When does stimming become not normal?

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So I'm 15 and I hand flap when I am excited (also kinda flop on my bed sometimes when excited) and I constantly feel textures I like (EX: I rub my hands on my keyboard constantly because I like the way the keys feel). I have been professionally diagnosed with ocd but this is definitely not a ocd thing, as I feel like it's... I don't really know the word it just makes me feel good. I have never been diagnosed with anything other than ocd and I know the ocd isn't causing this. So my question is could you be NT and do what I mentioned above?

I have bad motor skills, I am somewhat over sensitive to loud noises, (especially multiple noises at the same time) sometimes lights bother me but not that badly usually. I also have a hard time with math and visual spacial skills and generally understanding bigger concepts (I know that's more of a nvld thing) and I have a hard time making friends. I also have obsessive interests but I am interested in a variety of things.
I know that sounds like nvld and/or Aspergers but I feel like I am not socially impaired enough. I use sarcasm and humor constantly, I can read body language and facial expressions fine (I took a couple tests and it said I could read body language and faces average) though sometimes I feel self conscious about how I should react to what I am seeing in others but I don't feel like it is aspergers related and is more a self confidence thing.

So I am wondering what could be a explanation for my stimming other than aspergers? I don't feel like I am impaired enough sensory wise to qualify for SPD (sensory processing disorder). So could I just be a quirky NT? Or what other explanation is there for my stimming?

BTW I know only a professional can diagnose me I am just asking for objective opinions (Seriously Fnord, *Gives Virtual Middle Finger*)

There is another post on here that is similar, not at all accusing you of spamming, just the poster mentioned definite OCD symptoms though not a diagnosis (wasn't self diagnosing I think they were just nervous about their upcoming screening) had described some stimming behaviors as well.

Anyway its just really interesting to think about how much of an overlap there could be for all these disorders. I'm ASD and stim a lot. That is probably the only sign I haven't learned to compensate for. I can make smaller motions but I always stim.

Point is I have little "rituals", a rigid schedule and things that just have to be in certain places. I'm not OCD, but you're stimming and as far as you know not ASD. You might be on the mildly on spectrum but the OCD is impacting your life more than autistic traits are. I might be borderline OCD,( not saying I am, I just think I have high standards, just hypothetically) but it's not causing quality of life problems. 15 is hard dude so if you might be close to if not on the spectrum you might catch your self stimming just to calm yourself down.

If your not hurting yourself or others or causing a disturbance just go with it and fun. If you're worried about having one more disorder don't worry you very well maybe NT cause seriously I think everyone is uncoordinated and self conscious for a good part of their teens. NT or ASD 15 is just tough for the obvious reasons.

The quality of research in genetics and neurology is improving rapidly so I'm hoping we can all get a better idea of how all of these disorders, syndromes, and conditions are connected.

Yeah the hand flapping isn't really a problem anymore as I can control it in public by clenching my fists but it's definitely not a OCD thing and as I show other signs of asd I can't help but wonder. I am getting tested through my school (soon I hope) and I will be interested to see what they find. My OCD is more obsessive than compulsive. I don't really have any complusions other than checking my alarm and things like that more than the average person would but it's not terrible. Since I don't have very many compulsions could the ASD just look like OCD and I was misdiagnosed? I know people with Aspergers often fixate on things which is what I do but my problem is worrying. Is at a ASD type thing to not be able to control your worry? I know your not a doctor but I would like to hear your subjective opinion.

Hand flapping is more stereotypical of stimming, but OCD symptoms tend to capture similar activities and use them in the in routine. Autistic stimming is distinguished for looking noticeable.
All the autistics I know personally stim under strong emotions, including myself. It's just a matter of how it feels to you.

Yes I stim under strong emotions it has nothing to do with my ocd. It is when I am excited.

It is possible if you were evaluated by a doctor with little experience ASD and lots of experience with OCD to be biased towards their preferred disorder.

It is also very possible to have both.

I also have been diagnosed as ADHD, which is probably correct and I have heard some convincing arguments that it is part of the spectrum. Most likely its just co-morbidity.

And yes I worry about everything. All the time. Something somewhere is just out of place enough to destroy the calm and order I have worked so hard to try force on the world.

It depends on what kind of autism you have or who you are

Cooksp53,

I don't agree with the " let's wait and see what the experts decide on what reality is" suggestion. the "experts" do not know what they are doing. and I assure you, none of them are autistic. they are observing autism from the outside. from a purely observational, and phenomenalogical perspective. they have little clue what it is really like to be autistic.

