fidgeting and aspergers

Post Reply New Topic

I laugh about my fidgeting. I just tell people straight up that I constantly have a need to fidget with something and they generally respect the fact that I try not to make it disruptive. I've been doing that since before coming here and studying on autism... it wasn't until I got here that I started to wonder if people notice it more often than I do lol... I guess I should be somewhat self-conscious about it and decide if its disruptive to others or if I should let myself have these little comforts anyway.

Anybody I know would say that I am one of the most fidgety people they know lol... it's not a lie, either... I never really notice that I'm moving something until I look down and see it or until a friend or someone sitting nearby copies me and looks at me suspiciously until I notice them ... ahh well and it does seem to get a lot more frequent with stress

It's a key symptom of ADHD, so I know what you're experiencing here.

Oh yeah, lots of fidgeting.

I am almost always in motion. I bounce my legs incessantly. I also pace, bite or suck my fingers, pick at my skin, twirl my hair, tap my fingers, wiggle my toes(a good one for when I need to stim more discreetly)... I do catch myself rocking sometimes, but typically when I'm standing up: I might sway from side to side or shift my weight from one foot to the other. I don't flap per se, but I do a full-arm stim where I bend it at the elbow and move it up and down, usually hitting a surface. And I fiddle with objects too. Also, I catch myself staring at patterns sometimes.

I always fidget, in fact if I have to sit through a meeting or presentation then I sit at the back of the room so people don't notice.

At home I now keep some toys on the coffee table. Last night during a stressful conversation I was able to pick up a toy and fidget with it - I found this enabled me to focus on the conversation in the moment, preventing my mind from spinning out with anxiety. Clearly i Need more toys within reach.

I'm 56 years old. I fidget like a little kid.

I fidget a lot. People comment that I am hyper.

When I was younger, adults found my fidgeting legs really disruptive. They blamed my chair being too high (my feet did not touch the ground) so they gave me a stool to rest my feet on. I kicked the stool away and kept on fidgeting my legs.

I fidget a lot too. I was always being told off for it as a kid. I recently got some neat fidget toys though. Thank goodness for adulthood! I really find that it actually helps to pace when I read as well. It really improves my focus.