special ed teacher open-minded about low-key stimming

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This is someone I met briefly at work last week. I brought up the topic of sensory issues. She mentioned squeeze balls, a little square of carpet on some students' desks and/or a little velcro taped on the underside of the desk or chair. That is, she looks for lower key stimming methods in a nonjudgmental way, and to me, that's impressive!

I only talked to her briefly during my job as a cashier at a grocery store. She may not know all the textbook things about Autism Spectrum, but she certainly seems to have the right spirit and that may be even more important.

I think stimming is a good and useful tool. I mean, baseball players and poker players stim for crying out loud. And so do people in many other activities. But somehow, for us on the spectrum, the way we stim is considered 'bad,' I guess because it's unusual and societal seems to so elevate normalcy as this hugely important goal.

Alright, I'm willing to draw a public-private distinction. In private, I think it's fine to stim in extravagant, creative, and unusual ways. In public, okay, I'm willing to look for and experiment with lower-key methods.

Sped teachers to para educators have lots of real world experiences to share.

I carry small things to fidget with.
They range from coins to decks of cards.
I've also learned discreet (and some not so) finger exercises.

Rolling 1 to 3 coins on my fingers is not so discreet. (Ala seen in Pirate movies or Poker series on TV.)