How NT is my stim?

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I'm currently beginning the process towards diagnosis, so I've been trying to pull together all my symptoms. One of the things that I was originally less sure of was the extent of my stimming. A lot of the diagnostic criteria tend to focus on the most "bizarre", hand-flapping/rocking etc, which I don't do and this made me doubt at first whether I autistic stim at all. However looking more into the issue It's been a eye-opener reading about all the different types of stimming, turns out I might do it A LOT and in lots of different ways. I hadn't even stopped to think of all the repetitive things I do. But with them usually being less obvious I have had thoughts as to whether they are just NT stims. One of the perhaps more strange ones I do a lot, i've seen it listed as "classic autism" stimming, is compulsive smelling. Particularly odd is regarding my own body odors. Some of the things I do are very similar to this guy in terms of smelling (except not obsessive over books),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNKI-g5 ... 1ov6mVf21w

What I wanted to know is do people think this is a more bizarre form of stimming that cannot be passed off as just NT stimming? I have a really hard time knowing what is "normal" for people and what isn't.



Another recent epiphany I've had is the different roles these stims seem to play. The smelling stim is pleasant/euphoric, and has elements of focussing.

Another stim is I pace/walk around in circles considerably. This seems to be a hyperfocusing stim. I lose all concept of the world outside my thoughts and I can go on for hours...

I bounce my leg a lot. I realise this can be an NT stim too, but I work in an office with many people and I just don't see others doing this to any great extent. Not at such a fast pace and for so long. With me it's probably at least a quarter of the time i'm at work, and then the same when I'm at home (I'm actually do it while typing now). I find it helps keep my attention on something while being relatively idle.

A bit less common is pressure phosphene, pressing my eyes until I get patterns/sensations. I love that, seems to be similar to the smelling stims.

I do plenty of others, but these are some that occupy a lot of my time.

I could be wrong, but I thought stimming was a feature of severe autism rather than Asperger's. (Yeah, I know Asperger's doesn't exist in the diagnostic manual anymore...)

I'm a bit fidgety in general, and do like touching/feeling/smelling objects perhaps more than a "normal" person would. But I don't hand-flap or rock, not even in private. For whatever it's worth, I was barely asked about stims in either of my two assessments for autism.

Nope. Lots of Asperger's people stim.

frodz-- That's an interesting one. Keep in mind that specific stims don't really separate AS from NT. I know NTs who rock. Good luck.

Doesn't it rather depend on how broad the definition of stimming is in the first place?

Practically every person in existence performs repetitive movements occasionally, e.g. tapping their fingers, pacing up and down. I wouldn't even count those sort of things as stims; but hand-flapping, rocking or head-banging I would.

That's a very good point @ NiceCupOfTea. I think there's a difference between fidgetting and stimming, but it's tricky to say what's a stim and what isn't.

I smell things as well, particularly my parents, erm sometimes I do with my dad in public, but only because he is the right height, I see it as an affection thing though in my case, not a stim a such, it might be who knows.

but I don't think most Nts sniff things repetitively or things that you would not usually sniff like people.

I know, not everyone has them. I'm asking more for curiosity's sake. It's just that what I do seems to have some of the same quality as others describe in stims.



What is occasionally though? As I said, I've worked around lots of people and this kind of stuff seems VERY infrequent, and barely noticeable. Compared to myself who spent an hour or so just circling my kitchen this evening, and do this pretty much every day. So can it really just be the be the "odd-ness" of the stim? That doesn't seem like a biological definition, but a subjective clinical one.

Is the feeling of the action the most important aspect? I've heard some say autistic stims are ones you get absorbed by, and I certainly do relate to that.

I'm in a similar situation to you frodz - I don't know if I have AS or not. When I was thinking about foot-tapping and leg bouncing, I ultimately decided that they counted as stimming due to how often I do it, the fact that I start unconsciously, and it's difficult to stop. I also found that the cause was often emotional. Finally, I have often had people point it out to me, so they must think it is beyond usual.