Autistics and Stimming

Stymied? 😆

All humans stim.

But minority's stims stand-out.

Or otherwise we'd notice more such non-autistic stims (tick yours off!) as:

ring-twirling,

foot-jiggling,

chin pinching,

junk-adjusting,

thigh-rubbing,

pen-flicking,

lip-sucking,

beard-pulling,

doodle-drawing,

freak-hair plucking,

ear-lobe tweaking,

hand-wringing,

palm-frictioning,

knuckle-cracking,

eyebrow-raising,

muscle-flexing,

toe-lifting,

R-rolling,

marching in-place,

finger-snapping,

hair flirties,

poker-tells,

self-hugging,

finger-drumming,

chair-rocking.

Do you feel "found out' now?

Autistics may notice they stim, or stim more, when:

Anxiety goes up

Freedom to stim increases

Delight happens

Hang out with stimmy autistics

New sensory discoveries are made

Emotional communication is needed

Co-regulation commences

Satisfaction is reached

Super-processing is underway

Calming down is needed

Excess energy is felt

Big thoughts occur

Stress needs relieving

Thoughts need displacing

Adaptation is required

Attention needs boosting

Need to feel comes along.

Suppression sees stimming replaced with anger, outbursts, or ... dying a little each time inside.

Sputter, spin, poll, blink, pace, sniff, lick, mutter, whistle, chew, bite, bang, growl, blink, tap, touch, drum, wiggle, sway, flick, flex, buzz, flap, rotate, bounce, twiddle, fiddle, clack, fidget, tear, click, twirl, corner-eye, peer, zoom, pick, blow a raspberry.

Stim groupings:

Visual stims

Auditory stims

Interrogatory stims

Tactile stims

Vestibular stims

Oral stims

Nasal stims

- each is like a beautiful rock which when peeked-under, may tell you even more about the person stimming, hidden strengths, passions, delights, vocations, aspects of their future.

( Truly dangerous, risky, harmful, and, er, private stims... another subject for another day 🙂 )

When you stop to think about it, how much less would be humans without wide repertoires of grand and minor movements.

Stim-u-later! 😋