Stim alteration?

Post Reply New Topic

Does anyone have suggestions for stims to train myself to do instead of handflapping.

I need an alternate instead of handflapping and I need to figure out how to train myself to do something instead of handflap.

This is not working well at all.

I flick my toes together a lot, and stroke my nose to create pressure. Not sure if that works for you.

Hey Tuttle...wonderful question.The idea to use one kind of stimming to replace another opens a door to all kinds of new ways to understand and work with the functions of the human brain and body. I am very interested in this subject, especially from the angle of intentionally using stimming to help young children with autism. As I recall from a message you wrote before on a thread of mine which is unfortunately now locked, you indicated you are very observant of your different responses and in this sense do practice intentionally some form of self-observation.

A fascinating experiment is to notice how different areas of brain function are affected by different kinds of stims. I think hand flapping gives a feeling of release and also of flow; I have never done hand flapping except on very rare occasions, but it is fun, and I can see how that could easily turn into a habit.

One thing I do not like about the word "stimming" is that it refers to self stimulation. Imo it is derogatory to autistic people and sort of implies a form of masturbation. It possibly could be seen this way in certain instances, but I think of it more as an attempt to make by the means of vibration a bridge between one thing and another so as to interconnect them. I suggest to try a rather small stim involving the hands, such as, if you are right handed, on the left side of your body, a little comfortably left of center, resting your open left hand, palm up, upon your open right hand, palm up hand, with the thumb of your right hand over the center of the palm of the left hand, and then moving your thumb in a small clockwise circle, around and around over the center of your palm.

Bear in mind this is way different kind of stim than hand flapping and may feel a little strange, as if will center and recycle your available energy in a way that contains more of the energy, whereas hand flapping probably tends to release excess energy--at least this is how it feels to me, but to give up hand flapping, especially if it is an ingrained habit that is serving a specific function, may be very difficult. This is why I suggest to replace it with some other activity that releases energy, but this other activity you will be doing only at specific times, such as dancing, running, swimming, riding a razor scooter or bicycle, water color painting or even water play. I am not suggesting working with clay to replace hand flapping, though, as you can see, kneading clay has a different kind of physiological affect than the other things I suggested, so would not equate so much with releasing energy in the way that hand flapping does.

But doing the hand stim I suggested may feel very strange in the beginning and also, if it does have an effect, it will not be the same as a stim that releases energy, so I suggest to use it sparingly, maybe practice it at a certain time of day for a few seconds, maybe 10 to 15 rotations, and then see if your body begins to pick up using it at certain times when you need it, or you could try to instigate it at these times when you feel like hand flapping. I don't think one kind of stim that is so radically different can completely replace another, so this needs to be amplified by what I have suggested in the paragraph above.

Another alternative is when you feel like hand flapping, experiment with replacing it with some kind of mental imagery, such as that of running water, perhaps a waterfall or yourself playing under a waterfall or a stream of water or a magnetic field moving from one side of your brain or the visual perceptual field to another or an image of shaking water from your hands--this kind of thing.The problem is that to change anything that is ingrained into ones functioning takes work, and I do not suggest to repress it, but to replace it with something else that better suits ones present purpose. A third possibility, if you are doing this hand flapping in public, is to only do it a certain designated time before you leave the house in the morning, for example, and then in public use the hand stim I suggested, or if this feels too strange at first, a variation to try in the beginning could be to rub the thumb up and down on the palm between the split fingers, two on each side, moving the thumb at an angle toward the right side of the body, but obviously the clockwise circular movement is more condensed so will affect the brain and body differently and probably ultimately more effectively.

Finally, the human brain is very flexible--never forget it, and the mind is not the brain. You and your own understanding can function consciously to use and develop the tool of your brain. This is not to say there is an external soul or entity that exists on its own side apart from the brain, but rather to suggest that your own understanding can shape the way you use your brain so that the brain can develop new faculties and work better, and this will increase your own understanding threefold. So there is an incredible vibrant possibility for us to consciously experiment with ourselves, to discover and enter new dimensions and even to design and consciously create new dimensions, and I think for even one person to work with her mind and body in this way creates a greater possibility of self actualization for all human beings.

Right, worth mentioning because I didn't in the first post and other people don't think the same way I do.

Purpose of changing stims is entirely physical pain. I don't care how visible things are. I care how much they cause pain in my body. I need ways to provide my body with the needs it has in ways that do not cause my body pain.

Have you tried finger flicking? I meant to mention to you before. It's something I can sometimes do instead of hand flapping, although it has less movement and isn't always helpful.

Stim toys in general help, and I had to use them to divert my handflapping around other people because they would get fixated on it and demand explanations, as if it were some horrible thing. Like my SSI attorney wouldn't talk to me because of flapping, so I played with stim toys instead.

I also needed to do these things because flapping could hurt a lot at times and I needed to be able to divert those actions.

Finger flicking is good, I do it all the time, it comes natural to me and it never hurts.
Other hand movement stims are scraping thumbs against the inside of the other fingers or rotating hands at wrists instead of flapping.
Opening and closing the hand is another one though I think that can put some strain on joints.
I think you can get used to other stims if you do them when you are conscious of stimming and then it becomes automatic and you can rotate them.

What about wiggling fingers? (finger flapping)

Or tapping fingers against thumbs (same hand, although of course you could do that however you wanted)?

I rub my thumbs and fingers together a lot...it's my main hand stim.

I pull on my fingers. Or wring my hands. Sometimes I crack my fingers too, although I don't know that's a stim, and it does hurt a little.

I bite my fingernails and listen to my headphones. It depends what I'm trying to counter. I also tend to shake my leg.

Wow I didn't think anyone else had a problem with this. Throughout my life I've had various stims that were annoying to me because they just felt so irritating (especially those involving breathing/mouth).

I got some beads on a string, tied like a necklace, only a lot shorter, and I left a little slack so I could put the string over my index finger and use my finger to slide the beads one at a time over my index finger. When I reach the end I turn it around and slide them all back. Think of prayer beads. Someone told me that's what it kind of looks like. Or I can sort of ball them up and hold them in the palm of my hand and rub my fingers over them. I ordered some real sandalwood beads so they will also smell good (love that smell) and I like the feel of wood.

I also finally ordered a couple of Tangle Jr toys.

I fiddle with paper clips on a ring in my pocket and flick my fingers. One of my friends has a pen he twirls.