Stimming
Wikipedia has this to say: "Stimming is a jargon term for a stereotypy, a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner."
When I think of it, I see people flapping their fingers/hands/arms and the like, but I do something else and I'm not sure if it's classified as stimming. When watching tv, a movie, or listening to music, I twirl my fingers.
autism.org has this to say on stimming: "Researchers have also shown that stereotypic behaviors interfere with attention and learning."
So why do I do it mostly when I'm trying to concentrate and follow something?
Usually I just raise my arm, point one finger in the air and twirl it, tracing the people/objects on tv, or letting my finger dance to the sounds, but it's almost unconscious. Even when my hands are hidden or down, I can still feel the muscles twirling and I don't know why I do this. My mother is the only one I'll allow to see me twirling full-force so far; otherwise I just hide my hands when with other people. The only time I've seen this action and can describe it is the young boy in Stephen King's Dreamcatcher movie. He twirls his finger too, but for a different reason I guess.
I also rock side-to-side quite a lot but not back-and-forth. Is this still stimming?
I stim in other ways, but much less and in much more controllable forms.
Do you stim? How?
King_Mob
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 10 Feb 2007
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 51
Location: Newcastle, Australia
I do all kinds of things. I particularly like to twist and lace things around and between my fingers. I'll use a string or thread of some kind if I've got it. Otherwise I'll use a hair elastic. I keep hair elastics in my pockets and purse and on my key chain- partly for this purpose, and partly so I can tie my hair back if I want to. But even if my hair is already tied back I carry hair elastics with me everywhere.
They're small and it's noiseless so I can do it anywhere.
Not everything in the wikipedia is true. They arejust people writing the information and you can edit anything you like on it so thigns you read, some of them are opinions.
I do lot of things for stimming, twirling my hair, pacing, rockng back and forth, tapping my foot,
flipping pages, chewing at the cap of my pen, sucking on my headphones cord, smelling, sshaking my hands or fingers, wriggling them, flapping my hands, etc.
I do lot of things for stimming, twirling my hair, pacing, rockng back and forth, tapping my foot,
flipping pages, chewing at the cap of my pen, sucking on my headphones cord, smelling, sshaking my hands or fingers, wriggling them, flapping my hands, etc.
I thrive on Wikipedia.
Tim
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When I think of it, I see people flapping their fingers/hands/arms and the like, but I do something else and I'm not sure if it's classified as stimming. When watching tv, a movie, or listening to music, I twirl my fingers.
autism.org has this to say on stimming: "Researchers have also shown that stereotypic behaviors interfere with attention and learning."
So why do I do it mostly when I'm trying to concentrate and follow something?
Usually I just raise my arm, point one finger in the air and twirl it, tracing the people/objects on tv, or letting my finger dance to the sounds, but it's almost unconscious. Even when my hands are hidden or down, I can still feel the muscles twirling and I don't know why I do this. My mother is the only one I'll allow to see me twirling full-force so far; otherwise I just hide my hands when with other people. The only time I've seen this action and can describe it is the young boy in Stephen King's Dreamcatcher movie. He twirls his finger too, but for a different reason I guess.
I also rock side-to-side quite a lot but not back-and-forth. Is this still stimming?
I stim in other ways, but much less and in much more controllable forms.
Do you stim? How?
Well, what you described ARE stims! I did what I guess could be finger twirling. I even rocked side to side once, which shocked me. I usually rock front to back. I've become more cognisant of stims I have done lately. Maybe THAT is why I seem to be doing more. Heck, just today I started tapping my foot every now and then when I was in a VERY long meeting. I noticed something ODD! Most of the stims, except the rocking/swaying of course, affect predominantly the right hand side. I do seem to be mainly left brain dominant, so maybe thats why. BTW I checked it out. Males are generally RIGHT brain dominant, but AS males are generally LEFT brain dominant! WOW, another item! Females are generally LEFT brain dominant, and abilities seem to indicate AS Females probably are also.
Steve
Steve
That's very interesting! I just noticed that I usually only twirl with my right hand as well. Feet tapping I do both though, depending on which leg gets tired first.
There was a book at the library about the scientific differences between the male and female brain...I might have to look at it. Odd side note-- I wonder if that means that transgendered people have opposite brain dominance. (Females in a male body being left brain oriented, etc) Just a thought.
