Stimming Question

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I asked this in another thread, but I think it may have got lost in there, just wondering about stimming (which I have only just found out about today). I was home alone today and caught myself flapping my arms (or hands would be a better description) madly like a baby bird trying to take off. I've done this kind of thing for as long as I can remember and thought nothing of it, it just seems quite natural. However, if other people are around, there's no way I'd do such a thing... but I'm just wondering - do NT's do this hand flapping? Also, what separates NT stimming from AS stimming? Is it a question of control? Frequency? Triggers?

Most NTs don't flap, no. It's usually a sign of a developmental delay, such as an ASD.

There are a few differences between ASD stimming and NT stimming.
The frequency (which you mentioned) is a huge one; as a whole, people with ASDs spend much, much more time 'stimming' than NTs do. Also, the types are different. As you mentioned, many with ASDs "hand flap", which isn't seen as socially appropriate in the view of NTs. Other common stims are rocking back and forth or side-to-side, repeating words/phrases over and over again, and (sometimes) self-injurious behaviors (such as biting or hitting oneself.) NT stims tend to be more subtle... pen tapping, knee bouncing, and foot tapping, for instance; therefore, they are more likely to be seen as socially appropriate when compared to the stims of people with ASDs, which tend to be less subtle.

I have Asperger's Syndrome, and sometimes I find myself to be doing a more "NT stim" (I like to roll my pencil around on my desk at school), but I do it more often and get more fixated on it than most NTs do. Also, I think my purpose for doing it might be different; I have moderate-to-severe auditory sensitivities, so I get very distressed by certain noises other people or other things make, and I find that when there is a noise that I can control (such as a pen or pencil rolling around on my desk), I feel much more calm. I also like how it looks, so it's kind of a visual stim, too.
I do more "autistic" stims, also, like twittling my fingers, rocking, excessive humming, word repeating, and flapping.

I have just noticed I rock, I always do, just never thought about it until reading this one!! I onyl do it at home tho, not in public. My presumably NT husband fiddle with pens ALL the time so to me that seems the same but as el-salvador says it is a different type.

With autistic people it tends to be more obvious and last longer. NTs will having stimming-like behaviors, but with most they don't last as long. Like they might bounce their leg a little and then stop, whereas an autistic person could easily do that or other repetitive motions for an hour or more. This doesn't apply to everyone though. Some ADHD people without autism seem to have more stimmy behavior than the average NT. My Mom definitely doesn't match the criteria for any ASD, yet she rocks quite a bit(even though that's seen as a more autistic or obvious stim), and also has some other stimmy behaviors that are a bit unusual for an NT. I've never seen her rock for nearly as long as I do sometimes though, and her repetitive behaviors don't happen as often as mine. I'm doing some kind of repetitive motion(whether it's obvious or not): rocking, leg bouncing, foot bouncing, finger tapping, just rocking in a rocking chair, etc. almost constantly it seems like.. But there are some autistic people who don't stim that much, or are able to make it much more subtle. I didn't stim as obviously as I do now when I was very young.