Why only hand flapping or rocking as stimming?

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Why does it seem that only hand flapping and rocking are acknowledged as forms of stimming and if you don't do either of those then people(those from a diagnostic position) conclude you don't have this AS symptom?

At a guess, perhaps they're the most common and easiest to distinguish from fidgeting?

Does wolf biting count? Actually, it does! I've been a wolf biter since before I can remember. Also, I rock. I have since I was young.

There is other kinds of stimming I see like head turning back and forth. Repetitive sounds. In all of the evaluations I have had, I do not remember them involving them measuring my stimming or whatever. Seems to be a much bigger issue with autistics online than with doctors and clinicians. Not all the autistic kids I'm in class with are rocking back and forth and flapping their hands all day long, or other constant repetitive movements. Can you imagine that? 20 kids all simultaneously constantly rocking and flapping etc. It doesn't happen. Especially when it comes to most of the aspie kids.

I think it's because whatever bothers NTs the most is what they focus on, they don't care if it doesn't bother them.

ive also seen "finger twirling" listed as a common stim, but what is that? i get this picture of fingers just swinging in circles thatre impossible without being broken or something

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I also think that professionals regard hand flapping and rocking as the more common forms of stimming, and the fact that so many other actions (and things even NTs do) can be called "stims," just doesn't really occur to them. It's rather sad, really. It can also lead to people who need various types of sensory input/stimming to not be able to get the input they need when they need it. At least, that's what happened to me - when I was a kid, everyone was always going on about how "reluctant" I was to touch certain substances and objects when what I really have issues with is types of noise and glaring lights. I actually loved touching things, like play-doh, mud, fabrics, - maybe not some things (like slippery things or things that stung or prickled) but most things.

Some of the ways I stim are chewing a chewable pendant, playing with a Tangle Jr toy, playing with stones, stroking or rubbing my favorite plushies, and tracing raised patterns on various surfaces. Touch and the way things sound and look are very important to me. I don't flap my hands that much, but I do rock sometimes - a lot more now as an adult than I did as a kid.

I tend to be walking from room to room, though usually only in one. It just sort of happened when I was 7 or 8, didn't really get why

I've never been one to flap my hands or rock. Flapping my hands causes my arms and hands to ache, and rocking makes me feel nauseous. I don't find either soothing.

I agree that it's an issue. I was recently told that my hair twirling/stroking basically couldn't be a stim because it "has more to do with anxiety." I find that odd though because the other girls with AS that I've interacted with report hair twirling being their most common stim... and if stroking skin is considered a stim, I really don't understand why stroking hair can't be one. Personally, I don't flap my hands often and I don't think I've ever rocked. I have pretty bad coordination and balance, so I can't imagine rocking turning out well for me.

I think that clinicians need to realize that any type of stim can be seen in ASD. IMO, it's not just the actual stim that's important, but rather both the quality and quantity of it (e.g., if a person is stroking something constantly, or near constantly, I'd consider it a stim). I know that people without ASD stim, but overall, they generally stim less than people with ASD do. People with ASD also seem more likely to have multiple stims, so that's another difference I think clinicians should take into account.

(Jezebel): Hmm. For some reason, I never thought about stroking a stuffed animal as a stim. I have a teddy bear and I love to stroke his fur. Other than that and the hair, the only other thing I can think of is this weird finger grabbing/stroking thing I do and occasionally going through bouts of just randomly touching things in stores (which causes my mother to tell me to stop). I've also seen some state that pacing can be a stim but I'm not completely sure about that.[/quote]


Other explanations are welcome

I rock and flap. When extremely excited or agitated, I do both at the same time. I used to flap my hands when I was younger, and my mother always thought it was just a habit and tried to get me to stop, but now that she knows about my AS, she leaves it alone. I didn't start rocking until adulthood though. Several of my other stims include: chewing things; touching soft things in stores; clapping; humming; repeating words or phrases over and over; and playing with various stim toys like my tangle, koosh ball, soapstone whiskey sphere, mini slinky, etc. In fact, I collect stim toys, and I have a whole box full of them. Most of them are tactile based, but I have two oil and water toys that I love to watch sloshing back and forth.

My way of stimming is bobbing my knee. I'm amazed that knee bobbing isn't considered a stim.

Can someone explain to me what stimming is, and what it means to the AS world? From what I see in this conversation some things are counted as a stim and some are not. My son needs me to stroke his cheek when he feels overwhelmed (he will grab my hand and put it to his face), would that be counted as a stim?