Me

[Jocee]

Hello, I'm Jocee and I am new to this. Hope to have my questions answered.

 

[Rocco]

Welcome aboard! ask away. I suddenly have this urge to go make coffee... nice avatar

 

[Jocee]

Welcome aboard! ask away.

Thank you. Well I have been trying to figure out these things that I do and have been doing since I was a little child. It recently got me more interested after seeing a young teenaged girl, perhaps a preteen, do the same exact thing that I've been doing as a child, a few weeks ago. I'm not diagnosed anything. I've been wondering if I should see a doctor or if I should talk to anyone about it.
The thing that girl did shocked me because I honestly thought I was the only person out there who did it. I surpress it when in public and always have unless I have no control over it, which it happens sometimes.
What I do is, all at once, shut my eyes tightly clench my jaw and I put my hands right over my nose and sometimes I shake just a bit, and wiggle my fingers. It's all done at the same time, often I make a small noise but other times it's silent.
There are other things I do but this in particular is one that I've done for about 19 years now.
I want to know what it is.

 

[Rocco]

It sounds like a "stim" or a tick.
A stim is a body movement or action to relieve stress or for self calming or assurance. That's not an official definition, just my idea

Why do you do this?
How do you feel when you do this?
What's happening when you do this?

I scrunch my nose, play with my fingers, and do other random stims, unconsciously most often, other times for soothing.

 

[photoaddict]

I agree. It definitely sounds like a stim.

As far as whether to see a doctor, that's totally up to you. It's not something that needs treatment or a cure, so it would be more about learning more about yourself than anything else.

 

[Jocee]

Yes, I've read up on that. I can't rember anything from my past but a few things and this is one, I'm not sure why I did it then. Why I do it now is because sometimes I'm overly excited, feeling too many emotions at once, anxious, or sometimes I just do it for nothing.
What I feel when I do this is a sense of calmness. It feels good, like I don't have to worry, or depending on the situation it relaxes me.
What happens when I do this is literally nothing, I don't think of anything at all and I just do it.

 

[Rocco]

My youngest daughter scrunches her entire face in a grimace when scrunching her nose, which is oddly sad and comical at the same time. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are or are not autistic, but it is common for those of us with ASD, to stim in on fashion or another.

 

[Jocee]

I agree. It definitely sounds like a stim.

As far as whether to see a doctor, that's totally up to you. It's not something that needs treatment or a cure, so it would be more about learning more about yourself than anything else.

I know it's something we just do and that there's no cute to it, not that I would want one anyways because this is my way of dealing with things.
I would like to get their view on my personal behaviors. Like you said learning more about myself.

 

[Jocee]

My face scruches as well when I do this. My alternatives to this when in public is, I make my hands ball into fists and let them hang; like how our arms normally dangle as we walk or stand, clench my jaw, hold my breath, and squint my eyes, and my hands give a little tremor.
Sometimes I do the exact same but with a smile that shows my teeth and my hand tremor in front of my body. My fave looks like I'm surprised, haha.

My youngest daughter scrunches her entire face in a grimace when scrunching her nose, which is oddly sad and comical at the same time. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are or are not autistic, but it is common for those of us with ASD, to stim in on fashion or another.[/QUOT

 

[photoaddict]

I've found it's possible to learn quite a lot about yourself, just by reading and asking questions in places like this. I've never actually spoken to a doctor about it for me, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything. Just a personal preference.

I do a good bit of stimming, but most of it goes unnoticed by those around me. Only people who spend a lot of time with me seem to notice and they always seem surprised the first time they actually realize I'm doing it. What's really funny is when my 4 year old starts doing similar things and *everybody* notices, only to look at me and realize I do the same thing. It's like they never saw it, until he did it.

 

[Jocee]

Yes that is true, I'm glad I found this place. I've already started to feel a bit more at ease with myself since I've never spoken to anyone about this really.

Haha of course people would notice your child, he's the center of attention. One of my friends told me she's seem me do one of my stims, hands in front of my nose wiggling my fingers while my eyes are shut and mouth clenched. It caught me by surprise because to my knowledge I've never done it without noticing. Guess I can't control it all the time.

 

[photoaddict]

I can control some of my stims. Others, I can't. If I'm stressed or overloaded enough, they'll actually interrupt regular activity, which is not cool.

