Joined: 24 Jul 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 1,050 Location: israel
03 Dec 2014, 12:06 pm
I pace back and forth either flapping my fingers at the speed of lightening, or a pen, or a sock. as a child, I used to flap a handkerchief and stare at it intently. I could do this for quite a while, and my parents thought it was funny. this is the typical autistic stim, yet my parents never realized it for what it was, a sign of autism.
Do you stim, how?
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Joined: 24 Jun 2014 Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 819 Location: Between 2 corn fields
03 Dec 2014, 12:24 pm
Rocking back and forth, listening to the same song over and over again, pacing, squeezing the fold of skin between my thumb and pointer, smoothing the same strands of hair over and over. Those are my most common that I can think off of the top of my head right now.
_________________ --Nyx-- What an astonishing thing a book is. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you... Carl Sagan
Joined: 20 Jul 2014 Age: 41 Gender: Male Posts: 288
03 Dec 2014, 12:25 pm
Yeah, pretty much constantly. Here's a list of a few of the stims I favor:
1. Rocking or swinging in those spinny office chairs 2. Tapping my foot rapidly 3. Flexing my feet and feeling the inside of my shoes 4. Snapping my fingers or doing this rapid wiggle thing where my index and middle finger rub past each other really fast 5. Pricking or sticking my finger tips or lips with sharp objects, such as thumbtacks or safety pins 6. Drumming my fingers on hard surfaces 7. Making popping or sputtering noises with my lips 8. Slowly dragging my finger tips along certain surfaces to feel the texture as it slides past. 9. Spinning or fidgeting with my wedding ring 10. Thumping my finger hard against bony places on my body like my knee, collar bone, or jaw
When I'm really agitated about something, I might do some of the following: 1. Getting up and pacing back and forth 2. Flapping my hands (though I tend to do it down low by my waist, as if I were shaking water off of them, rather than up high by my face like most people seem to) 3. Turning around in my chair and sitting with my chest pressed into the back of it.
Joined: 3 Oct 2012 Age: 58 Gender: Male Posts: 1,360 Location: Ottawa, Canada
03 Dec 2014, 12:27 pm
Most of my stimming now involves my hands. My wife thinks I'm fidgity and wonders if I was a smoker in a previous life. I'm also still a rocker/spinner - in meetings at work I'm forever turning my chair left/right throughout the meeting.
As a kid I used to gnaw on things all the time - all of my pens were always all chewed up. Took a long time to break that habit.
Joined: 7 Dec 2008 Age: 46 Gender: Female Posts: 27,019
03 Dec 2014, 2:39 pm
I wiggle my toes a lot, especially when I'm enjoying something.
I drum my fingers and fidget with things, often when I'm lost in thoughts or just listening to someone or something.
When I'm anxious, I tend to pace.
_________________ BOLTZ 17/3 2012 - 12/11 2020 Beautiful, sweet, gentle, playful, loyal simply the best and one of a kind love you and miss you, dear boy
Joined: 7 Jul 2014 Age: 124 Gender: Non-binary Posts: 34,224 Location: Out of my mind
03 Dec 2014, 3:25 pm
'Vibrating' my legs is a big one for me. 'Rocking' my right hand. Interlocking my fingers and slowly rubbing them against each other is very calming. Rocking back and forth or 'swivelling' my body. Shaking my hands if I'm very stressed or upset. I'm a chronic skin picker but I'm not sure if you can call that a stim. I also chew on broken-off toothpicks which I keep stored in my mouth for days until they get too splintery (Eww I know).
I rub things between my fingers to feel the texture. Usually something on my clothes like the bottom hem of my shirt, or something like a zipper pull or button. If I have on something with pockets I keep my hands in my pockets and rub the pocket lining between my fingers. If there is a drawstring on my clothes I twist the string around my finger. When I'm alone I rub my fingers across my lips a lot.
Also like very much to listen to the same song over and over again. And when I'm not listening to it I may sing it or hum it to myself.
