Just get a late autism diagnosis but question it because you don’t stim? Maybe you really DO stim but don’t realize just how much. Here’s how to figure all of this out.
I’m a late diagnosed Autistic (middle age!).
I was inspired to cover the topic of stimming in late diagnosed Autistics after reading a thread in which the OP wasn’t sure they were autistic because they didn’t stim.
I immediately thought, “You probably DO but don’t realize it.”
Even just a few years before I began realizing I’m probably on the Spectrum, had someone told me, “You stim a ton,” I would’ve never believed them.
That’s because my idea of stimming in autism revolved around some misconceptions:
- Stimming behaviors are obvious, dramatic or weird by societal standards, such as spinning and arm flapping.
- If more pronounced repetitive movements are done only in private, they don’t qualify as autistic “stimming” because this requires high self-awareness and control.
- If someone nearby can’t see or detect the movements, they’re too small or subtle to meet the criteria for stimming in autism.
As I explored the possibility that I was autistic, I began realizing that for years, I’d been stimming – without ever recognizing that these repetitive movements were the self-stimulatory behaviors of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
I also began realizing that my repetitive movements were very frequent, literally throughout my waking hours, and in fact, since childhood, I HAD to engage in repetitive foot flapping in order to fall asleep.
Stim Happens
Nearly every human being stims. It’s part of being human. It may even be part of existing as any sentient and intelligent animal species, since for instance, dogs and cats can be observed stimming.
I mean, come ON, a dog will chew on a squeezy squeaky toy for prolonged periods. If this isn’t stimming, I don’t know what is.
Thus, the act of self-regulating behavior via repetitive movements isn’t exclusive to ASD.
You can observe a lot of stimming at a gym; men often rapidly bounce a knee in between weightlifting sets.
You’ll see stimming in the waiting room for new fathers at a hospital or among people waiting in court for the judge to call their case.
All of these people can’t be autistic simply because autism isn’t common enough; the CDC estimates that 3% of the population is autistic.
Why don’t you think you stim?
The OP, plus anyone else who says they don’t stim, likely doesn’t recognize this in themselves because it’s on a more subtle or less dynamic nature.
Freepik
Another reason is that their stimming is more socially acceptable, such as finger tapping on a table, hair twirling, knee bouncing and humming.
A third reason is that they’re not aware of the stimming; it occurs subconsciously, such as teeth clicking, toe curling, slight rocking, miscellaneous leg or foot movements and mouth scrunching, among a million other examples.
Yet another reason is that the stimming is done with a socially acceptable or common object such as their keychain, shirt collar (constantly rubbing or nibbling on it), a pen cap or pencil (chewing), or flapping whatever object they happen to be holding such as a small notebook, checkbook, pamphlet, napkin, nail file, paper cup, credit card, tube of lotion, empty water bottle, spoon, and on and on.
Pay Closer Attention to Your Body
I did as I was exploring possible autism. I realized, Dayum, I can’t stay still for two minutes.
I suppress stimming in public, but at home, it’s nearly nonstop movement with some part of my body — and I don’t mean in the form of keeping busy around the house.
In fact, if I’m vacuuming or loading the dishwasher, there’s no room to stim.
But the moment I sit at the computer, before the TV or even walking on my treadmill, there will be stimming – and lots of it.
At red lights, I stim. It’s something I just never gave thought to until I began my autism diagnosis journey. At lights I often do pressure stimming such as bringing my thighs tightly together and holding for a few seconds, then releasing: rinse and repeat.
Do you think you sit still? Think again. If you repeatedly curl or scrunch your toes while seated, this is as much stimming as is aggressive rocking.
The line between repetitive behaviors in NTs and in Autists can be blurry and wide.
But a true test for stimming is for you to 1) identify the movements that you suspect might be stims, and 2) try to go an hour without conducting those movements.
Then ask how difficult was that? How hard was it to go just 10 minutes without those movements?
Remember, stimming is another name for repetitive movements.
Repetitive behaviors can be subtle and invisible to even someone sitting right beside you.
They can be sounds (whistling the same tune over and over, reciting lines from movies all the time, tapping a pen to an empty water bottle).
It can be frequent sniffing of a candle, bar soap, your fingers or your hair.
Stims can be visual: watching fan blades for prolonged periods in a mesmerized state or getting excited upon seeing a fat long ponytail swinging like a pendulum while that person jogs on a treadmill.
I’ve actually gotten on the treadmill behind such a person just to observe that big thick swinging ponytail.
A visual stim could be enjoyment or a trance-like state from spinning a fidget device or observing how light seems to flicker when you flap your hands before your eyes.
Self-stimulatory behavior could be tactile: always wanting to run your hands along walls as you walk inside a building, or needing to frequently stroke a swath of velvet or experience the feel of tearing up paper.
There are oral stims: nibbling on shirt sleeves or collars, pencils, hair, your lip, your cuticles.
Stimming Isn’t just the Proverbial Rocking and Hand Flapping
As you can see, stims can be done in endless ways. They’re done not just for self-regulation, but can be conducted for the joy (in my case, watching a big fat ponytail swing side to side).
And of course, feeling edgy or excited can bring out all sorts of stims.
So before you cast yourself off as a non-stimmer, take inventory of your body movements throughout the day – and include all the senses. Stims can come through all five senses!
