Questions about stimming...

[SDRSpark]

I rock back and forth or side to side (usually side to side but if I'm listening to music, often back and forth) almost constantly - I have never, ever stopped doing it. When I try it feels like I have to focus all my attention on not rocking and sometimes people have commented on it but most of the time, no one does.

 

[Ezra]

Stimming is an issue with young children because it's an early indicator of autism. Those with significant autism often display repetitive exaggerated movements. When it comes to milder autism, most people display what would commonly be called a "nervous habit".

It often follows that someone learns about autism, reads about stimming and then becomes preoccupied with whether they stim or not and if so what their stim is. "I tap my foot a lot, is that stimming?" When one has autism technically the answer is yes, but at the same time it is also probably just simply a "nervous habit".

If you look up types of nervous habits, you will see a list of what is also being called stimming within the online autism community. Such as:

• Leg shaking
• Taping fingers
• Ear touching obsession
• Rocking
• Fidgety fingers
• Biting your nails
• Grinding and Clenching Your Teeth
• Tapping Your Foot
• Twirling and Touching Your Hair
• Sucking and Chewing on Pens or Pencils

I even found Avoiding Eye Contact listed as a nervous habit.