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Just got diagnosed this month

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inattentive_lex
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Location: Chesapeake, VA

24 Feb 2018, 10:27 pm

Hello! I was just recently diagnosed with ASD. I have posted here before but got really busy with school and exams. But I’m back now! I had a few questions also:
-what’s a stim? (I want to know if I have any?)
-can your phone be your stim? (Someone mentioned about their phone being their stim on Facebook)


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Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 137 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 77 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)

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plokijuh
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25 Feb 2018, 2:40 am

Hey welcome :) I too was only diagnosed recently.

I don't know what the real definition of a stim is but I would say I see it in two ways.

Pre-diagnosis I've seen my stims as weird things I do when I'm not coping. My main ones are:
- rocking (knees to chin, backwards and forwards, or if on a chair sometimes backwards and forwards but mostly side to side)
- side of my thumb against my curled up index finger and rub my second finger segment.
- base of hand to forehead. I guess hitting myself, and sort of self harm but it's never been so much about hurting myself as extreme emotional release. I don't think this one is ok. Also banging head against wall/bedhead. These ones are like extreme need that I feel crappy about afterwards but weirdly helps.
- rocking my hips when going to sleep.

Now I'm starting to see they aren't just weird things that happen when I'm losing control, but that the rest of the time I'm actively repressing the need to calm my body physically and sometimes I get to the point where my body decides to get what it needs anyway and it becomes semi-involuntary. Not quite, but almost. I twitch and my hands/ shoulders do weird things if I'm not coping and I'm trying to stop stimming, so maybe it's like it's redirecting the nervous energy? No idea if that's normal or if it's just me. I know I got into trouble as a kid for any "weird" behaviour, so I still feel VERY conflicted about the whole thing.

I've realised rocking is actually a great way of releasing stress and stops me getting to that out of control point. Listening to music with either a strongly progressing melody and/or syncopated beat is amazing. E.g. most of the musical Hamilton is so good if I'm feeling like I'm about to lose it. Something about the word play/beat and melodies (especially Angelica's parts) feels like it's stroking my brain and calming me down. I do love stroking satin and fluffy fabric, but again I feel weird about it.

I can't imagine facebook being a stim, but I'm basing my understanding of them 100% off my own experience so I have no idea.


_________________
Diagnosed ASD

AQ: 42 (Scores in the 33-50 range indicate significant Austistic traits)
RAADS-R: 165
RDOS: Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 44 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


plokijuh
Toucan
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25 Feb 2018, 2:42 am

Just another thought, I have a highly addictive personality and do get very addicted to my phone, so maybe in some way the are connected? But I wouldn't have thought of it as a stim so much as being habit/ addiction prone. Don't know.


_________________
Diagnosed ASD

AQ: 42 (Scores in the 33-50 range indicate significant Austistic traits)
RAADS-R: 165
RDOS: Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 44 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)


ASPartOfMe
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25 Feb 2018, 3:27 am

Stimming

Quote:
Self-stimulatory behavior, also known as stimming and self-stimulation,is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, or repetitive movement of objects common in individuals with developmental disabilities, but most prevalent in autistic people/people with autism spectrum disorders.It is considered a way in which autistic people and others calm and stimulate themselves.Therapists view this behavior as a protective response to being overly sensitive to stimuli, with which the individual blocks less predictable environmental stimuli. Sensory processing disorder is also given as a reason by some therapists for the condition.Another theory is that stimming is a way to relieve anxiety, and other emotions.Stimming exists on a Spectrum. Autism, Aspergers and SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) become diagnosable when symptoms impair one or more domains of function.

Common stimming behaviors (sometimes called stims)include hand flapping, rocking, excessive or hard blinking, pacing, head banging, repeating noises or words, snapping fingers, and spinning objects. Stimming is almost always an aspect of autism, but it is also regarded as part of some non-autistic individuals' behavioral patterns.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, this type of behavior is listed as one of the symptoms of autism or "stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms.


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TimS1980
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26 Feb 2018, 5:06 am

My daughter is almost 2 years old, I wonder whether there may be a diagnosis in her future.

She does love to stroke fluffy fabric which gives a serious calming effect - especially when she's stressed out by something.


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jon85
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26 Feb 2018, 7:28 am

TimS1980 wrote:
My daughter is almost 2 years old, I wonder whether there may be a diagnosis in her future.

She does love to stroke fluffy fabric which gives a serious calming effect - especially when she's stressed out by something.


sorry, i read your post and immediately remembered this scene from Get Him To The Greek, which advertantly lead to me having my very own furry wall :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaLsEtwDW1w

Maybe a film for your daughter when she's old enough :lol:


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TimS1980
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27 Feb 2018, 4:53 am

jon85 wrote:
...which advertantly lead to me having my very own furry wall :lol:


I love it!


_________________
"Stress happens. It can be a stimulus for growth. It can plough you under if not offset by rest. I strongly recommend checking out Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, on Audible."