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Hello all, this is my first post here. Anyway, I have been doing some weird stuff since I was around 7 years old. Basically, I feel the compulsion to cuss for no reason at all, it may be coprolalia, but I do have my doubts about it. Then my flap my hands, but I don't flap my hands because I "can't feel it", which I read is one of the potential characteristics for autistic kids. I just flap my hands to generate ideas and make me happy, it has been happening since I was like 5 now. I would also clear my throat excessively for nothing at all, I've just recently picked up this habit, together with the neck shaking/tensing the neck (Not sure how else to explain it). I also spit excessively, which has been bothering my parents. I have this not so common habit of turning my eyes to a corner and blinking excessively, which I believe is more of an OCD situtation.

One main thing I doubt my habits aren't Tourettes is that I have "periods", which means I have times where I don't do any jerky or compulsive movements, then there are random times (usually when no one is watching and I feel safe enough) that I commit lots of these movements in a row. (Flapping hands, clearing throat excessively, cussing for no reason, then spitting, all in a row.)

I do not want to self-diagnose myself, but I'm 14 this year (Still 13) and my parents are reluctant to send me to a doc. I think it may have been a normal time which people go through and develop lots of oddities, and it will fade away, but the neck tensing is hurting me, the spitting (which I usually do with my shirt if I can't find anything else suitable to spit on) is making me really really smelly. I think it is hurting my social life overall. How do I go about dealing with this?

Also please move if this is in the wrong section, I can't find anywhere else more suitable.

Now im no professional but it seems to me that you have developed a form of stimulation. See the thing with AS people is we tend to do different things to stimulate ourselves, and what this does is when we sstimulate it sord of helps to balance our nerves and calm ourselelves down. When i stim it helps me to sord of go off in my own world but thats just me, i dont think all As people go off in their own world while stimming,how i stimulate is i flick a pencil in front of my eye, while talking to myself, sometimes i do use foul language while stimming, its not on purpose you just sord of do it for no reason. What you need to do if this is stimming is you should find something thats a little more socially acceptable, what i try to do and maybe this would help you is try wiggling your toes around, or maybe humming, or even flicking a pencil around, but not directly in front of your eye because i only do that in private and that looks very strange to others. i dont personally reccomend the pencil but i think it might be a little better than spitting. I also would rccomend trying nto find professional help, even though your parents may not want to take you to a doc, i believe i saw a thing on here where you can talk to professionals about different problems on wrongplanet homepage, and if you do a little research online you may be able to find better answers than mine on your problem.

Well you see, I don't even know if I have asperger's or not. But you bring up a good point that I'm stimming myself.

and I hum and end up annoying my neighbors in school (No more in school now though)

Actually, it does sound more like Tourette's, not OCD. People with Tourette's can and do occasionally hold in their tics until they are alone. There's medication for it so you may want to consider being evaluated by a psychiatrist or a neurologist or a neuropsychiatrist.

And why not just spit on the ground?

I'm usually indoors, and spitting indoors is something that You Should Not Do. If I'm outside, I do it, except everyone sees me and grosses out, my dad doesn't want me to spit on the ground. So I usually get a tissue and spit the hell out on it.

I would love to see a doc about this, but I don't have the chance to, I also can't find any online doctors.

I would call this OCD behavior because its obsessive in nature and you are complused to do it (not meaning you cant, but the most common reply will be to comply). It could also be that you have low self control and you are getting a feeling of relief from anxiety by doing these things (exp you dont need to when not anxious) which could be from numerous different things. Maybe from extreme mood swings (need to curse, anger release, need to release anxiety), You can only guess so much online lol, you should honestly see a professional. Your parents need to grow up by the way, doctors are there for a good reason, you need to go to them when you have a genuine problem, not when you have reached a certain age. I dont see the logic there..

It may be OCD, but the cursing I don't think it's because I am angry. This started randomly, I heard someone cursing something and I started doing that ever since, even though I wasn't angry at all. Even at calm times I do this for no reason, it doesn't really calm me down, I feel angry when I do it. Also I should mention that my parents just don't want to send me to a doctor, they want me to deal with it myself. Some people suggested that this is just an oddity.

The compulsions of people with OCD usually fall into specific categories and serve to alleviate anxiety produced by intrusive, ominous and disturbing thoughts and feelings of something being wrong, whereas the original poster just seems to spit because he is compelled to do so though he doesn't actually want to, which is more on par with Tourette Syndrome.

