In it’s most simple form, stimming is a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner.
What types of stims are there?
Visual Stims
Flapping hands, blinking and/or moving fingers in front of eyes, staring repetitively at a light, pressing on closed eyes to create visual effect [pressure phosphene], …
Auditory Stims
Snapping fingers, tapping on objects, listening to the same song on a loop, rolling Rs, “cat noises”, repeating words, putting hands over ears, singing, clicking tongue, humming…
Tactile Stims
Scratching, rubbing the skin with one’s hands or with an external object, pinching the skin, putting thumb inside fist, sucking thumb, rubbing hands/feet together, petting preferred textures, tying knots/twirling string, twirling/stroking hair…
Vestibular Stims
Moving body in rhythmic motion, rocking front and back or side-to-side, spinning, pacing, walking in circles, walking on tip-toes, jumping up and down…
Taste Stims
Licking body parts, licking an object…
Smell Stims
Smelling objects or hands, smelling other people…
Rhythmic Stims
Tapping on surfaces/objects/self, clicking fingers, making repetitive vocal sounds, bouncing legs, foot tapping, hand flapping, clicking pens, …
There are a lot of other stims as well that don’t necessarily fall under the category of “repetitive” such as pressure stimming, which are still just as valid. Basically if what you do serves the purpose of the stim, you can call it a stim.
Why do people stim?
People stim for all different kinds of reasons. They may stim when they are happy or excited, when they are stressed, as a part of their normal body language, as a way of communication, as a punishment, as a response to something internal or external, as a compulsion, to focus, to self soothe, etc. Stimming can be a coping mechanism, but it can also be so much more! No matter what reason someone has for stimming though, it’s important to remember that all stims are natural and normal.
Who stims?
Anyone that finds stimming useful, whether consciously or subconsciously, can stim. This includes neurotypicals, but mainly stimming is seen as something that neurodivergent people do and it occurs most frequently in:
Is it possible to become “more autistic”? Why is my child suddenly having more meltdowns? What is autistic burnout? What causes it, and what does it look like in Autistic children and adults? What can you do about it? Answers to all these questions and more in this episode of Ask an Autistic!
In case anyone doesn’t know or wants to know more about autistic burnout, since I have mentioned it a couple of times in the last few days, re: state of myself right now.
Just piping up to correct info re: Stephen Wiltshire. Stephen is best known for his extensive accurate CITYSCAPES, not portraits. If you look at the picture, in the post, you can tell that’s what he’s drawing. (Or, you know, do a basic Google search.)
Also, please don’t erase that Stephen is an AUTISTIC black man. Yes, he is considered a savant, but his talent for drawing is not the totality of his neurotype, nor his identity. People of colour suffer erasure, for DISABLED people of colour, this is doubly so, so please honour Stephen’s achievements by acknowledging this.
I uh, might print these out and make em into dry erase board check lists
is this some kind of funny man practical joke time sketch what the fuck who does NINE THINGS A DAY. who’s cleaning their microwave every week WHO DO YOU THINK I AM push 90% of these things into the “Every year” bracket lmao
Me, reading these lists and lying on my bed covered in five different layers of clothes: unfortunate
sanitize the sink every day what the fuck bish
who the fuck does laundry EVERY DAY?
can someone explain to me the purpose of making your bed?
I’ve been Officially An Adult for two decades now and I have never understood the point of making one’s bed when one isn’t putting on fresh sheets. I mean, unless you require your sheets to be tucked under on the bottom and sides to feel comfortable when you get into bed, in which case by all means do that? But I actually find that super uncomfortable, and if I’m getting into a Neatly Made Bed, I have to pull out the sheets before I can sleep.
Except for “clean dirty dishes” (to which I would add “as needed”), there is nothing on the Every Day list that my husband and I actually do every day. Some of the stuff in the Every Week list we do on those weeks we can; some of them we only do every month. Most of the stuff on the Every 3-6 Months list we only do once a year (and some of it applies to stuff we don’t own).
tl;dr this list is not authoritative and you are not Adulting Wrong if you don’t follow it.
Especially considering people with disabilities and/or mental illnesses LITERALLY may be unable to do that whole list if they want to also, say, eat that day. Never mind work and having time for fun shit so you don’t burn out. And bathing.
