INSIDE PERSPECTIVES of AS & Neurodiversity

 

 

 

STIMMING

 

 

Many with autism, AS, ADHD, SID and TS are prone to ‘stimming’

(= repetitive, self-stimulating activities).

 

 

EXAMPLES OF STIMS

 

   The majority are from a temporary online Stim-Quiz for Aspies that I helped design, followed by the most common reasons chosen for each stim, plus some extra comments or quotes.

 

 

Stims which many do sometimes, but hyperactive people more often:

 

·  Bouncing leg or foot: “when thinking”; “to release excess energy”: “when restless, bored, anxious or excited.”

 

   “Tapping my foot... a lot... when I'm nervous in social situations or whatever.”
- ‘samtoo’, male Aspie

 

   “I have all this pent up energy so I've been doing what is my idea of stimming. Usually what I do is I put my foot right on my toe until my legs start to shake like crazy and I just do that like crazy until I feel some relief.”

- Gregory, adolescent Aspie from USA

 

·  Doodling: “when bored.”

 

·  Drumming fingers, tapping or clicking pen, fiddling with things: “when thinking”; “when bored.” Fiddling with something helps many people concentrate better.

 

   “I guess it is when there is restrained motivation/energy in my body. It may be something fun/some idea that one cannot do directly, or when there are stressful and negative things going on. In the latter case it soothes the nerves somehow.

 

   “To fiddle with something when I’m listening or concentrating is also helpful. That’s why I always have my knitting with me. Then I get sweaters instead of broken pencils or picking my fingers to the bone.

 

   “But it is also just generally nice and fun to fiddle. I often do it simply because it’s nice and fun/interesting.”

- Emma, adult Aspie from Sweden

 

·  Chewing or sucking on pencil, toothpick or other object: “when thinking.”

 

   “I like to chew things and sometimes do this without realizing what I'm doing, pens etc bite the dust” :-)

- Julie, adult Aspie from England

 

·  Biting nails: “when bored”; “when anxious, nervous or stressed.”

 

 

Stims which some on the spectrum still enjoy doing as adults:

 

·  Sucking thumb: “for comfort”; “to calm myself.”

 

·  Cracking joints: “when bored”: “for pleasure.”

 

   “I’ve always cracked joints. Fingers, toes, elbows etc. Crack my knees too, and the heel tendon. It is a satisfying feeling to make an enjoyable crack.”

- ‘Moggy’, male probable Aspie from Sweden

 

·  Clicking teeth or tongue: “when thinking”; “when anxious”.

 

   “I have tounge clicking when I'm nervous around people, I have to walk around when I'm nervous, and I stamp my feet and twitch my neck when I'm having a really bad time.”

- O.J., adult Aspie from Norway

 

·  Biting, peeling or picking cuticle or fingertip: “when bored.”

 

   “I hate an unsmooth fingernail's edge, and when I found I have one I usually rub it on my teeth if I can't find a scissor, but I don't chew fingernails, I chew around the root of them, biting off slivers of skin if needed, never to the point of bleeding though.”
- ‘Zhaozhou’, male Aspie from Italy

 

·  Picking nose, skin or scabs, peeling skin flakes: “when bored.”

 

   “I’ll peel off half-loose skin flakes and have a tendency to want to pick scabs (even if I usually can stop myself there), but I thought this was true of everyone...? That you have sort of an instinct to try and remove things that don’t belong to the body (and thus could be e.g. a parasite).”

- ‘inv’, male Aspie from Sweden

 

·  Pulling hairs from head, face or body: “when bored.”

 

   “Pulling little hairs until they break is very satisfying.”

- ‘Weasley’, female Aspie from Sweden

 

·  Rubbing hands, arms or thighs: “for comfort”; “when anxious, nervous or excited.”

 

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