Tag: stimming

We’ll be stimming…
When we’re gymming….
*90s rock chords*

Got to the gym today for the first time since the New Year. Autistic burnout has tanked my immune system, so I got a summer cold two weeks before Christmas, and then I had a persistent cough until about a week ago. Then this last week has been the hottest of the summer so far.

Mum and @kath-ballantyne were going swimming, so I figured I should get back into things, too. Had a pretty bad anxiety attack while I was getting dressed, but I pushed through, reminding myself I’d burn off the adrenaline once I got there.

Got on a treadmill with my headphones and my Tangle Therapy, knowing I’d need something besides music today. I held my Tangle in my right hand and stimmed a bunch with it as I worked out, and no one gave me any shit.

Did 5km mostly at 6.5kph, with a couple of slow songs at 6.0kph and a fast bit at 7.0kph at the end because my ride was waiting for me in the carpark from about 4.8k. 🙂

Today’s music: The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Today’s weight: 71.8kg

New flavour of protein shake, which tastes… almost identical to the last flavour. Just as well I don’t mind it.

Stimming!

theunpuzzledproject:

fabulousfidgets:

homojabi:

What is stimming?

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:

  • the autism spectrum
  • sensory processing disorder (SPD)
  • Tourette’s
  • schizophrenia
  • OCD
  • people that experience mania/hypomania
  • people with ADHD/ADD
  • people with anxiety
  • etc

Where can I find stim toys/jewelry?

Also my shop, FabulousFidgets.etsy.com

They are designed and made by me, an autistic.

Thanks, @fabulousfidgets, we are reblogging again to add you to the post! 🙂

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.

iamshadow21:

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!

hayamika:

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.

Soundtrack: Over and Over – Hot Chip (possibly the stimmiest song ever)

(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.)