I know of no other disorder or condition that exhibits stimming, like people on the autistic spectrum do.

my opinion is that the OP is on the autism spectrum.
to whatever degree that maybe

Do you think maybe BAP could cause stimming like that? I don't know anyone in my family with a ASD but I never meat my bio dad or is family (sperm donor) but I feel like maybe they wouldn't let someone with a autistic family member be a sperm donor so I don't know.

You should very likely see a psychologist or psychiatrist about an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. While I have difficulty discerining body language and facial expressions, I have read about aspies who have taught themselves these skills. I am fairly certain my father is autistic and yet he says he hasn't any trouble understanding expressions/body laguage/etc. to a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Have you been identified Gifted (or whatever your school board's version of this identification is)? Aspies who also have above average intelligence are frequently able to compensate for their difficulties with intuitive social perception via intellectual social perception, which means conscious reasoning in a social situation in an attempt to figure out what is and is not acceptable. If one's intellectual capacity is above average (i.e. if one is intelligent), one's ability to compensate for one's autism through intelligent reasoning is sometimes very strong. You can watch a few of TheAnMish's Youtube videos about wearing a metaphorical mask in social situations and pretending to be someone else if you'd like better to understand this in action.

Have you a few sounds/tastes/touches/etc. which are absolutely horrible and even thinking about them right now is an unpleasant experience? Being somewhat bothered by some types of lighting but not all is common amongst those with ASD, because the sensory sensitivities are so greatly varied. For instance: I don't mind the sound of nails on a chalkboard, but the sound of styrofoam brushing against itself or the crust of toast rubbing against a plate makes me want to run away and/or scream as loudly as I am able. It's worthwhile to note that I almost never do the latter, and infrequently do the former. Usually I just internalize the extreme discomfort until I have a migraine and need to spend a good twenty minutes or so stimming to relax.

You're correct in that what you say about making friends, having obsessive interests, and having poor central coherence (being unable to notice the "big picture") are all often indicative of ASD. You're incorrect, however, in assuming your ability to use humour and sarcasm means you aren't an aspie. While there are those with autism who do not use sarcasm themselves, this is by no means a requirement. I use sarcasm frequently because I find it an amusing way of speaking; the difficulty comes in recognizing the sarcasm of other people. I'd ask you to consider how well you can do this, and try to second guess yourself because many aspies think they are more socially able than they really are. Are you the last one at the table to understand the joke? Do you laugh at things wherein others do not see humour? Do people sometimes say things that seem like the opposite of the truth, and then using your capacity for logical thought are you able to deduce that they must have been being sarcastic? I do these things and I am an aspie.

Finally about the "self confidence thing": until the process of my diagnosis, I thought my social issues were a "self confidence thing" as well. This was so much so the case that I developed anorexia nervosa because I convinced myself it was simply because I was overweight that I couldn't seem to make or maintain a friendship. I thought if I could become slim it would solve my social issues and I'd suddenly be able to have a conversation with someone without going on so many tangents they can't follow me, or slowly but surely starting to talk about mathematics or physics (physics is my special interest). I still can't really do this, but at least now I know it is because I'm autistic and not because I have social anxiety or am a "quirky weirdo" (as a side note, I pretty much am a quirky weirdo, but in an aspie sort of way).

In conclusion, you should take the Aspie Quiz, but more importantly see a psychologist/psychiatrist and undergo diagnostic assessment for ASD. Feel free to ask me any questions you have, as well.

Are you sure you were reading my post? Cause it seems like you are arguing against points I never made. Why don't you take a deep breathe and reread the thread and then what you wrote. You might be surprised to find out that you're logic really just undermines autism as medical diagnosis and turns into an arbitrary personality type.

I think that there needs to be autistics involved in the research because lab techniques and the scientific method are things that we should excel at in general. If autism is a puzzle why are the people that suck at puzzles the only ones working on it?

Being anti-expert is just as lowbrow as believing everything with a stat next to it is hard science.

When it is socially inappropriate.

I worked in a a field research centre before, and picked up a habit of playing with knifes. Flicking it open and close to be precise. Not much of a problem there, as we regularly use machetes, tools etc, but obviously back into the "civilised" world, playing with a pocket knife in public will get you into deep trouble.

Took me a while unlearn that... luckily never got into trouble. Yet.

when i was about 24, i developed a notion that there was an unpopped bubble between my upper lip and my gums and i became obsessed with hunting it out. i pursed my lips constantly to squirt this bubble of air out from underneath my top lip and it became a stim.
the bubble was imaginary but it felt so real and it seemed to redevelop all the time so as soon as i had finished squeezing my face to squirt it out, there would be another one, and it never ended.

even if i was in a bank queue, if i was plagued by the idea that i had to rid my inner top lip of a bubble, it always dominated my mind and i contorted my face to try to squeeze it out and many people i noticed during those times looked puzzled when they saw me doing this as i seemed so coherent otherwise.

