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dustintorch
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16 Dec 2009, 1:49 am

I wouldn't call it hand flapping but I did other movements with my hands. It started as making my hands into fists and gently hitting them on my cheek bones very fast. My mom said sometimes I would gently hit myself up and down my entire body starting at my face and moving down to my feet. After I was made fun of for that enough at school I tried to stop. All I ended up succeeding in doing was changing it to something else. I changed it to intertwining my fingers together and then shaking them very fast. Got made fun of for that too. Eventually changed it to clapping, then just to rubbing my hands together really fast, which is socially acceptable. Sometimes, when I'm not paying attention I'll catch myself hitting myself on the legs really fast. Everything I did was very fast, like quick bursts of movement. As a result, I'm very good at tapping a button faster than anyone else when playing video games.



cyberscan
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16 Dec 2009, 4:15 am

Yes, I flapped as a child and no, I haven't outgrown it.


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Tufted Titmouse
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20 Dec 2009, 12:53 am

Honestly, I don't have any memories of doing that until after I started to research about Aspergers Syndrome. I think I did it as a joke at first "imitating" what I was seeing others do on the videos I watched. However, now when I get a kind of panic attack, I started to do that.

The one thing I can say for sure I did, was rocking. When I got a breakdown, I started rocking back and forth while sitting on the ground. And when I get nervous, I would rub my inner thigh in a circle pattern.



gramirez
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20 Dec 2009, 11:00 am

I always have, and still do hand flapping a lot. It feels so good.


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jocundthelilac
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20 Dec 2009, 12:12 pm

I do it when I'm excited ;)


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Jellybean
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20 Dec 2009, 1:51 pm

I do it all the time! It relaxes me (except for my hands!) and gives me sensory stimulation. Sometimes though my Tourettes takes over and does it for me... that's a bit irritating!


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20 Dec 2009, 5:26 pm

I'm a finger flicker, and I do this thing with my hands like flapping only its not my arms too.. only my hands. I also twist them sometimes instead of flapping. Its usually involuntary, as in I don't realize I'm doing it when I do it. However I suppose I could stop if I wanted to. Though it would be difficult as thats my "thing" right now. When I'm super super overwhelmed I do slap myself or take my knuckles and push really hard on my forehead. When I'm getting towards being too overwhelmed, I rub my forehead with my knuckles back and forth.



CockneyRebel
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20 Dec 2009, 5:49 pm

I flap my toes to the beat of the music, instead.


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Odin
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20 Dec 2009, 8:34 pm

I've always hand-flapped when I'm distressed by an emotion or sensory experience or when I am experiencing sensory overload. I never really thought of it as "autistic hand-flapping" until recently, I've always thought of it as my "heeby-jeebies" or "That just BUGS me!" reaction, I'm bring my hands up to my chest and shake my hands and lower arms from side to side.


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