Do you stop yourself from rocking?

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When I'm around my students or their parents, I redirect it.
Otherwise I don't stop it.

I find myself rocking in my chair but it's supposed to rock so it can't be that aspergian! I set it into lock mode to prevent any undue rocking however and so I can get on with my work. I've never considered it out of the ordinary.

But what do people mean when they say rocking? Do they mean a little back and forward or more like you'd expect a mental patient would (don't want that to sound insensistive).

I rock, a lot, but it's very subtle and the only person that's actually bothered by it, is my mum. When I'm at school I try not to do it and redirect it, say, start moving my legs as if I was rocking my leg instead. I find i other people see it as more acceptable than do the upper-body-rock.

If at home, I don't mind at all, I usually rock my self to sleep at night.

Before I knew about AS, I used to stop myself if I caught myself rocking; not sure where this behavior came from, and I did it almost automatically. I assume someone must have tried to stop me when I was younger. Now that I know about AS, if I catch myself rocking- (it always starts unconsciously, I never "decide" to rock)- I just keep on doing it if I feel like it, what the heck? Actually, I notice people do it all the time. I see NTs rock too, so I don´t understand why people make a problem about it. Is it just that they do it at the "right" time, or only in particular instances, or they have a certain rocking technique that nobody minds?

Speaking of which, Todesking, that´s just awful about what your teacher did to you. I´m sorry to hear about that.

I rock when I am at home alone but I don't while out in public.

not rocking, but when im nervous, i constantly run my fingers through my hair. Sometimes it gets very hard for me to control.

If I notice I'm doing it, and other people are around, I usually stop myself.

I didn't used to care until I found out about AS.

I just rock whenever I feel like it, and if other people don't like it, that's their problem.

No, I don't. Rocking is not a bad thing. I always rock and I don't care if people find it ugly.

I stop myself all the time. For about 30 seconds. Then I stop myself again.

Iterate infinitely ...

I made an effort to not stim, including rocking, when I was younger, since it was associated with mental illness. Since Autism was restricted to the LFA side when I was a kid (60's and 70's), I had no idea why I was like I was. The part that upsets me is that I substituted chewing my fingernails and grinding my teeth for other stims/tics (physical and verbal). So much so that my teeth are now significantly smaller on the right side of my mouth, and the entire top right section has the centers ground through the enamel. Eventually they will crack in half, or have to be pulled. Fun, huh?

Since being in a wheelchair (paraplegic, T6 complete, oct 2001), I began rocking again without even realizing it. Dealing with spasticity (involuntary muscle spasms.. severe at times) can use a lot of my energy, so when I get too anxious, I rock away (among other tics and stims). Knowing why, and knowing those close to me understand, has allowed me to stop grinding my teeth, stim and tic without restraint, and has improved my life incredibly. Granted, being in the wheelchair has made me less self-conscious; it alone carries a stigma, so it is reasonable for me to assume people will not think much differently of me due to my stimming/tic'ing. So close to not even caring what anyone thinks about it anymore; does not harm anyone, and I end up calmer and more serene.. content even. I would hate to get beat to a pulp just for being different though. At least before the wheelchair I could run.

I rock when I am stressed, anxious, or just daydreaming. When it is the former I stop myself when I realize what I am doing. But if the rocking is caused by the latter two conditions I don't bother to stop myself. Every time I have stopped myself when rocking from stress my twitch starts up, and people comment more on my twitch than they do my rocking. I have found that it helps if I can force myself to gently rock in time to my breathing, people seem to notice my rocking less. Or if you can wear head phones, people just assume you are just getting into your music. If rocking is the only thing that calms you, go for it.

I don't rock as such but I do have a habit of swaying from side to side when I'm standing.

If I become self-conscious about it I stop but I only find myself doing it again.