Autism ACTUALLY Speaking: What Is Stimming?

Answering a channel question I got last week.

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[insertinterestingnamehere]

somthing that i will do is "playing piano on my fingers" where i "play" songs i know in my head :)

[ThisGirlReviews]

Can you and your partner please do a review of the show "Love on the Spectrum" on Netflix? I think it would be really interesting to hear your thoughts.

[auburneytuckerson]

I was stimming while watching this. Lol! I was rocking. Also, stimming isn't just an anxiety thing. Sometimes, it expresses emotions, satisfy sensory cravings, and calms us.

[wuzittooya]

My stim or “fidget” as it’s called in ADHD is to pace, kinda fast, maybe a few laps. I noted it was really a differentiating behavior when I would do it almost every day, every few minutes unless I was hyper focused on something, but it’d be a way to get rid of pent up anxiety or just express an abundance of a certain emotion, like excitement, sadness, inspiration, or humor!

[raygabrielcanal]

Hey I love your videos. My boyfriend is autistic and he's really the most amazing person that I've ever met in my entire life.💓💓

[Aziracelsus]

Stims have been a source of anxiety for me, as they're major diagnostic criteria for autism and I don't do any of the "typical" stims like rocking, flapping, chewing, spinning. So as a self-dxed I've felt uncomfortable around the topic. But gradually as I have gotten to know more other autistics, I've started to recognize my own personal 'brand' of stims--usually more fine motor actions focused on pressure and texture. The sheer variety and specificity of stims across autistics is pretty neat, imo!
Unrelated, but the whole video I was distracted thinking about the way Nathan pronounces "stim", and whether it's a result of the pin/pen merger of Southern American English or the Northern Cities vowel shift of Great Lakes English (both can be found outside their titular regions)... My guess is the former just based on your background and the nasal consonant following the vowel in "stim", but alas, I only have a special interest in linguistics and not a degree...

[megaady]

I use thumb stones, they are small, flat polished stones than you spin through your fingers. Very quiet and I like the texture so works well for me when out and about without being to obvious

[igirlgeek]

I’ve only just realise that a lot of the things I do would be considered stimming. I knew that I rock back and forth, but I also chew the inside of my cheek, fidget my foot, pull out eyelash and eyebrow hairs (if they’re loose enough to come out, they’re weak and will fall out anyway).

[chillbaby]

what part of the country did you grow up in? just curious as to your dialect imprints. " stemming" "stimming"...is it pronounced stem actually? i would believe this, im so literal with words, then I took a phonetics class in college which just made it harder to deal with my own English language lol

Personal stims:
i do a lot of hair pulling/playing, i lightly rub my arms and legs, or even belly IN PUBLIC PLACES too haha, i rock, and i play with my lips, my feet will sort of caress each other or move back and forth in some way when not standing, i play drums with my fingers on things, this seems to be a more socially disguised stimming action
*some of my stims I never knew I did until I saw myself talking on video!

[HopeHendershot-Moskal]

My son chews on his shirt from time to time. I found giving him a damp washcloth to chew on is a great alternative.

[dejrahbradley]

Great info! The closest example your video reminds me of is when I pace when super anxious. My brain has "malfunctioned, " but I can't appropriately express myself. I pace in oval laps and find the momentum of a certain direction soothing 🤷‍♀️

[DogMemesGalore]

I always have to be fiddling with something and if I’m not my hands are usually doing their own thing.

[hugoyuugo]

I'm about to have my last appointment before I get diagnosed! Or not, who knows...
But lately, I've not being feeling good... When I'm not feeling comfortable, I do some repetitive movements.
It can either be shaking my hand, mostly like a "Maneki Neko", you know the cat in Asian restaurants which is here to greet customers, or classic movements from left to right. It can also be contracting my hand like Thanos or other fiction characters.
I also do it when I get triggered about very bad memories.
And finally, my father used to hate a movement I did with my hands when I was stressed when I was 10 too.
With all of this if I'm not autistic... I would be totally lost.

[robbie_davies]

Me too with the shirts! I destroyed so many shirts I replaced it with blutac and messing with my hair

[lugaruna]

Okay im a bit confused is it stimming or stemming?

[randomkbear]

I Used to chew on my shirt too But my main stims are Vocal Or hand flapping or rocking back and forth

[aspiewithattitude]

Can you balance fidget spinners on your nose?