Hi, my name is Stephanie, and today, I'm going to be talking to you about stimming.
So, what is stimming?
Apparently, it's called "self-stimulatory behavior," which is why stimming is a lot
easier of a way to say it.
But basically, it's a way that people can kind of help themselves regulate their emotions
or what's kind of happening on the inside.
Now this is not something that is only, you know, people who have Asperger's or Autism
do.
This is something that really every day people do anyway.
Stimming technically is supposed to apply to those things that aren't as socially acceptable.
However, something like twirling your hair and, you know, like, pulling on it, or maybe
biting your fingernails, or tapping your foot, ... shaking your leg - those kind of things
- and even like mild rocking, every once in awhile, sometimes, people do that.
Those kind of things are stims.
Now, I'm not saying that everybody actually stims like someone who is ... on the spectrum.
But I just wanted to kind of help you relate to what this is, what this behavior is, and
help you understand that it's just like the same thing you probably do when you're nervous.
So to really be considered a stim, people would technically put it under something that's
not really as socially acceptable.
So, if you saw my previous video where I talked about being diagnosed with high-functioning
autism, or Asperger's, I showed you one of my stims, which this is called finger flicking,
or something to that effect.
... There's also what they call hand flapping, which can be ... various things.
It could be like this, or like this.
Really just anything that you do with your hands that kind of seems like flapping.
... That's like hand flapping.
This is finger flicking.
... When you're rocking either, like - sometimes I do this just 'cause I like - My hair's gonna
like, completely mess up because I did that.
- the feeling from my ears.
And it helps me calm down.
A lot of people do the back and forth rocking.
Another kind of stim is also vocal stimming.
So, ... this is one of those things that can throw people off and people who might be further
on the spectrum who aren't as good at keeping their stims maybe to themselves or knowing
that in public situations we don't want to do these things ... You know, they don't know.
And it's also just something that's helping them.
So, I know when I was younger, I didn't understand autism at all.
I didn't.
No one really talked about it, no one really explained it.
We knew that people had "special needs," and that's all we were told.
We weren't really informed about these things.
And, you know, lo and behold, I didn't even know that I was technically on the spectrum.
... Because, you know, as someone who's high functioning and would be more considered Asperger's,
Iook around at people and I see how they act and I tend to follow that.
And sometimes I, like, pick up people's weird stuff that they do, which is kind of annoying,
'cause it just adds to the weird things that I do.
I'm able to notice when something's very out of the ordinary.
I know we don't randomly scream for no reason, right?
Especially for children, a lot of them will scream a lot because they can't really, like,
understand what's happening and they can't - they're trying to bring it back into like
a regulation, and it's hard.
And they don't know what's happening.
They don't know how to communicate.
And they'll be screaming and people are like "what is going on?"
Or like making sounds like "nt" or like *clicking noises* or like weird things that people might
consider ticks.
... Sounds.
So not just movements, not just like this, they might make sounds that are kind of disturbing
to you 'cause you're not used to hearing someone, like, make a weird sound or sound like they're
in distress and you don't know what's wrong with them.
Why are they making this sound?
But there's nothing really wrong with them, they just are trying to regulate what's going
on on the inside.
And they don't have maybe the same kind of resources you do for calming yourself down.
They have to work a little harder because things are more overwhelming.
So, I just wanted to kind of talk about stimming, why do we stim, what kind of stims are, because,
really, everyone stims a little bit, ... just people on the spectrum stim more often.
So, they might get excited about something and be clapping or just doing something ... For
me, even spinning.
And these things aren't necessarily socially acceptable, to like, spin in circles or to
flick your fingers where people can see, or ... to pull too hard on your hair.
... Stuff like that, just because you're not used to it, you might think like, "Oh, something
is wrong with them."
They're just doing the same thing you do when you tap your foot or when you rock yourself
back and forth a little bit or when you shake your leg or bite your fingernails.
These are just kind of like those things.
And they just look more drastic and strange to you because we just experience the things
that make you bite your fingernails more often.
And a lot of the times, it's not just associated with being nervous, but with being excited,
with being, you know, really focused on something and really wanting to ... it's just really
- it's hard to explain.
But it's like almost anything in an extreme.
So, really sad, really scared, really uncomfortable, really excited, really happy, looking forward
to something, really thinking about something cool.
Those kind of things can really cause all this emotion to come up and it's ... trying
to control that emotion and bring it back down.
So that's all it's doing.
It's the same thing that you do, just a little bit more because we experience those things
a little bit more than you do.
Now, it can seem kind of strange sometimes that people on the spectrum can make their
own noises or kind of do their own things and still be shocked and or annoyed by sounds
and things that ... people are doing.
It's just that way.
Making that sound, maybe, making that sound or doing that thing helps the person, but
like hearing an annoying sound is really annoying and can just grate on them so much.
It's just - it's really strange, it's just kind of how it works.
But it's not something to like isolate people for or be afraid of.
Like, just because someone, you know, does finger flicking or someone makes ... strange
noises doesn't mean that they're just a complete wackadoo and they're not trying to be annoying
to you.
I think it's important for us to understand and know that a lot of these things aren't
like creepy, weird things, like "Why is this person such a wackjob?"
It's not about that.
You don't understand why people are doing what they're doing, and that it actually helps
them.
And so to, like, just look at someone and think they're just trying to annoy you or
be weird on purpose - that's not the case.
They're just trying to calm down what's going on inside and they're not always really ... conscious
of what's happening.
It's almost like there's a storm building.
And for me, sometimes, that storm builds and I don't really quite understand why it's happening
or what's going on, but I just know that there's a storm.
And so, I'm sure, ... people further on the spectrum in another direction might feel like
that and not be able to put it into words.
And a lot of times when we feel overwhelmed, it's hard to speak.
I hope that you would understand that, really, stims aren't some creepy, weird, crazy thing
and it's not a bad thing.
It's not a thing to shame or anything like that.
And you probably stim a little bit, too.
So, if this video helped you in any way, or helped you relate, or helped you understand
a little bit of what people on the spectrum do and why they do it, I hope that you would
give it a thumbs up for this video.
If you haven't subscribed to me, I would hope you would do that.
I actually put out videos every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
And, I hope to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Have you ever experienced this?
Do you stim?
Do you stim a lot?
Are you on the spectrum?
Do you have someone in your life who stims?
And ... do you just do little stims, like maybe playing with your hair or something
to kind of - some people will even call them coping ... mechanisms.
Stuff like that.
Do you do that?
I want to hear about it in the comments below.
I hope that you have a wonderful week and look forward to my next video.
Bye!