This can be a good STARTING POINT to make your own list that fits your own needs and abilities, but if you ain’t doing it exactly the same that is okay and you’re not failing.
As someone with disabilities and mental illness, I find this useful despite the inherent ableism. (If I got a dollar for every ‘helpful’ thing that infantalises me for being unable to do all the things, I’d be able to buy so many Tangles.)
I am in no way, shape or form able to do all of these things with the frequency and regularity the OP suggests, but just having a list of things like this is INCREDIBLY HELPFUL for me.
Both my disabilities and my mental health interfere in a huge way with my executive function. That is, my ability and energy to plan, sequence, carry out and complete tasks. I find it incredibly difficult to know what I’m meant to be doing to keep my environment clean in the first place. Sometimes I can be staring a big pile of stuff in the face and still have no idea what to do. (Strangely enough, if I’m in someone else’s space and they need something done, I often have no trouble at all.) Writing a list like this? Completely beyond me.
So this list is something I can look at when I feel like I should be doing something in my home less obvious than dishes. I can look at and go, “oh, shit, yeah, haven’t mopped the bathroom floor in months” and then I know what I need to do if I want to do that task. And if I don’t, if it can go a little longer, or if something else on the list is more urgent, I don’t have to.
How To Get Yourself Through Autistic Burnout Whilst Poor
I went to the dollar store and Target today, and for SEVEN DOLLARS I kitted myself out with a stim kit.
From Target, I got two puzzles ($1 each), a squishy rubbery ball in a cloth cover to squeeze ($1), and scored a freebie – a rattle/chew that had been dropped by a customer that suited me. (Disclaimer – I looked for a customer with a baby, didn’t find them, the store DID NOT STOCK the item in question, and, having worked for Target, I knew handing it in would land it straight in the bin.)
From the dollar store, I got a pumpkin/witch thing that was leftover from Halloween and the closest I could find to a Koosh in texture ($2), and six tiny eggs of synthetic stone (3 for $1).
The bag at the back was a gift from my mother that she bought in the Pacific Islands whilst on a cruise, so it cost me nothing, PLUS it is a stim toy in itself – the entire thing unzips to a long strand of zip and rezips up to bag shape.
A stim kit that’s gonna save my life, and it cost me $7.
Happy hand flapping to Parachute, a Leverage fanvid. I love the vid itself, but the song is just as pleasurable to me.
Stimming with my only remaining intact Tangle – the new Therapy I just got out of the box the other day. New purchases will have to wait – I’m probably going to put an order in for a range of new ones in two to three months. For now, I’ve got this one and I’m going to do a dollar shop/toy shop/office supply shop run to find a collection of things I can fit in my pocket for under $5. Wish me luck!
Reblogging my own post to try and get the crosspost working.
Happy hand flapping to Parachute, a Leverage fanvid. I love the vid itself, but the song is just as pleasurable to me.
Stimming with my only remaining intact Tangle – the new Therapy I just got out of the box the other day. New purchases will have to wait – I’m probably going to put an order in for a range of new ones in two to three months. For now, I’ve got this one and I’m going to do a dollar shop/toy shop/office supply shop run to find a collection of things I can fit in my pocket for under $5. Wish me luck!
I’m not the only one who finds themselves listening to the same song over and over again because it’s perfect auditory stim, right?
Absolutely. And Hot Chip’s Over and Over is probably the ultimate stim song for me. Also, Teardrop by Massive Attack. I was stimming listening to songs on repeat before I knew what stimming was, before I knew I was autistic.
Shorter vid of me stimming with my hands and my (broken) Tangle Jr Fuzzy. I wasn’t listening to music this time, just trying out my laptop camera for the first time.
Also, attempting a crosspost to DW/LJ for the first time! Wish me luck.
(Actual video is silent, that’s just what I was listening to.)
Stimming with my hands and my (sadly, broken) Tangle Jr Fuzzy. Don’t know if what I do is technically flapping? IDK. It’s a kind of weird movement I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else do, but it feels right. Often both hands, but mostly right handed, as per this. (Left hand is steadying my laptop.)
knitting in the dark 