I pick skin, I pull hairs out, talk to myself, sing out loud, sing in my head, repeat words in my head, I tap my foot like crazy, I flap my fingers and sometimes my arms, I clap, I sometimes swing my arm up in the air, I clench my fists. The more distressed I am, the worse it becomes. Lately it is happening whenever I am typing about anything that is a sensitive topic for me.
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Last edited by Graelwyn on 27 Mar 2007, 2:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
My stim inventory so far as I know
talk to self
internal sound track (machinelike accompanyment to my physical actions)
internal mono or dialog
internal music
pacing
spinning
does toe walking count?
finger tap
pen click
internal (sometimes mouthed or drummed) rthyms
geometric hand motion
exaggerated hand motion
fiddling with anything handy
eye motion to wipe light acfross eyes and generate visual patterns
toe tap
leg swinging
toe bounce whilst standing
rocking
head bouncie
most I can sortg of control until there is pressure or anxiety or boredom or. . .
good exercize, stimming!
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Why, why, why do they insist stimming is distracting?! It HELPS me to concentrate, to tolerate stress, to basically function in a crazy world. They ought to teach AS/Autistic kids to stim in better ways, if they don't like them doing stuff like twirling aruond while they're being taught to read, or something. How much trouble can it be to hand out some squishy balls and shiny rocks and put up a hammock or two and put a kid in a mattress sandwich sometimes? (Seriously, have you tried that? Between the mattress and the box spring, head poking out, book on the floor... lovely way to study.)
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My most power stim is drumming - a form of the hand flapping. I'm able to picture really clear scenes when doing this. When walking, I find that my fingers twitch a lot, and I can change my reality slightly. When it is difficult to concentrate, I often partake in other, less intense versions, primarily to blot out distractions. I think that stimming is good for cutting input that is otherwise there, and focusing on things, but at its most intense levels (for me) it replaces my normal sensory input - it is a door into where I seek to travel.
poopylungstuffing
Veteran
Joined: 8 Mar 2007
Age: 49
Gender: Female
Posts: 6,714
Location: Snapdragon Ridge
Ya know? I have been doing all these kindsa things for most of my life, and I didn't even know that it was called stimming..just like i have only known what Aspergers was for less than two years..I didn't even know it was "abnormal"...I thought it was just being fidgety...
I can't even calculate all the different types of things I do that could count as stimming.
One thing I do is destroy things....like I will always unconsciously peel the paper off any glass container...I also am very hard on books and other paper products...they reach my hands..they get bent up..chewed...torn....all my pens and pencils...gnawed to bits...In school, I would roll a pencil on the floor with my feet until all the paint came off..would that count? I also caused so many pens to "explode" from chewing on them...my hands were always covered in ink..not to mention my mouth.....it is this need for constant stimulus...that i always associated with ADD.
My bandmate (who is on Social security due to his mental condition) is a super stimmer....he does this thing where he will be constantly bouncing and shaking his legs, and if you tell him to stop...like if he keeps kicking the back of the seat you are sitting in...he will insist angrily that he wasn't doing anything. His bouncing makes me seasick sometimes.
My constant singing I guess would be a form of stimming...I have gone over it on another stimming thread
Because to them, it is distracting. It's one of the NT limitations. Not only does it distract them when we do it, but they can't imagine it being anything but distracting to the person who is doing it, because it would distract them if they were doing it. And obviously we're just broken NTs who really ought to react the same way they do to everything.
(Yeah, I get annoyed when NTs characterize the things that are normal for me as abnormal. How'd you notice?)
Ways I stim: I rock both front-back and side-side, I bounce my leg, I flap my hands like I'm going to fly away, I drum my fingers, I bite my nails, and I used to stare at a reflection or a bright point (I don't do that anymore since I realized that it triggers my migraines).
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Stimming helps me concentrate while working. I find I can be tapping out a tune with my hands and feet and yet be really focused. It must drive my coworkers nuts and I'm sure they wonder how I can concentrate. I write a lot of software and it helps me to solve logical problems. I also bite my inner cheeks a lot and my nails. Chewing gum helps save my gums when I have it!