Silly queston but what IS stimming?

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What is the definition of stimming, in the context of AS?
Why do AS people stim, why the need?
Can stimming be anything? How do you know something qualfies as stimming?

Thanks!

sorry could I just have a quick definition of stimming?

"Stimming", or self-stimulatory behavior, is generally considered to be some (often repetitive) action that helps reassure an Aspie or autistic when the individual feels overwhelmed. Typical stims include "flapping" (which can include any repetitive hand gestures - even my rhythmic knuckle-cracking, of each joint in order, counts as "flapping"), spinning around in a circle, or repeating a given phrase over and over. (Oddly, if you repeat a given phrase while sitting cross-legged, they don't call that "stimming" - suddenly it's a "mantra", and you're "meditating".)

My personal stims also include obsessive reading, and in extreme cases singing the Emerson Lake & Palmer song "Battlefield" (part IV of their "Tarkus" suite). I find the patterns of the music soothing. If things are really bad for me, I might add the last verse from the live version; if depressed, I'll even replace it with Supertramp's "Ruby" (which my family recognizes as a sign to get me the frak out of the situation before I melt down).

As noted, stims tend to soothe one when in an overwhelming situation; so far as I know, no one has yet done an intensive study of the topic. However, I think that the stims may provide a regulated flow of expected information, helping one cope when the incoming data from the outside world has become both unregulated and unexpected, overloading one's mind.

Some autistics, when severely overloaded, even engage in self-injurious behavior, often involving head-ramming. My daughter, when frustrated, has been known to run headlong into walls; my younger sister bites her own hand with sufficient power and frequency that she has a callus from it.

I hadn't heard about this before. So when I sequentially touch each of my fingertips to my thumb over and over it's called "flapping"?

Deacon, thanks for your succinct definition. I think a lot of folks would find that useful.

Some people jiggle their knee. Some (like a friend of mine) hums a little tune to himself. It drives me nuts, because I can just barely make it out, and right when I think I recognize the melody, it turns in a direction I wasn't expecting. Very confusing.

Some stims are so obvious, even NTs go, "uh, oh. He's stimming." Some are so subtle that only family members pick up on it, and sometimes not even then.

But get this: Everyone stims. EVERYONE. NTs, Auties, Aspies. We all have physical manifestations of our inner life. In poker it is called a 'tell'. Our emotions are not as opaque as we'd often like them to be and the very observant can pick up on these more subtle stims.

And a stim doesn't need to be something that is simply repetitive (like jumping or toe-walking or biting or whatever.) It can be more complex. "I'm going out to the garage to work on the car" or "I'm going to cross-stitch for the next 4 hours". Those are two examples from my life. The trick is to find a stim that relaxes you, doesn't distract others, and (hopefully) has other beneficial side effects.

One friend of mine, when stressed out and under pressure, starts running through progressive guitar chords with his left hand while holding a small block of wood like a guitar neck. Consequently, his muscle memory for chords is amazing. It is relaxing and beneficial to other parts of his life. My wife use to gnaw her fingernails off. Now she cross-stitches. Her comment is that, while it isn't quite as soothing as chewing on her fingers, it is healthier for her, and we have a house full of beautiful art work as a side effect. (She also finds pine needles to be therapeutic, which I certainly don't discourage.)

Myself? I write. Which is why my posts are so dang long!

I also do this, among many other things. Each time a digit makes contact, I have to count. If it's five toes making contact while walking, I'll be counting in fives. Tapping out trios, it's threes. Fingers sequentially onto thumb, then thumb onto index; ones.

I've only discovered what I am in the last 5 days, and am still learning a lot about it. Thanks for the definition of stimming.

I've been making a list of my obsessions, and you've reminded me of another that I can add to the list. Thanks!

Here thanks for the example. This sounds like my behavior of nawing on my knuckle to relax and I tend to repeat things and mess with my rings on my hand LOL! Again thanks for the explanation.

Music is my stim!

Whenever I'm overwhelmed with the world, I pop in a CD or pop in my IPod, turn to a favorite song and disconnect.

I also have some of the more "stereotypical" behaviors, more in response to being restless/bored/stressed/nervous (twitching, rocking, flicking fingers, etc.)

I have trouble with the head banging one. It doesn't hurt, but everyone freaks out when I do it.

Astute observation, keen insight. In that perspective, it does make quite a bit of sense.


M.

Same here. I spend 75% of the day typing or drawing with a mouse. When I find myself stressed out, I'll loudly drum out a tune on my desk, which drives my coworkers nuts. Another thing I do is repeat the same words over and over (and it's usually a weird one that gets stuck in my head, playing over and over like a broken record). Today's 'word for the day' is 'glioblastoma' (stuck there after reading about Ted Kennedy's brain tumor). That's just a couple.

whenever i am edgy or bored or maybe just out of habit, i go into my fantasy world and get even with anyone who has been mean to me in the real world.I would like to know is this a form of stym.
I have tried for years to kick off this habit but i can stay without my fantasy world only for a few days.