You Think You're Stimming?

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I do not think this is true. I don't even notice many of my stims until I've been doing them for a time.

How can you not notice voluntary movements of the body.

How can you not notice voluntary movements of the body.

I would like to see empirical evidence that stims are not voluntary. All of my stimms are voluntary and I can stop and start them at will.

I would like to see empirical evidence that stims are not voluntary. All of my stimms are voluntary and I can stop and start them at will.

I can't. However, I understand that not everyone stims like me and I take you at your word. Many others here have described stimming that they do not voluntarily stop or start, and I take them at their word.

How about empirical evidence that all stims are strictly voluntary?

In another thread you made the point that not every autistic person is the same. This would seem to be one of those traits that differs among us.

True,

Question then out of curiosity. Could you consciously hold your hands and body still for an extended period? Just focus on keeping your body still, does that stop the involuntary stimming?

Some of the examples I've seen are, constantly moving hands and fingers as if doing sign language. Or twirling hands in a circular motion as if trying to roll something up, all the time. Craning your head and neck, all the time. Slapping yourself all the time, like constantly slapping hands on thighs or back of neck and head. Those are behavior traits I can look back on and figure that's full blown stimming. But I think Amanda in the video explained it best as a sensory establishment kind of thing. A kind of expressiveness. Perhaps more along the lines of someone moving their arms around, imitating an orchestra conductor, when hearing music... rather than a nervous tic.

For a short time, but it gets physically uncomfortable, and sometimes I start stimming anyway.

EXACTLY.

I actually find this thread to be offensive. So you're saying there's basically only one type of stimming? A TRUE type of stimming? Are you kidding me?

Well excuse you, just because I don't flail my arms around THAT wildly and have movements THAT dramatic doesn't mean I don't have stims.

That video was indeed beautiful, but that is extreme autism, and as you work down the spectrum you are going to find multiple different kinds of stimming at different levels of intensity. It is a SPECTRUM after all.

As I know myself best, I will use myself as an example to compare and contrast to the first video link. She has severe autism, and I have high-functioning Asperger's.

• She rocks back and forth. So do I.
• She shakes her hands and moves her arms wildly to interact with her surroundings. I too occasionally have uncontrollable hand flapping, and I wave my hands in a seemingly random and strange way, but in reality there is purpose behind it.
• "I smell things." I have a stim where I compulsively fold in my bottom lip and smell the mixed scents of my mouth and hands.
• "I listen to things." I have a couple little ticks where I will tap things or hold a bus transfer in my hand and flick it back and forth, and while those may not seem like "stims" to you under your rather narrow-minded concept, I do it for the pleasing feel and sound.
• "I feel things." My sister taught me how to face-paint recently and there's a very soft brush she uses, and I couldn't help but continuously run it over my face till she took it from me. I also tend to rub my face on my dog if he's been recently trimmed.
• "I look at things." This is something we all do, the "autism stare" as I like to call it.

But I also have other little things, like the "craning neck" thing you were talking about. But you know how that happens for me? I get a small "tick" in the back of my neck and it drives me insane if I don't swivel my head around.

Do. NOT. Downplay. Other peoples' stims. You do not know what goes on in their head and you do not get to say what is "true" stimming and what is not! It is a spectrum, and you need to respect that.

Same here. I tried sitting completely still for a whole minute once. It was damn hard.

I hear that people with Tourette's can suppress their tics for a while. I guess they just lack self-control.

I actually find this thread to be offensive. So you're saying there's basically only one type of stimming? A TRUE type of stimming? Are you kidding me?

FYI Stimmming can be auditory, and need not last for more than 1 or 2 seconds, after I yawn I tend to make 1 or 2 quick auditory sounds with my mouth, this is a stimm. t may only last for 1 or 2 seconds,, and it might not be with my hands, but it is still a stimm.

FYI all stimms are voluntary, there are no involuntary stimms, just people who lack impulse control.