Stimming?

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Mostly I have hand stereotypies, all day, from the moment I wake up in the morning. sometimes wiggling my toes too, for no reason. I pace a lot too.

I pace in rectangles following the shape of the carpet. I have done this for years. Always done it, even when a small child. I don't do it that often, but when I have a brilliant new plan or a good idea etc, I will start to pace in rectangles while I am thinking about it. I never knew it was classed as stimming!

One of the many things I do (following shapes) that I didn't know were autistic until recently. The pacing is stimming but not very autistic. Following the shape of the carpet is autistic. However, it seems to me some characteristics like this are common in little kids, ASD or not.

The only difference is that when I was a kid I would pace faster!

Here's a video that I did on "STIMMING" back from early 2019.

I do a lot of rocking, flapping, bouncing and spinning. I really like swinging on swings and getting deep pressure hugs from people too.
When I'm anxious, I'll pace back and forth or in circles. I have a bead bracelet that I play with a lot, and I like carrying stim toys with me like squishy balls, fidget spinners, tangle toys and soft swatches of fabric. My favourite is a small 3x3 inch square that's got minky fleece on one side and silk on the other, with a marble inside. I can play with that for hours.

I had heaps when I was around early primary school age. I somehow managed to stop doing most of them after a lot of critical comments, when I became very self conscious of my behaviour, and most likely the need to do them then manifested to other issues. The most persistent one was the unavoidable need to perform a precise sequence of movements and sounds at the completion of one thing before being able to progress to a next. This one went on for a few years past the others, I think it just phased out eventually. I was always so careful no one ever saw me do it.
When reaching my thirties I started deliberately putting childhood behavioural memories out of my head, when I started my self-analysing, questioning stage. I've only recently started re-remembering and going over my childhood behaviour after last year realising I have AS, and putting pieces together.

Things I did.....
. clicking sounds with my mouth, like the geiger counter previously mentioned (my sister called me Skippy the kangaroo)
. shrugging my shoulders for no reason
. stuttered, sometimes I would simply give up when needing to say something to a teacher
. hard blinking
. a very exaggerated rounded way of speaking
Probably a few more, but like I said I put a lot out of my head.

I used to love doing this thing where I'd spin in circles on the carpet and trip out on the resulting pattern that would be made from our rose-patterned carpet, like a kaleidoscope. That's probably normal tho.

I mostly move my legs and feet, especially my right leg, and I rub my fingers together or against something. And I hop/bounce up and down. But I have also realized I have a motionless stim: I always have to have some tension on my body. So I wedge my feet against something, or squeeze my hands between my legs, or something like that, whenever I sit still.

I never had the stereotypical noticeable stims, but I've always had the thing with my right leg, for sure. And that's the leg I use most to stand up off the floor, and get up steep hills while hiking, probably because it's stronger from always moving, lol