1.I am in Pre AP Reading/English (it's one level above normal but one level under gifted) but other than that no. I absolutely suck at math and science. I have a bad time with understanding concepts and my visual spatial skills aren't that great. I do feel as if I have above average intelligence. Not in the sense of like I have better grades but just the way I see things and how I analyze. It is kinda hard for me to put that feeling into words it's just like the way I see things is different from most people. I definitely sometimes consciously think of how to act in social situations, but I do feel as if a decent amount of it is sub conscious. I sometimes go to far with teasing or joking and sometimes I can be too honest and piss people off (I find the fact people get mad at me for that to be stupid though, like if you don't like my opinion why not just ignore it? Why does it affect you? I have to stop now I could rant about that forever) like one time a girl was talking about how she was going to get a hair cut and I said it would probably be better if she didn't (I didn't say it rudely or matter of factlly though) and she got mad. Though I do have a OK understanding of when something would be inappropriate to say in the situation I am in I just slip up sometimes. Also I sometimes when alone will talk to myself like I am in a certain social situation or will think of jokes before hand but I definitely don't depend on that. I definitely can have a good time with friends and laugh and joke about things without having to plan how I am going to act.
2. Yes, once we were in class and we were in groups of 3 and each group had to watch a video on a laptop so all the laptops audios in the class were heard at once. Everyone else in the class didn't care but I was having a hard time with it. If I remember correctly I had to cover my ears very briefly then had to kinda fight it out. Also I often prefer to be in the dark in my room. Sometimes I don't notice a light but once I do I can't unnoticed it and have to turn it off. I often put in my face in the pillow or the whole blanket over me while sleeping (speaking of that I often get cold while sleeping and I would benefit from a more heavy blanket). I absolutely hate it when people touch my legs or arms, it's like someone putting there hand on my legs is the equivalent to tickling. I do sometimes feel kinda hyper aware of textures but it's not terrible.
3.I can most of the time tell when my friends are being sarcastic but sometimes not. Especially when it's with someone I don't know or a new situation I can be unsure if what they said was sarcastic or not. I feel like I can hear the slyness in there speech but my mind goes through a bunch of possible meanings and I am sometimes left unsure of what to do. Like today my dad was replacing the battery in my phone and I saw him putting in a battery and I said " Is that the new battery?" then he says "no it is the old one I am putting it back in there for fun." then I said "why?" then he said something like "really?" then I realized he was being sarcastic and I chuckled a little just because of how I missed that. Yes I sometimes guess when I should laugh or laugh when no one else is but I definitely can joke with my friends.
4. I have taken the aspie quiz and a few other tests many times. I would say my average AQ score is a 32 and my aspie quiz results are (this off the top of my head) something around 125-130 Aspie and 70-75 NT. It said I was likely a aspie from those results.

I am currently in the process of getting a appointment through testing through my school.


So yeah it sounds like I have it doesn't it?

Since you said I could ask you any questions here I go:

I have really bad social anxiety, I am afraid of getting a negative response and uncertain responses from people. I like my friendships but seeing them often makes me anxious, and even just going up to people in stores to ask were to find something can make me anxious, so much so I am pretty sure I have Social Anxiety Disorder. Can that Co-exist with ASD?

I rarely actually talk about my special interests with people. Actually most of my conversations are about them (the other person) or if were in school or something it's about that, my conversations aren't self centered which I know is a hallmark of AS. Actually talking about my interests makes me anxious, so are there people with ASD like that?

I have changes from optimism to pessimism pretty frequently. Like I will have a idea and start working on it and being excited at night but then the next day I will have a sense of dread and start thinking "no this idea is terrible". Also lately I have been thinking about ASD and usually the pattern throughout the day is "yeah ASD is the reason why I am so weird!" and then a few hours later "no! I am way to normal to have aspergers!" and this frequent change in perception happens very often, I guess daily. And it happens basically with whatever new idea I have or it could be with my happiness or positive outlook on life. Is that something people with ASD often go through? I know when you think frequent mood swings you think bi polar but I don't think it's like "OH MY GOD I AM SO HAPPY" to "I HATE MY LIFE I WANT TO DIE" (thats somewhat a exaggeration but you get my point) it's not to extreme happiness to extreme lows (usually it isn't but sometimes it can be, like the other day I had what seemed to be a meltdown and I was saying I want to die and kill myself, I didn't mean it I just couldn't handle my emotions and was freaking out and then I calmed down and later that night I was fine. But then the next day that feeling of aggregation came back for no apparent reason and I freaked out again. And then the next day I was fine again. Then later that day I started getting kinda sad but not like the other day and then the next day which is today have been fine pretty much the whole day , it rarely gets that bad sorry I got kinda sidetracked there) so again is that something that ASD could explain? Or another example: My whole family was in the pool and I was thinking about life and I was feeling really good and happy, but then my grandpa got annoyed at something and yelled not at me but him yelling made my whole happiness start to disappear and I started to feel kinda sad. Not extremely sad but something so small that didn't even involve me messed up my mood could that be because of ASD?