The tics and vocalizations of those with Tourette Syndrome are not underlaid by the same intentions of those with OCD. People with TS do what they do simply because they have an overwhelming desire to do it though it serves no purpose. Those with vocalizations are compelled to say things they know are inappropriate to say...it's a self fulfilling fear.

People with OCD often worry they will do things they aren't supposed to do, but any compulsions they do associated with this do not act out the object of their fears, but serve to dissipate the intrusive thought and serve as a type of insurance that they won't do it.

You see though the disorders appear superficially similar, they are not so much so under the surface, and though they are both basal ganglia disregulation disorders they affect different parts of the basal ganglia and are thought to have genetically different origins.

It could also be that you have low self control and you are getting a feeling of relief from anxiety by doing these things (exp you dont need to when not anxious) which could be from numerous different things. Maybe from extreme mood swings (need to curse, anger release, need to release anxiety), You can only guess so much online lol, you should honestly see a professional. Your parents need to grow up by the way, doctors are there for a good reason, you need to go to them when you have a genuine problem, not when you have reached a certain age. I dont see the logic there..[/quote]

You guys make a good point there, though I have my doubts on whether it's Tourettes, or just me being weird. I do have some OCD though, needing some stuff to be symmetrical or my eyes will hurt .

Also I spit because I feel something that makes me want to spit, I'm not sure how to say this, I just feel "dirty" in my mouth and need to spit.

I also repeat certain words obsessively, and I believe that is OCD, which strangely, is sometimes followed by some cussing, I'm guessing this is an OCD problem?

I hate when parrents are in denial about their child's suffering....it is really selfish of them
Anyway look up a OCD online questionare fill it out and print if off and show it to them....these kids of tests are good to shock parrents out of denial. If that does not work, go to your school councelor and tell them about how much you suffer from these obsessions with online tests in hand and how your parrents deny what is going on and see if the school can force your parrents to get you seen by a doctor. That has worked for a number of kids with parrents like yours.
Usually the school will sent a social worker over to your house and discuss the issues with your parrents and kinda force them to get you treated.

The reality is that no one knows or will know what is wrong with you. These diagnosises are bought about becuase they vote on them. And they vote whole conditions out of existence as well. Sure you can take any number of medications, none of which have been tested on children or adolescents and they are not evidenced based for treating children or adolescents. The amount of adolescents I know who have been put on medcations because of OCD, which have done nothing for them is just beyond me.

I for one would link them all to Asperger's. Again it depends on how you look at them and that will depend entirely on the doctor or other health professional that you end up seeing. They will label them as they want to label them and no two doctors would give the same diagnosis or the same treatment.

There are NO scientific tests for any of these conditions, it is about what feels right to you. If you agree with what the doctor says you are in luck if you don't you are labelled as lacking insight, even though there is a doctor down the road that agree's with you and not the doctor who did the diangosing!! !

There are equally effective psychological means of dealing with any and all of these problems but the real issue is that you feel there is something wrong with you for doing them. They are not interverring with your life, you are not interferring with other people's lives. What is wrong is that you are being given the impression that you are not "normal" as you are. What is normal. NO ONE is normal, one can be normal as there is no such thing. We all look differently, we all walk, and talk and do everything else differently, we all have foods we like and do not like and we all have things we are good at, and things we are not good at. Part of life is that we are different and we need to be supported and encouraged to be the unique people that we are. We can medicate everyone so that all they do is walk in straight lines and sit quietly, but it hardly helps them to be in the real world, it just makes them zoombies.

A part of AS is lining things up and not coping with things being out of place, not coping with change, etc. You can equally say it is OCD, it is what you want it to be and it can be treated how you want it to be treated. If you want to numb yourself out to the point of barely being able to move then that could be seen as treatment, you can also decide to use psychological therapy to work out why you are doing it, or you can do the most logical thing and that is to try and find less intrusive things to do in public and do what you want when you are alone. Medication side effects can cause a build up of saliva and hence the need to spit more - that is something I have personally gone through. I had never wanted to spit BEFORE I was on that medication, but I simply could not cope with the amount of saliva that was building up in my mouth. There are many stim's that I do at home, but what I do in public is less intrusive, but I will at times tap my leg, or wiggle a finger as my toes are not enough for me. But that is small. I hold materials in my hands and twirl them around and around. I have a compulsive need to touch things, but control that by giving myself something I can touch and can have in my hands. The doctors and psychologists I have working with me at the moment see that as asperger's not OCD. But again others have not seen it that way. I am comfortable with what is happening for me now. I am not hurting other people, never have, and nor am I hurting myself.