Stimming

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I'm still quite new the terminology after only being correctly diagnosed for a few weeks now. I've just realised what "stimming" is and it's another slap into reality. I've managed to find so many things out about myself and my behaviour since childhood after being diagnosed - a lot of things have been explained now.

During childhood I would hit my head against things, only very gently but - more of a tap - but it would be soothing. I then moved onto rocking back and forth, which I still do to this day combined with hand-flapping when overly stimulated or excited and 'bopping' my legs up and down. It's nice to be able to put a cause and name to this set of behaviours.

I realise this isn't a question, more a statement about how much I've learnt so far just from my diagnosis letter and this forum.

I know what you mean - after being diagnosed, I began to slowly realize all the things that I do that are a bit out of place. And that they tend to show up more often when I am in an environment that causes me stress.

I actually do this strange thing where I begin to kind of gulp for air - but I tilt my head upwards, like there is an imaginary apple I am trying to get to, floating about 3 inches up and out from my mouth. I also ring my hands a good bit - and my wife gets driven crazy when I brush my feet against each other while I watch TV/movies on the couch.

But the nice thing about some of my stimming, is that my wife knows they are a sign of me getting really stressed out. For example, we had 'meet the teacher' night for my two kids - and there were a lot of people at the school. And as soon as my wife noticed me stimming, she just said "Here are the car keys. Do you want to go sit outside?" I didn't even have to answer - I just went outside and hung out by myself. And she got to stick around and talk to our kid's teachers.

Stimming is a coping mechanism for sensory overload wheich when happens it has to be regulated or it could be an expression of xtreme emotion like excitement whether this being hand flapping or jumping around like a kangaroo or rocking backwards and forwards. This has obviously been pathologised or labeeled as 'imappropriate behaviour'. Just think about this allistic people stim too and have when I was younger used to have group stimming events with special kinds of psychedelic music with restrcitve repetitive beats to it. These group stimming events were and are called raves which cater mainly for the 18 to 25 age group. This was not pathologised as part of the condition of the neurotypical spectrum. I think that there is hypocrisy there and also arrogance too why should allistic people not be patohologised for goung to raves and stiiming to psytrance, hardcore, drum 'n' bass, oldschool jungle or rave happy hardcore, various forms of House music all composed for stimming to usually now in clubs.

Autistic people when we stim then that is seen by psychologists as part of a 'problem' and not the solution which it is for autistic people where as allistics use this to sensory regulate the MDMA total double standards and they call these people normal its a joke.

And NBA basketball players during a time-out will sometimes use their mouth to pop out their mouth piece and chew on it some.

And these are young guys in their 20s I guess most of them millionaires.

But imagine if kids in school did this, how dysfunctional this would de defined by school authorities!

If the kids in school were playing a sport such as basketball, those actions wouldn't seem dysfunctional, IMHO.

Here is a 8 year kid doing it?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oukupxRUA84[/youtube]