Stimming & Special Interests

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I've come to a personal conclusion that the terms 'stimming' (strictly in reference to autistic stimming) and 'special interests' are over-used and/or used inappropriately. The following explains my reasons why I believe 'stimming' is over-used:

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'Human' Stimming:

1. Anyone, including neurotypical individuals partake in behaviour that could be described as stimming. Some may do it more than others, and the reason for that could range from caffeine consumption or anxiety to neurological differences (not of the NT/ASD kind). Common stimming behaviours are leg shaking/wagging/bouncing, drumming hands, rubbing legs etc. They are not autistic stims (though an autistic may stim in that way just as any person would) and should not be considered as such; a person that stims in that way doesn't necessarily do so because they are autistic. I'm speaking based only off of my research and observations. I know for a fact that neurotypical individuals 'stim' in those ways.

'Autistic' Stimming:

1. I agree with many others on this board in that if you don't feel you're going to explode/implode with some kind of energy (or at least feel incredibly irritated) then it isn't really autistic stimming. Stimming when bored, uncomfortable/anxious etc is commonplace for all humans. If you disagree with this please explain why and with some reputable research to back up your arguments. Perhaps leg shaking and the other non-autistic stims I listed above could be described as autistic stims IF they were intense and the individual in question was heavily involved with them.

2. I fail to see how listening to songs on repeat (and having them stick in your head) or constant daydreaming could be considered autistic stimming. Individuals without ASD often exhibit those behaviours as well. I'm including the instances of 'listening to the same song for hours/days' etc. As far as I'm aware there are no notable facts that would prove otherwise.

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Unapologetically, Norny.
-chronically drunk

Stimming by rocking is something that has been default on for me since I sat up as a baby, and I don't feel normal without stimming. That one, I consider purely autistic stimming not in response to particular emotional state. Other stims, I have in response most to boredom, like walking on my toes whenever I am waiting at a stoplight. Some of these stims are normal looking like NTs do also, while others are weirder looking, like rubbing my face on brick walls while passing by them, and rubbing lots of objects on my cheeks that I do automatically, like sensory seeking behavior. The type of stimming that I sometimes read about and don't understand is when someone says that they were upset by something, then they went to their room to stim for an hour. I don't do that. I just stim by default.

Basically, I have my default stimming, and smaller stims of various kinds, some of which look normal, and some of which look weird.

During group meeting, I am the one who stims the most, almost all the time, while others also stim on and off, and I am the one with the weirdest looking stims, while others don't deviated from the foot tapping, finger drumming kinds. It's verry merry berry easy to tell the difference between autistic and nt stimming if someone observes group meeting when I am there.

Once, I gave a class presentation so filled with motor stereotypy of all limbs that even I was wondering why my arms and legs were moving so much without my control.

I always wonder how other people can be still for minutes at a time while listening to someone talk during meeting or lecture.

although these are done out of both sensory seeking and stimming,the most used stims of mine are rocking [its constant, often fast, whether sat down or stood up],banging head with hand/fist or banging head on hard objects,twisting hands,flicking fingers close up in front of eyes ,chewing hands to point of bleeding [not able to feel pain]...

everyone stims in one way or another,its a case of autistics doing it to a much greater level though.

I often shake or wag my foot whenever I'm feeling really anxious, threatened, or angry. I don't do it much unless I'm feeling at least somewhat overcome with "negative energy". I have lots of other small stims, but by your criteria, this is probably my most "aspie" stim.

Autistic stimming is a perseveration.
Autistic brains perseverate.
Repetitive behavior is normal for autistic people.

Autism by definition: ”enough boxes ticked”.

I engage both in “typical” stims like shaking the leg, rubbing hands, scratching and so on, but I also stim in ways that certainly deviate from the norm, such as swaying and flapping for hours, flicking fingers in the corner of my eyes or moving my hand in certain ways in front of my eyes or e.g. making vocalizations. I am fairly certain that females of my age do not generally engage in such activities even in private.

I flap my hands, twitch, toe walk or bounce. I also bang my head when I'm really upset or bite myself when really stressed.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that hand flapping and lack of eye contact are the true symptoms to autism. Every autistic person I know personally does it!

I am constantly rocking back and forth and/ or side to side exept when sitting and lying down. Most times I don't even notice it unless im really happy exited or upset.

Autistics can "stim" when bored or anxious, usw. not just to release energy or to "pull themselves together" as the saying goes. The big difference between us and normal people is intensity. z.B. Normal people do not pass their fingers over an object to the point their hands are bloodied and mangled and they would not likely spend hours doing so without any notice of the effect. I tend to do just that.

My main stim as a child was twirling a string or similar long dangly thing in front of my eyes. My face was scrunched up like a bunny rabbit's and my back arched to focus in on the thing. It looked really weird and was never mistaken for normal behaviour. It was constant and I did it during class all day in elementary school by ripping the ends of a piece of paper and molding it into a tapering long dangly strip and twirling that in front of my eyes. It was noticed and mentioned by all my teachers since preschool as a strange behaviour. My second teacher said I "constantly ripped paper and played with it, makes noises and goes off into her own little world", for example. I still do it but only at home in private.

Other stims I had as a child were walking in circles while talking to myself and flapping my hands.These were also noticed as "odd behaviour" and remarked upon.