Still Confused on Meltdowns and Stimming

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poppyfields
Deinonychus
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Joined: 23 Jul 2010
Age: 38
Gender: Female
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10 Oct 2010, 7:52 pm

I don't know if I've ever had a meltdown or not.

I've never yelled, got violent, felt the need to break things, etc.

When I get really frustrated I will burst into tears over issues others think are not a big deal, but it never lasts long (a minute or two) Occaisonally I'll feel a buildup of anger and explode saying bad names or sometimes just making grunting noises that I can't control really but those outbursts only last a few seconds then I withdraw within myself for a few minutes. None of these are long enough to be meltdowns, so can you be autistic and not meltdown?

Secondly, when is stimming behavior not stimming? I mean I am pick at my nails and rub my teeth and pick my nose and go on running sprees around my house daily but definitely not constantly and I can make myself stop once I start (and usually do if I'm around people).



Callista
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10 Oct 2010, 8:14 pm

Everyone expresses things differently; some meltdowns are showy, noisy, and obvious, and others are quiet shutdowns, crying fits, or loss of skills and self-regulation ability. And, yes, you can be diagnosed autistic without ever having a meltdown.

Most autistic people can stop stimming if they want to; they just tend towards it because it's useful to them, and they will start doing it if they're not paying attention. It can be stressful to stop for a long time.


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