Age 17 and stimming (Hand Flapping)

Post Reply New Topic

Hi,

I have not been diagnosed with autism but I have been tested for it multiple times due to many of my characteristics showing similarities to someone with a diagnosis.

Recently I have been busy trying to cope with my depression and anxiety along with hearing voices and dissociation. However, I have entered a clear patch and it seems to be affecting my autistic tendencies. I am unable to talk to people properly and the issue that's been bothering me the most is that my stimming also seems to have returned. This would be fine, if I had found a "socially acceptable way" (I think nobody should be judged for what they do) of doing so but people at my college already think I'm a deranged lunatic and if I am seen flapping my hands in public I feel like I am going to have everyone against me, and the small number of friends that I've worked so hard to gain will leave me in a flash.

I find that I'm really struggling with finding alternatives to hand flapping and rocking backwards and forwards and I was wondering if any of you guys had any ideas as to how I could cope when suppression of my stims are not an option?

Thank you, I hope you're having a nice day xx

Hannah x

For me, jittering my leg up and down typically does it in public if I'm sitting down, I don't really have issues controlling my hands in public (required by profession, obviously, but if all else fails i just settle them on my belt or in my pockets). That said, I'm aware I have it much more controlled then most, so I imagine it's not that easy.

Thank you, that response means a lot to me because right now I feel like everyone is against me.

I will try that next time

Hannah

I'm also 17, and my main way of stimming is flapping my hands and pacing up and down the room. At home I can stim all I want, every ten seconds or so. But in public I can control myself and not do it at all (although the feeling of restraining myself is very uncomfortable).
Whenever I feel like I desperately need to stim in class, I have found a way to do it discreetly - I wring my hands quietly under the table, or fiddle with a pencil or rubber. For me, learning how to suppress my stimming wasn't an immediate thing that came instantly; it took quite a bit of practice, patience and perseverance, but in the end it paid off.
Oh, and by the way, if the friends you have made dump you simply because you flap your hands, then they are petty and not actually friends at all. True friends will respect you for who you are and always try to understand.

Thank you, that sounds like something that would work for me.

My friends seem to be confused about me but I haven't been able to tell them anything. They say it makes them feel uncomfortable but they do not seem to mind too much and they have stayed by my side.

Same with me for jittering my leg. Most the time when sat down I do that, when standing its often a case of pacing.

I found once nice hand-based stim that is generally overlooked is spinning my pen/pencil between my fingers. It's seen more as a bit of a skill I think, but acts as a nice little stim and motor skill exercise.

I'm 17 and a senior in high school and I still stim by hand flapping. But it's way less now then when I was little. But I still do it. And I also get stuff like strings and selves or clothes and wiggle them around my hand and fingers. But I usually try to hide it from my grandma which is who I live because she always get's on to me for it and takes it away from or makes me throw it away.

(Sorry about any mistakes english is not my first language).
I'm also 17 and i have problems with wat to do with my arms , some people already seen me in weird positions in my course and its not so bad , its hust weird in the moment, but holding a coin helped me a lot, i don't know if is actually efective bu it worked for me.

[/quote]

Agreed. Also, if you need to, switch legs for jittering if one leg is getting tired. For standing up (This might be weird but hear me out) slowly move your hip side to side, not too fast where people will notice you weirdly. Also too, idk if people will look at you weird(it hasn't happened to me yet. Highly doubt it) play with your hair, just only twirling it. To me, it helps with my concentration. This also might help with the hand flapping. The minimal amount of people around you noticing your traits the better.

I engage in stimming as well. I find a hanger or another thin object and then I start flicking it up and down. It feels good. I've been doing it since I was 3 years old.

I don't know if could help try other way. I often draw in the workbook, wring strings, play with pen or with what I have at hand. Something to squeeze is too calming for me.

Buy a fidget toy, rub your fingers together, play with your hair, bounce your legs. If you really have to stim, run to the bathroom and flap your hands all over the place until you feel better, and then return to class.

I'm 14 years old, yet to this day I still constantly swing broken bead necklaces. It just fells good. I often do it when I am thinking about one of my special interests. I still even do it in public, but I try to hide it from other people. In fact, despite being diagnosed at 8 or 9 years old as requiring very substantial support (level 3) in both social communication deficits and restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior (but the doctor said I technically had what would have been diagnosed as Asperger's), my only symptoms that are even noticeable now are my special interests and stimming. So, you're not alone. As for alternatives, I really don't know many, mainly because I stim a lot and I my mind refuses to think of any alternatives. I was just trying to let anyone who sees this post know that they are not alone. Sorry if I had any run-on sentences, I just had a lot to say.

Hi, I stim a little bit as well! Mainly rocking or hand flapping but I often jig my leg up and down continually and sometimes finger flicking. Good luck!

Oops - you are new here. Welcome! Nice to meet you too!

You can chew the gum,it's good for you.