Do NTs stim?

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I agree. It's just a way of relieving stress.

I'm NT and I stim. Some of mine:

1. I flip pages of books continuously while I read. I've even been known to flip them across my cheek -- in both cases, I do it for the same reason most of you stim: It feels good and I find it relaxing for reasons that are difficult to explain.

2. Stroking my beard with my fingers when I am deep in thought (this is a common one among NT).

3. When I see a row of differently colored lights (like Christmas lights), I often make a series of back-and-forth eye movements because I like to watch the colors get smeared together into interesting patterns.

Being NT, of course, I am always concerned about what other people think about me, so I generally do #1 and #3 only when I am confident that no one is looking.

Interestingly, I have a son with AS that stims in many of the same ways I do. It's just that he does it more often and is more likely to do it when others can see him. Perhaps I am not entirely representative of NT, because I have a son with AS which, presumably, means that I have a few AS genes. Still, though, my Autism quotient score is only about 15, which is actually slightly less that the average man.

Ever notice how young men teens to thirties, giggle thier leg constantly while they sit?

Bouncy knees?

I have only seen one girl do this.

I have a friend who does I pointed out it wqas stimming and he said "I'm NOT autistic Dave!" I tried to make him understand that you don't have to be .


I read up there about a ladys son and his video game plot synopsis. I am VERY guilty of this. I talk someone elses ear off without listening.

I had an easier time actually doing something with other people. Playing if you will. Enjoying something in a shared respect. ( NOT enjoying something in a shared respect is called work. ) Remember when we thought adults stood around and talked too much? Well here we are?

How many of you AS get along well with kids? Because they want to DO something.
Playing a game takes our mind off everything. It helps us focus too.

I think maybe instead of doing the bar thing where there are no clear cut goals and such some sort of fun thing game would be good for us. Dancing, a team sport etc. That way we have something to focus on outside our own head.

What do ya say? an Aspergers softball league? It would be like when bearded guys do drag "its just for laughs."

My NT boyfriend flaps his hands when he's excited. He probably got that from me

I've seen "normal" people flap and rock when experiencing emotional extremes; many people have restless legs.

Yes NTs can stim! Stimming is a repetitive behaviour an organism does when it

a) is under stress
b) is under or overstimulated
c) has energy but no outlet for it.

Neurotypicals can feel all these things as well as us.. and animals too can display repetitive behaviours but not be an autistic animal.

NTs stim socially and yes Cockney Rebel is right IMO.. their small talk is one of the stimming types NTs can display.

They are faced with an unfamiliar person, or a situation where they have nothing to say, and they are nervous so they display a stereotypical behavior to make themselves more comfortable... but how are we supposed to know this, lol? All we aspies see is a set of pointless questions...

Yes I've seen the leg thing too... I know one (NT) that do that often. When I ask him why, he says he can't stop.
That's interesting in fact... when I, as an aspie, am able to keep my stims in private... (But then again, it may have to do with the "socially (un)acceptable" thing.)
Next time I maybe should ask him (or the many fingertapping people in shops who do this when I'm unmotorically long time about finding my money): Well... and where on the Spectrum are you, then?"
Or I should begin to turn around myself or flap my hands or rock or something like that, and when they ask "why do you do this?" I could answer: "the same reason as you do your legbouncing / fingertapping".

BTW I liked the one about smalltalk as NT stimming...

Maybe NT's hum and sing as a stim, too, because I have seen this behavior in the grocery store or at a bus stop. I notice that it seems to be me making them nervous, because I don't make eye contact or smile to reassure them, so they start humming or singing, LOL. Interesting.

I think a lot of people yak on the phone or text message as stimming.

I swear the next time I'm standing next to someone yelling on thier phone in public I'm gonna start praying to Jesus in my loudest voice.

When they complain I'll say " So you don't like being party to one sided conversations either eh?"

My mom has a stim, which she told me about that she does when she gets angry or upset, though I've never seen it. It's kind of similar to my own hand wringing thing. As far as I know, my mom is NT, but it seems like she could be bordering on the spectrum too.

My mom had a stim when she got angry or upset too it was called "chasing me around the kitchen trying to hit me" she would do it constantly

NTs bite their nails, they crack their fingers and they chew on their pencils -- so technically they do stim.

I'm guilty of the legbouncing. I chew on pen caps during tests and when I'm nervous, I chew on the inside of my mouth when I'm bored, tap my legs with my hands, and look all around the room to avoid eye contact. yeah I'm NT and I apparently have a lot of stims...not too strange. and i think it unfair that those are 'socially accepted' just because they're more common. that's just kinda mean.