I think the reason some people don't notice is that they've known me so long. It's just who I am, in their minds. My most common ones are pretty small motions, like rubbing fingers together. Others, at least one of my parents do, so they think of them as normal behavior.

Generally, the people who notice are super close friends or the occasional boyfriend (most are oblivious). Basically, the ones who spend the most time with me. I don't mind that they go unnoticed because it means no one asks me about them.

 

[Jocee]

I can control some of my stims. Others, I can't. If I'm stressed or overloaded enough, they'll actually interrupt regular activity, which is not cool.

I think the reason some people don't notice is that they've known me so long. It's just who I am, in their minds. My most common ones are pretty small motions, like rubbing fingers together. Others, at least one of my parents do, so they think of them as normal behavior.

Generally, the people who notice are super close friends or the occasional boyfriend (most are oblivious). Basically, the ones who spend the most time with me. I don't mind that they go unnoticed because it means no one asks me about them.

Yeah it's not so cool when they get in your way. But what can we do *shrugs*.
I'm never around people for long periods of time for them to notice because I've always moved around since I was little. I'm 21 now and this is the 3rd state I've lived in. So I guess that's why people don't notice, there's no one around that's known me for so long to tell me.
My friend who told me she's seen me do it before said she thought it was nothing out of the norm and didn't ask about it. She has Turrets and I've notice her ticks but that's not unusual for me to see someone do, as for others they see her as being 'weird.'
I'm happy to know that she views my behaviors as something so normal.

 

[Vanilla]

Welcome

Yes, I agree with the others, it sounds like a stim. As for whether you should get a disgnoses or not, it's entirely up to you. Some people feel a diagnoses can make it more official, and in some cases, it can assist you to obtain special services, should you struggle in certain aspects of life. Otherwise, there are many of us who are simply self-disgnosed, such as myself.

If you would like to learn more about AS. This place is a great place to do so. Feel free to join our discussions, ask questions, and browse our resources section: Autism & Asperger's Resources | AspiesCentral.com

I especially recommend reading this book, as you'll find that the behavioural traits can be different between different genders: Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome | AspiesCentral.com

 

[Sander]

Welcome Jocee!

I'd really wish I could stim in situations, but I can't. That means in stressful or noisy or otherwise bad situations I either get a meltdown or really close to it. It's sucking energy out of me. You might find it weird that you stim. But I think it is an outcome being able to get relaxed or calm down in those situations you need it.

 

[The Penguin]

I try my best to answer when I have something useful to contribute. It nice to meet you.

 

[Alex Bogue]

I'm also brand new. Welcome!

 

[Nadador]

Yeah it's not so cool when they get in your way. But what can we do *shrugs*.
I'm never around people for long periods of time for them to notice because I've always moved around since I was little. I'm 21 now and this is the 3rd state I've lived in. So I guess that's why people don't notice, there's no one around that's known me for so long to tell me.
My friend who told me she's seen me do it before said she thought it was nothing out of the norm and didn't ask about it. She has Turrets and I've notice her ticks but that's not unusual for me to see someone do, as for others they see her as being 'weird.'
I'm happy to know that she views my behaviors as something so normal.

Welcome, Jocee!

Pleased to make your acquaintance. Looks like you're already making connections and getting some good feedback. I'm glad you've found us!

I have Tourette's in addition to my AS, so it's hard for me to know whether I have stims, or just tics. I may have a mild "sniffing" stim. It's the only one of my behaviours that doesn't come with the classic "premonitory urge" of TS, which feels like an "itch" I want to scratch by ticcing. I have learned to control those urges very well over time. I've read of people with AS using the same techniques that work for TS to better manage their stimming, if it feels too involuntary. There is a therapy called CBIT that works well, a few other methods for stopping the tics [or stims] mentally, and tricks for "replacing" one behaviour with another. If you or anybody else is interested in learning about these, I can dig up some information and post it for you. It's just been a while since I've had to refer to any of it, so it may take a couple of days....

 

[apsie]

Welcome to AC, Jocee.

It does sound like a stim rather then a tick, because you have variations in it and for other reasons.
I tend to sway a little, roll my shoulders and squeeze my neck a bit all at the same time.

Another thing that soothes me (I'm not sure it qualifies as a stim) is plucking at everything that shouldn't be there:
Pecks of dust, pieces of skin around my nails, and whatever seems out of place to me.

 

[Cali Cat]

Welcome, Jocee!