Joined: 28 Jul 2012 Age: 32 Gender: Male Posts: 714
03 Dec 2014, 5:17 pm
Nowadays I mostly stim with my hair. I "tug" on it lightly so that it flows through my fingers, I rub it against my lips, and I "bite" on it and pull it through my teeth. I also pace a lot. When I'm on my computer I scratch the speaker grill with my nails. Sometimes I flap my hand and rock, but not so much anymore.
When I was a kid I flapped a lot. I liked to put my hand up to a light and look at it as I wiggled my fingers. For a few years I would chew on the collar of my shirts, to the point that I ruined them all.
Joined: 7 Dec 2008 Age: 46 Gender: Female Posts: 27,019
03 Dec 2014, 11:55 pm
dianthus wrote:
Also like very much to listen to the same song over and over again.
That's a stim? I do that too.
_________________ BOLTZ 17/3 2012 - 12/11 2020 Beautiful, sweet, gentle, playful, loyal simply the best and one of a kind love you and miss you, dear boy
Joined: 3 Sep 2014 Age: 35 Gender: Female Posts: 719 Location: My own autistic wonderland!
04 Dec 2014, 12:00 am
I flap my arms and squeal a lot. In the bath tub with the shower head running (I have one that can extend down so I can set in the tub and wash up), I usually run my hands very quickly in the water to get shaving cream or soap off them. I make these odd noises that I can't really explain, and sometimes I also clap like a seal while making them. It's almost similar to a laughter of sorts. There times when I do rock as well, but I don't do it very often though. Oh, and I also wring my wrists as well.
_________________ Currently diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, ADHD, severe anxiety, learning delays and developmental delays.
I rock back and forth often. I also love water and so take a bath every day (Yes, cleanliness is good, but I use this for stimming to). I also love rocking so sleep in a hammock instead of a bed.
Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Age: 48 Gender: Female Posts: 8,601 Location: Hants, Uk
04 Dec 2014, 9:38 pm
Pick at things Pull at eyebrows/eyelashes Move my fingers rapidly twitch my legs Playing same song over and over Repeating words out loud or phrases Pulling at material on sleeves or my top I sometimes flap my arms/hands if I am really overstressed I rock sideways to try and focus sometimes if reading etc
_________________ I am diagnosed as a human being.
Rocking back and forth/side to side Skin picking (lips, around nails) Foot tapping/bouncing/rubbing Rubbing soft/smooth things on my lips Listening to the same song Sometimes I had flap Bouncing Looking at sparkly things Tapping this specific beat with my fingers Hand wringing
Joined: 7 Dec 2008 Age: 46 Gender: Female Posts: 27,019
05 Dec 2014, 5:48 pm
I can wring my hands when I'm anxious or nervous.
_________________ BOLTZ 17/3 2012 - 12/11 2020 Beautiful, sweet, gentle, playful, loyal simply the best and one of a kind love you and miss you, dear boy
Joined: 23 Nov 2010 Age: 30 Gender: Female Posts: 115
05 Dec 2014, 6:40 pm
I don't usually notice I am stimming unless someone points it out. Off the top of my head though: - Picking at the skin on my lips, biting my lips (I get super sore lips because of these) - Picking at the skin around my nails (Again it often gets very sore) - Rocking backwards and forwards - Pacing - Squeezing my hands together on and off - Fiddling with rings/bracelets/necklaces - Fiddling with my hair, usually by curling a strand around a finger over and over again - Tapping my leg or foot - Curling and uncurling my toes
I'm a huge fidget in general, but all of these are worst when I'm stressed/anxious/scared. When I was younger I also used to bite my nails, bite my arms and fingers (usually not that hard), bite necklaces when I was wearing them, and pull out strands of my hair (I include it because it wasn't anywhere near as serious enough to consider it proper trichotillomania in my opinion). Probably other ones I've forgotten about in the past too.
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