Autistic Stimming Explained

Autistic stimming explained. Stimming is an important part of how autistic people stay regulated but it's often misunderstood.

I'm explaining:
-what stimming is
-why we stim and how it benefits us
-how I relearned how to stim as a late diagnosed autistic adult

here is a link to all my stuff including:
- Joining my members club The Purple People
-My Amazon wish list
-Ko-Fi - my tip jar
- My merch
- All my socials

[xBananaskinx]

I sing too as a stimming, but for me it has an extra function:
Ever since I was young I tend to have selective mutism, it got a lot better as I got older, but in certain kind of stressful situations it comes back. I use singing to help myself "bring my voice back", as I hear and correct myself, I'll feel able to speak again with others🙌

[lenarsa]

I walk around a lot ... a lot. Maybe that's why I like Donald Duck's uncle Scrooge when I was small. He walks in small circles when thinking hard and wears down the carpet doing it. 😊

[alisonmercieca]

My husband and daughter have autism. The last thing I would do is try to stop their stimming. Not only does it help them, but for right or wrong, I find it fascinating, and it’s part of who they are, and I wouldn’t change them for the world.

[corriehughes]

Great video! I love the perspective from someone who repressed stims and is now finding them again consciously. I have been able to hide my stimming almost my whole life, but have the experience of relief when I find myself alone and don't have to control myself. I find it does lead to me preferring not to be out in public, so I am trying to be my natural self with natural reactions (not masked fakeness) when I am out and about to try and feel more comfortable. It's leading to my digging deep and finding true emotions I never knew were there. Being late diagnosed is a strange state of being!

[rozalinenelhams]

My mum used to stop me from stimming. i just recently started stimming more and its helping a lot.

[sunowl]

I really appreciate you acknowledging smoking as a stim. I also had that realization awhile ago. Aside from being a stim I found it served other purposes such as easing social situations for me. It provided an “out” from overwhelming situations like parties, restaurants, bars, family gatherings. So I could escape for a bit without too much explanation. It also provided an “in” socially, especially working at restaurants or with friends or at bars when I was a bit younger, allowing me to have an instant connection with people without the awkward small talk to start off. So it was really a multipurpose tool in my life that helped me through a lot of social anxiety and awkward situations, allowing me to flow in and out of social situations without hitting the wall or becoming overwhelmed or melting down.

[jessabelvin]

I was diagnosed as a preteen and your videos have helped me tremendously in not being ashamed of who I am! Love you Ella

[annelogston]

By the way, I only just discovered this channel, and being only diagnosed myself two years ago at 59, your channel has become a new refuge and university. Also, purple is my favorite color and I wear it constantly.

[kimberlysanchez]

I completely understand singing the same line and I pace around my house with my finger on my temple in the thinking position and I talk to myself. Thank you for sharing and being so honest, I absolutely love you and your channel

[GLiTCHy_GRaNNie]

When I was in labor with my first child I shook my hands like I was trying to get the blood out. I remember being a little embarrassed cause everyone was staring at me like I was going to turn into a gremlin or something. I didn't know it was stimming but I knew doing it made A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE in how I felt. If I put my hands down I would just shake my head like crazy, like I was saying no over and over. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your journey. Just diagnosed in my 40s and your platform is a gold nugget of info for me right now. Thank you🙏🏾💗

[PostTraumaticVictory]

THE SINGING STIM!!!! Thank you so much for the validation. I cannot stop singing when I’m overloaded or trying to focus 🤣✌🏻

[autonomic_pilot]

I've only recently given myself permission to explore stimming, and I have been running into exactly what you described feeling like it can be too 'deliberate' (I explained it to my therapist using the term 'performative'), and subsequently feeling a kind of ASD imposter syndrome about it, so it's extremely helpful to hear from your perspective that this sense evaporated over time. I think you do a great job being very gentle with yourself, and it comes across in your videos as permission for viewers to do the same for ourselves. I have so much appreciation for that!!!

[damescholar]

Thank you! I am 64 and have discovered my autism only a half a year ago when two persons said (not knowing of each other): have you ever thought you could have ASD or ADHD or both? My son has both but I had though that I am too normal. Then I did the 50-question test and scored 46 of 50 and that made me really think… I searched the net for information and found all kinds of content creators and - recognized that wow, this is me, everything matches! I have done all kinds of stimming, flapping. spinning, pacing (esp in phone because it is a huge stress), repeating words and singing - but only when alone. I sang very much as a child and rocked and flapped and all that but when I went to school it all had to be suppressed. So sad. No wonder I was so anxious and depressed for so many years. But this new realization is a joy even though I do not have an official diagnosis yet, and I love your channel!

[iiserenity]

Thank you for the video! I’m late diagnosed and I’ve been trying to relearn how to stim so I can escape these regular panic meltdowns. This was very informative. 💜

[siljrath]

Love love love love love. Thankyou thankyou thankyou.
Nice confirmation of my own acceptance of stimming.
Almost moved to tears at one point watching this. Tears of joy. :, D

[personalspacemovement]

I'm so grateful to you and other adult autistic creators that are sharing their experiences. It's recently become very apparent that I am autistic. At this point I've haven't been able to pursue professional diagnosis, but there is no doubt in my mind or the minds of family/friends I've spoken to about it. I'm trying to learn as much as I can so I can support myself and these videos really help. I teach movement and breath classes which has both really challenged me (speaking in front of people, socializing) and been a big support (I get to pace around the room, study people, learn about psychology and body language, dance around, practice coordination..) as an autistic person. I'm realizing that I stim A LOT... I tap rhythms with my hands, dance in public spaces, listen to the same song for an entire day, shake my hands, pace, move my fingers like I'm playing an instrument (i am not a musician)- if I'm near water I like to swirl my fingers through it ... and I have sort of unconsciously been teaching stimming techniques in my classes because that's what feels really good for me. Shaking hands, free movement/body shaking, twirling, playing with breath patterns, humming... I wonder if people would find this useful as a video class on it's own? Anyway, lightbulbs. Thank you.

[currybread]

I'm so torn about who I am or am I not. They said to me I have strong traits of autism but I probably can't get a diagnosis. I know for a fact that I've been masking my whole life, I just didn't know not everyone does it.

[ladybug]

I stim by rocking back and forth, humming songless melodies and shaking my hands. And a lot of times they all happen all at once.

[MyASDJourney]

I was 59 when diagnosed ASD. Its been 3.5 years since. I too had to explore stims to understand them too. I tried rocking and found it very soothing and have started to do that subconsciously. I too had a traumatic childhood and learned any "unusual behaviors" were wrong so I lived in self-denial all my life. I too am learning to recognize my childhood and adulthood stims. They became hidden, even to myself such as oral stims and toe/foot stims, joint pressure stims etc. I too was fascinated with rotation such as turning bikes upside down and spinning the wheels, watching the washing machine go through it's cycles. skipping, jumping. Its really sad that autistic children and adults are not comfortable just being who we are.

[MetaGiga]

I’m glad to know that some of the things I do are stims even if they’re not anything like arm flapping. I *do* move my arms up and down slightly while walking and twitch to the left occasionally, but he other ones aren’t as physical.
These stims include:

- Spraying my pillow with with a wintergreen mint concoction I made and smelling it.
- Singing a specific line from Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches. (“Pebbles forgive me, the trees forgive me, so why can’t you forgive me?”)
- *Listening* to Anyone Else But You on loop for an hour.
- Tucking my covers into my mattress tightly and pressing my feet up against them when I get in.
- Putting my hand into the extremely narrow space between my mattress and the wall and feeling the press of it.

Really glad to know it’s just another way of stimming and not being an enigma of nature!