Can the word "stimming" apply to individuals without ASD?

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Hi, so um I'm new here (I apologise if this thread already exists), and I was just wondering if you think the word "stimming" can apply to neurotypical individuals? I hear the word being mentioned a lot among people I know with ASD and I wondered if the word can apply even if a person doesn't have it.

From my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong because I'm still learning, stimming is a repetitive physical action that a person takes part in as a way of calming themselves down, correct? There are some actions I do that could be considered stimming, but I'm not sure- hence my question. So, what would you consider to be stimming? Do you think the word can apply to people outside of the spectrum, or do you think that another word would better fit someone off the spectrum who takes part in repetitive physical actions in order to calm down?

Thanks for reading this.

- A lost_dragon

It's called fidgeting

Stimming is an adjective to describe an action, in this case repetition of movement to calm oneself. It is not however an all inclusive adjective for autism.

Many people stim not all are autistic. Someone waiting while sitting may bounce their leg or tap their fingers especially if they are anxious. Someone chewing on a pencil while thinking or just in general would be another example that would be considered stimming.

Stimming as it applies to autism is constant and obsessive with no apparent outward reason. It occurs if the person with autism is happy, sad, anxious, or any other stimuli.

So if you find yourself stimming it is something everyone does, though usually subconsciously and isn't necessarily a sign of having autism.

As far as I am aware anyone can stim but the reasons , type of stim and duration are different.

If I do have stims they are grinding my teeth , rolling my tongue across my teeth , bouncing my leg ( My GF says using my mouse and clicking is a stim but I don't know about that ) - I know these can all be attributed to anxiety which they might be.

Ah ok, I never would have thought that. Admittedly I was always under the impression that the word "stimming" only applied if someone was fidgeting in a manner to distract themselves from feeling emotionally or physically overwhelmed by stimuli because I've only ever seen that word in that context.

In that case, I don't think most of my behaviour would fall under stimming then, usually when I fidget or do certain actions, it's usually for a clear reason. Most of my actions give me piece of mind like checking things repeatedly (my mind tends to worry a lot about potential disasters happening, like leaving the tap on or the stove and burning or flooding the house as a result, yeah I know it's somewhat irrational) or make me feel calm in a crowded place. I get stressed out pretty easily in busy/crowded areas.These days I bring music with me if I think it's going to be a problem, such as if I'm going to a busy restaurant or something. Even if the only music I bring with me is cheesy 90's and 00's pop music.

Without music, it can be hard to cope. If I feel overwhelmed, I usually end up sitting in the ladies toilets for a bit, it's usually fairly quiet in there except for the dryers. Well not actually in the toilet or anything, that would be weird. Then when I'm ready, I go back out- usually by then it has calmed down a bit, hopefully.

Er yeah I don't know where I was going with this.

repeatedly checking things for reassurance because your worried about disasters sounds a little like an OCD trait , it could also just be anxiety

Are these things a problem for you?

If not then I would suggest not worrying about it we all have our quirks. Plus it sounds like you have found some useful coping mechanisms that work for you.

Yeah, I get that suggested to me a lot. Perhaps I should bring it up to my therapist, although it's always difficult to get hold of her. I've been trying this online therapy website recently, but since it's so busy it can be hard to get appointments.

It’s not a big problem per say, but people do make fun of me for it, so much that I often restrict and try to hide these behaviours from others sometimes. My sister usually tells me that I won’t make it very far in life if I don’t “get over” some of my behaviours and dislikes.

She used to mess with me by turning on the taps whenever I left the bathroom because she knew I always went back and checked and that I’d freak out if I saw the tap was on. Ugh, siblings. Thankfully she no longer does this.

What is becoming somewhat of a problem is my picky eating though. My diet is somewhat restrictive, and there are certain foods that I have a hard time even just being in the same room with, which is difficult when say a friend decides to bring in a certain food and eat it right next to me when my first instinct is to flee to a different room, but usually I manage to resist this urge though and uncomfortably put up with it.

However, when it comes to family meals I sometimes have to excuse myself or eat in a different room, especially when it comes to foods and smells such as cucumber, peppers and vinegar. This can annoy my family, but they do somewhat understand.

