the 3rd option some folk need for "still do", I need a 4th option for "bite, sure, but not because of stress".

I've been known to bite my arms from time to time... mostly due to boredom and liking the way bite-marks look. Same reason I'll sometimes claw pictures into my skin with my nails (rarely to the point of drawing blood).

I actually started doing in the last couple of years because of misophonia, before I only occasionally lightly chewed on my arm and wrist skin/hair to relax. I feel horrible and guilty about it because I didn't do it before but I can't stop it.

I like to bite/suck on my arms sometimes in private. I just like the feeling of my mouth attached to something like that. I don't usually bite hard.

I thought it was some sort of weird kink I had for a while, which is why it's always been a secret. But it just calms me so... yeah. not sure.

I did and sometimes do bite on my finger when I'm stressed.

I don't do it a lot, but I sometimes catch myself biting down on my fingers. I don't bite hard--just enough to apply a little pressure to them.

I remember sucking on my arms sometimes when I was a kid--at least, until my mom made me stop.

In general, I find I have a need to bite on/chew on objects.

Used to I dont do it very much anymore.

Used too,mostly I was a head banger.

I did and do bite myself, but the "do" is much less than the "did" as a child.
I am somehow hyposensitive to a lot of physical pain and "feeling as a body" and biting gave and gives my mind a sense of physical limitation.
And the other aspect is just seeing the mark of the teeth, it is a new pattern at the skin, and seeing the colour of that bit changing into more red colour.
Then I like to touch that mark with my other hand, as it felt different to the "normal" skin pattern, so that it becomes a way of a pure tacticle sensation.
In my view I do not hurt myself wth it, it is not meant to.
It does not hurt.
I can "chew" on my skin, but not in a sense of hurting myself, it is a tactile experience and a visual.

edit to add: I bite constantly the inside of my cheeks.
There I have scarf-tissue there, but that is more unvoluntarily that I do it.
I also have a "biting-tic" in my face, that I do unvolutarily.

Yes, I bite myself during meltdowns.

Not my proudest moments, especially if someone notices the teeth-mark bruises afterward......

Oh well. Currently on meds and haven't had an episode in months.

I used to bite myself for sensation-seeking reasons. I do bite myself occasionally due to stress. I actually did so today, so it's been on my mind.

I would usually bite hard enough to leave a mark, but not hard enough to draw blood.

I bit myself on the hands and arms often when I was a child. I think it would be odd to still do the as an adult though.

Yeah, that was my suspicion. Not unheard of in the ASD community though given the other replies. It just strikes me as so funny that I am 30 before I think to question the fact that I feel compelled to bite myself to deal with stress/turmoil from time to time. It was exactly the same with the rocking back and forth and the talking to myself. Put it all together and you have a complete stereotype of most people's view of autism. Seems so strange that I never really accepted that I fit with the condition until now. I have even had conversations with my mother years back that basically concluded that I was probably 'on the spectrum somewhere' but it was put across with so many qualifiers and blow-softeners as to render the idea meaningless and I just didnt take it seriously.

Sounds like me! Except I'm still 30, still living with someone who know all the buttons and push them and still biting my fingers like mad.

I'm 25, a professional, and I've been unable to rid myself of my knuckle biting. LOL.
Sometimes when I get stressed I'll go to town on them in public, or worse at work.

I do too. I occasionally bite my hand or my arm and the inside of my mouth when I'm upset or anxious.