Sometimes I feel like I know whats more socially appropriate more than the rest of my family does. Like where were at the movies and my family was talking loudly and I knew strangers didn't want to hear it so I wanted my family to be quieter. Or my family will complain about small stupid stuff to customer service and there clearly annoyed and I am just like "seriously?". Maybe it is because I think everything through logically?

And finally, this is the main reason I feel like ASD might not explain me: I can feel normal quite often. What I mean is, well for example: I went to the movies with my 2 friends (I don't have very many friends though) and I had a great time and I felt completely comfortable. We played video games, laughed, talked about stuff, and I wasn't really awkward at all. And I often have social emotional reciprocity with people though it often feels weird and sometimes forced I do genuinely have it, use it, and enjoy it. Like this guy was talking ridiculously loudly on his phone in the waiting room so later me and my mom laughed about that or we will make smart ass comments to each other. Often me and other family members do things like that. And in class I make jokes with my friends and we geniuenly enjoy each other. And usually when I tell people who don't like live with me that I think I might have ASD they say "no you don't". Like my grandmother said "I had a person that worked for me with aspergers and you would have to constantly tell him whats appropriate and he would go on and on about basketball statistics and you are nothing like that" and it's times like that that make me doubt a diagnosis. So could you have a ASD and be like that (what I just described above about myself not what my grandmother said)?

Also I apparently had quite the temper as A toddler. I would get mad and I would flip my mattress and I was just generally bad with my temper. Also I have always hand flapped when excited and still do. Apparently when I was younger I would sometimes look at the ceiling fan when I did it. I also apparently never really liked imagination play. Also I had to do Pre-K twice because the first year I would barely talk. I would talk a ton at home but when I got to school I wouldn't talk. One time my parents picked me up and the teacher overheard me talking to them and said "hey! you Talked!". Also I have always had something I was obsessed with. When I was really young it was space I would go to the library and get tons of books about it. And throughout my whole life I have always had something (pokemon, conspiracy theories, call of duty, etc). I honestly can't tell you a period in my life (that I can remember) where I couldn't stop thinking about something. But now at least I have a decent amount of interests but there is usually one I have to make a effort to stop thinking about (right now it is do I have a ASD).

But other than all that I (too my knowledge) was a normal kid. I was apparently always sarcastic (my mom says I came out the womb a smart ass lol) and I didn't really have problems my parents could see with body language or just communication in general.


Side notes: I find it hard to organize my thoughts and verbalize what I am thinking. I feel different than everyone else and feel like everyone got some class on how to be a person that I missed. My motor skills are really bad. Like I remember when I was in Pre-K (nobody told me this I actually remember this) the teacher said sit criss cross apple sauce and I couldn't figure out how to cross my legs like that. Too this day I walk weird and have a hard time picking my feet up (multiple people have said to me this year "pick your feet up" but I just can't) and I have a extremely hard time with geometry and shapes and anything math related. I often have a hard time understanding concepts everyone else gets especially in science. I appear not to have common sense. Like the teacher will ask a obvious question and I won't get it and the kids look at me like I am stupid. I often feel like I am having information overload and can't remember a bunch of details quickly and retain them or understand the concepts. I don't really feel like I have a exceptional memory, though I find history class to be easy because there is usually no concepts to understand you just have to memorize facts for our multiple choice tests. And they literally give us flash cards that basically have the tests on them and we just have to remeber them. But I feel like if it wasn't multiple choice I would crash and burn. Like I have to see the answer to remeber it. I suck at remebering birthdays and phone numbers also.

So just do your best to answer my questions and thank you for reading. I am probably going to print this whole thing I just typed out and bring it with me when I go to get tested so thats partly why it's excessive.
Thanks

Nothing constructive to say but, this.

This is making me laugh.

I am glad I can be of entertainment.