My friends however, don’t. They don’t understand how certain foods make me want to leave or throw up, instead they decide to try and convince me that certain foods are good by describing them in elaborate detail, which just heightens the level of my disgust. They just don’t get it.

My picky eating is also a problem because it means that it takes me longer than it should to finish meals, meaning that sometimes I end up behind on homework and revision because of all the time I waste sorting through my food. I don’t really want to change my eating habits though, no matter how much people disapprove. My mum does grow tired of it though, she says I act like a small child and should've grown out of picking and sorting my food long ago and that I need to act my age (I'm 17, and I'm going to be 18 next month).

Ok, do you believe something is wrong with you or are you allowing others to affect your self image?

People are going to form opinions and act how they are going to act towards you, you however have a choice, you could allow it to affect you in unhealthy ways such as isolating yourself or internalizing it, you could be assertive and express yourself as you see fit, or you can keep note and use it as a way to be introspective and make a decision whether or not they have a point and either accept it, change it, or throw it out.

I never really thought of it that way, sometimes it can be hard to distinguish what I want, from what others want from me. I guess it just kind of gets to me that I don't always fully understand why I act the way I do, and I like being able to have some kind of explanation for things.

Sure, people have their theories but to get a diagnosis for anything is difficult in itself. My teachers and my parents have suggested, pretty much throughout my life so far, that I might have dyscalculia which could explain the lack of a sense of time, some of the mistakes I make in maths, and potentially the sensory problems I sometimes have. But that's the thing- suggested. Whenever I try to look into getting tested, I'm always told the same thing- that I don't need a diagnosis and I should instead just focus on passing my maths exam. I guess they have a point, but it gets me how they claim to offer dyscalculia support but offer no resources to actually get tested. Although, is there really any point in having a diagnosis for something that only a few people seem to have heard of?

I realise that I'm going off the original topic now, and since this is an ASD forum I'd probably be better asking somewhere else about dyscalculia.

Do not worry; going off topic is common on WrongPlanet, and we discuss many different co-morbid conditions and disabilities that can be confused with autism.

I would recommend researching and discussing:
• Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder,
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder,
• Sensory Processing Disorder,
• Autism Spectrum Disorder,
• Dyscalculia,
• and even research stimming some more...

Oh, and yes, people without autism can stim too. It is usually a difference in when, kinds of stims, and how much. Neurotypicals tend* to fidget** when bored or anxious, by tapping their fingers on a surface or bouncing a leg, and for shorter and less intensely. Autistics tend* to need to stim** frequently to regulate their senses, cognitive processes, AND emotions. Autistics tend* to stim** by flapping their hands, rocking their body, or toe walking. Autistics tend* to stim** for much longer and more intensely.

*Neurotypical and autistic experiences may be different than described above. These are only examples to try to explain the difference.
**The words fidget and stim can be used fairly interchangeably. They are only used to try to explain the difference.

Thanks, I think I understand the subject a lot better now. (anyone else find the smile emoticon here to be a little creepy? I don't know why, but whenever I look at that thing I think it looks like it's plotting evilly). Probably just me.

Personally, I tend to fidget with string a lot. Sometimes I just have an urge to, and it can be hard to explain why. I guess it's just boredom I suppose. I find it fun to get a piece of string and strum it like a guitar, and then run it through my fingers like one of those toy worm things that you pull through your fingers.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... L1024_.jpg

I miss those. Such a weird yet nice sensation. I suppose I do it because it brings back nice memories. Usually I do it if I'm bored or feeling uneasy for whatever reason.

Last edited by Lost_dragon on 24 Aug 2017, 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The original clinical definition of stimming was "a repetitive full body motion (rocking, swaying, hand-flapping, toe-walking, etc) used to alleviate anxiety." Only within the past few years have some people begun to include fidgeting activities like hair twirling, nail biting and nose picking as "stims." IMO fidgeting is not stimming. Stims literally reduce anxiety and aid in focus and concentration - fidgets are just nervous expressions of anxiety, they don't eliminate anxiety at all.

If you are genuinely autistic, you will immediately understand the difference between the two. It's a huge difference.

will@rd's theory is starting to make a lot more sense. I don't remember if I did full body movements when I was younger, though- I know I do them now because I am more stressed and overloaded more often. All I remember was walking around in circles/pacing, but that was mostly to music, I think I just don't remember much from when I was little.