Rocking in class

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I caught myself rocking in class and I wonder how much I do this - it is during a subject that I am very interested in and I am excited and attentive. Okay, that is typical for me, but this is my sweet subject, my most special interest - philosophy of language - and my mind just goes wild, so I suppose my body follows. To my point, finally, I was rocking just mildly - should I be mindful of this? It is a very small class. I was playing with my pen and rubbing my feet on a ledge as well. I am so excited by the subject that my mouth waters - and that is no exaggeration. Do you think people notice if it is mild and does it bother people do you think? My prof paces while he talks and I wish I could do that, too, as I like to pace when I think. I think that as he is always in motion it adds to my experience. I sit kind of off-to the side, but I am up front - I am just not where people would focus their vision. Do classmates care?

I'm glad to hear you receive such intense pleasure from your special interest. Mine please me, but not to that extent! If your classmates are "bothered" by it, then so what?! It's the way you are, and the best thing you should do is embrace it.

However, if other people's shallow perceptions of you really matter that much, just try to tone the movement down a little. Besides, it's usually random stim noises that bother NTs more than anything else.

Thank you Well, I am not noisy to my knowledge. I guess I am thinking of the talks we get about technology use in class - texting is distracting even if people do it quietly, and such. I guess I am more worried in this line, that I will interfere with people's learning even if I am quiet - but then I don't want to become so hyper-aware that I take away from my own learning experience as well. I guess I am in over-analytical mode.

I'm don't see any reason not to rock in class When i was in class awhile ago, i do remember different folks did different type things, stims and this includes NTs of course. Knee shaking, eating erasers, chewing pencils, tapping, Various repetitive movements. I think the general
public does these in class, both NT and spectrum folks.

Sometimes these help us focus. It is quiet, doesn't disturb. I don't think others think much about what others in the class do.
I have ADHD so my attention span was.. bad. Sometimes it would feel odd to be in a super quiet environment surrounded by strange people with only the teacher talking.
Possibly that environment is even different to NTs so they stim too.

Those who talk on cell phones in class or text, i think that is so rude. In my day we didn't have cell phones then. Nowadays i can only
imagine what the teachers go through with folks and their phones.

I used to rock in class. I would also tap my feet. I still do that at work, although instead of rocking back and forth, I do it from side to side, since I sit in a chair that moves from side to side.

Thanks, folks

As excited as I am about learning, I think I am just being hyper-aware and worried. It appears that rocking is indeed low on the worry list - I took note today of toe tappers and pen-twiddlers, as you kind folks pointed out. I've had a bit of a bad people-day - in my first class anyways. I don't know if I annoyed my prof, I don't know if I annoyed the class. I don't know. I just feel like I have a big sign over my head and from an intellectual stand point - I shouldn't care. I'm doing the post-people cringe today.

Hey.

I rock in class like no one's business! Somebody has to be excited about these things, and its us! I rock, I bring a stim toy, and I respond to the teacher, especially if no one else does.

I've never had any comments about it, and I'm not used to being popular, so I just quit worrying about it.
The catch is - all of my profs know that I have Asperger's, so they know it's not distraction.

The difference between stimming and texting is stimming helps with paying attention, while texting draws focus away from the teacher. I always rock, chew gum or squeeze a stress ball when I'm in class to help me concentrate

To be honest, I don't think too many people would notice it. In a classroom with upwards of 40 students, you're bound to have "wiggle worms," students doing the "potty dance" but not wanting to miss lecture to relieve themselves, pen-clickers, table-drummers, gum-chewers and body-rockers (sometimes the result of intense leg-jiggling). I've had a few remarks about my twitching, mostly queries regarding Parkinson's or drug use, but it's almost always been professors. Those cursed plastic chairs are so uncomfortable...

I don't think they notice unless your rocking actually moves the tables they're using. Don't worry about it--if it helps you think, do it. It might be mildly distracting to people with ADHD, so you might try sitting at the edge of the room so that they can if they want move to the other edge. NTs, though.... probably not. They can ignore each other's foot-shuffling and pen-clicking and coughing and whatnot, so they shouldn't have much problem with your rocking.

If you are actually moving the table or rattling the floor, then, yeah, you probably want to tone it down. If you can't, find a non-shared table so that you're not jiggling anybody else's notes.

LOL I love that - somebody has to be "enthusiastic about these things and it's us!" - one of my profs actually calls me an "enthusiast" and tells me I am lucky I get so much enjoyment out of learning. I also get called: Theory Head

Thank you all for your grand, reassuring responses! There's a song, right?, that goes: 'rock on'!

I got over a bit of my cringe today because I went to talk to my profs - two are in the same department and they are very supportive. In the one class, particularly, I told my prof he could threaten me with duct tape - he laughed and and said why? He reassured me and was very nice about it. Then it turns out a lady I thought took a dislike to me right away has a hearing problem. I jumped to conclusions because - it's me. It's all about me - I realize I do this, and I keep doing it ... sigh. Well, anyways, today was good.

Here it is ... now it is in my head Thank you all for your replies/support. Such a neat group, here Dedicated to my fellow rockers

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgcYfKw0_TI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx8FanC70S4[/youtube]

Brilliant Magnanimous!! Or, rather: EXCELLENT

Bill and Ted - priceless ... you know this is just perfect for what I am studying in one of my philosophy classes: maximum excellence!

It's brilliantly magnanimous, but not superfluously so.

In other words, its "real."

I don't know what the heck we are talking about now.

I do the rocking. I do it most when getting 100s on Physics tests and making the normals jealous. I do lots of rocking.