Fiddling with sleeves, necks of your tops etc.

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I always find myself folding the ends of my sleeves and the necks of my t-shirts and then, with the sleeves mostly, I "test" how it feels against my skin when it's folded in different ways.

Is this a Aspie trait or me being bored/weird?

Well I like to chew on the collar of my shirt.

But then again I also chew on the remote control, so it's not really a fiddling thing. I usually crack my knuckles repeatedly, as my ringfingers never seem to lose their ability to do that no matter how many times I do it. (They do occasionaly become dislocated, and it is painful to get them back correctly)

Height of adjustment topic

Others have this problem too?

My clothes almost threaten to suffocate me sometimes.

This is like a tug of war. I hate the choking feeling. Sensory, aspie thing I guess.

I hate shirts on my neck too, or the front anyway. I pretty much only where collared shirts. They are open a bit in the front.

I have the chewing thing too. No pen is safe in my hands. I generally don't chew on my clothes anymore but if I am deep in thought I do occassionally.

It used to drive my mom nuts. My shirts would get stretched in the neck because of the chewing. Now I just get off color patches on my collars.

I can never figure out what to do with my sleeves. They're either pushed way up over my elbows, or they hang over my hands.

I also do the folding thing with my sleeves. I enjoy making the different kinds of patterns, depending on how they're folded.

Folding test topic

If I can feel my clothes on me then there is a problem and I have to change.

I also remember when I was a kid I would roll my knee socks down to my ankles. Then I would finger the roll as it had a nice tight feel. Aspie thing I guess.

Same here!

I like to twist the ends of my sleeves tightly around my fingers over and over. It happens mostly when I'm stressed.

I buy short-sleeved shirts as often as possible. I have chewed on the neck in the past and I still chew on the cords on my sweatshirts.

I fiddle with everything I can get my hands on, chew my pen and sometimes chew my TV remote.

STIMMING!! That is what it is called. We all have different stims. My son has gone through 3 school jumpers in a year.............sleeves ripped and chewed into nothing. My other son eats pencils and pens.....his lips are blue with ink! Then I smoke! Juggling is the fav past time of my other aspie son, remote controls being the favourite although knives was the last one. Stims change and whilst some are necessary others can be harmful. This may help? Remember we call those on the autistic spectrum jellybeans and neurotypicals marshmallows!


People are continually telling me that there are no physical signs of being a jellybean. Oh boy, how wrong they are! Experts take note: jellybeans do talk to you, in a way that everyone can understand - just watch their bodies. Stimming is what jellybeans do when they're anxious, frightened, irritable, stressed, panicky, upset, bewildered and frustrated. They even do it when they're excited. It's the sudden adrenaline rush playing havoc with your jellybean fingers, toes, hands and feet.

If you've heard of stimming before then give yourself a pat on the back, especially if you understand it. It's just another word for self-stimulation, fidgeting in other words, and fidgeting in ways that are repetitive, often involuntary, and habitual. Often they're quite noticeable.Everyone stims, both jellybeans and marshmallows. Some people used to call these fidgety movements "nervous habits". But jellybeans do them far more often and clearly and obsessionally than marshmallows.

Sometimes, of course, these stims, which are essentially comforting, can be tics and could be an expression of Tourette's, so bear that in mind. Let's look at some different stims under different headings, it may make it easier and show you what to look for.

HAND STIMS

Hold on to your hankies, because this is a big one.

a. Finger picking, finger drumming
b. Nail biting/Thumb sucking
c. Hand to face contact constantly/stroking/scratching
d. Scab and skin picking
e. Smoothing hair and hair tugging
f. Pulling at clothes, murdering a cotton hankie or tissue
g. Playing with a pencil, constantly, or any other object
Okay so just about everything to do with the hands, even smelling fingers. ANYTHING REPEATED REGULARLY is a stim.

MOUTH STIMS

a. Gritting or grinding of teeth
b. Clenched jaw
c. Sucking anything!
d. Lip biting
e. Pouting constantly and obviously
f. Chewing
g. Sticking tongue out
h. Puckering the mouth up, maybe to one side
WHOLE BODY STIMS

a. Arm flapping from the wrist or elbow
b. Leg waggling
c. Foot Tapping
d. Over excited rapid, pronounced clapping and jumping up and down
e. Leg jerking
f. Body scratching
g. Eye blinking or flicking the eyes to make them "dance"
h. Head-banging, with their hand or against the wall or floor
VOCAL STIMS

a. Swearing
b. Non-swearing repeated words sometimes said or sung loudly
c. Humming and throat clearing
d. Sniffing through the nose, noisily
e. Involuntary child-like noises - squealing
BEHAVIOURAL STIMS

Repetitive and apparently unnecessary behaviour. Observe your jellybeans, there are so many behaviours that are stims and they are so personal to the owner that you may have to look carefully. Here are just a few to give you an idea of what I mean and what we do.

a. Rocking in bed
b. Eating the bed (my eldest son ate his wooden bunk bed over the course of a year!)
c. Whizzing around in a circle (spinning)
d. Jumping on the spot
e. Rocking backwards and forwards
f. Obsessive repetitive behaviour - computer games and Playstations, mobile phones, doodling etc.
g. Eating and drinking
h. Staring at something for hours

I used to chew my shirt. Now and again these days I will fiddle with my clothes, most likely if I'm nervous though.