I stim - do I have Aspergers?

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Hi,
I stim quite a bit, mostly in the form of rocking (especially in response to obsessively listening to a song) and sometimes I vocally stim (when there is a lot going on in my head). When I am stressed, I make a lot of noises such as clapping and banging/tapping on the table (as well as some vocal stimming too). This is probably one of my most noticeable traits. From what I have read, NT stim as well, however, AS stimming differs in the sense that it is more "abnormal" so I think my stimming is more the latter. I also display some other symptoms of Aspergers.

However, I heard one of the tests for Aspergers is to look at facial expressions and guess which emotion they are displaying - and I think I am able to do that quite well. I remember taking a similar test on the BBC website (pictures of different facial expressions and you had to identify which emotion they were displaying) and I scored almost full marks.

If I don't have AS, what else would explain the stimming?

You have to have a lot more traits than stimming for an AS diagnosis.

Stimming can be explained as part of OCD behaviour or as a tick, I believe. I'm sure there are other explanations as well, but I am no expert. It definitely doesn't 100% equal aspergers from that though, you still have a fair few options which could be causing it. I'm guessing which things it could be would be influenced by which "other symptoms"mod aspergers you have.

Everyone stims, it's just that since everyone does it we don't notice it when it's done in a typical way. Tons of people flick or tap their pencils when they're bored, shake their legs, fiddle with their hands. This is all swimming. It doesn't mean you have Aspergers.

Stimming by itself is not Asperger's. Each person with Asperger's and other Autism spectrum disorders has a group of traits that are common to people on the spectrum. No one person has all of the traits, and each has their collection in varying intensities. If you suspect that you may have an Autism spectrum disorder, go into the General Autism forum here on WP. There is at least one post there with links to online tests you can take to figure out if you are on the spectrum. If you test out as being on the spectrum, save the results of your tests, and print out several copies--one for your own records, and one or two to take to psych docs for an evaluation, if you want or need one. If you do go for an evaluation, make sure you go to a doc who has experience with Autism spectrum disorders.

As other posters have said though, you could have one of several other conditions instead, though.

I have family in law members that rock and have a form of a stim, they have depression issues, etc, and one has schizophrenia.

Some people can have stimulation needs, but it could be a vast majority of things its related to. Or simply some can just stim.