The Little Book of Autism (And Other Neurodivergencies)

Stimming

So it's one of my favourite topics, stimming! I'm just infodumping and calling it a chapter, because stimming is very dear to me and I love it very much.

So what is stimming, you may be wondering? It's short for self-stimulatory behaviour, but everyone just shortens it to stimming or stims. What that means is, when autistics or neurodivergents are stressed, happy, understimulated, overstimulated, need to focus, they'll stimulate themselves in ways that make them feel good or help them cope.
There are different kinds of stims, and a lot of us don't even realize we're stimming. There's mainly auditory, visual, smells, textures and body stims, but going through all the different kinds will take ages, so I'm going to describe a few and give some examples of when one might stim.

Auditory stims are pretty obvious- it's about sounds. For example, I work better when listening to music, or I have YouTube on in the background. It stimulates my brain, it lifts my mood- for example, I could do the dishes without music, but I'll be cranky about it.
Similarly, some people have vocal stims; they make noises, hum, squeal, sing and repeat certain words or phrases.

Some people like certain smells, sometimes for different things- like jasmine or lavender for relaxation, mint or citrus to wake up, etc. There are special bracelets and necklaces for this! They have lava beads, a kind of holey stone that holds essential oils, meaning they can rub some oils into them and smell the bracelet throughout the day. There are also roller bottles to rub some onto your wrists and sniff that. Don't use roller bottles without a carrier oil, make sure you're not allergic to the oils, and make sure the oils are skin safe if you use a lava bead bracelet!

Then there's visual stimming! This kind usually comes in GIFs/videos or stim toys, and there's all different types. Some people without access to stim toys like fidget spinners, cubes, slimes and other toys will be satisfied with a video of others using them. Others, like me, like watching people do calligraphy, watercolours (it looks so cool when the colour spreads out), water (waves and stuff), all kinds of things! Look up stim gifs, you'll get it pretty fast.

Then there's other sensory stims, like playing with slime, chewing on things, pressing your teeth together, sucking on thumbs/fingers, touching different materials or textured objects and fiddling in general. These kinds of stims are helpful when I'm struggling to pay attention, although it varies depending on the person. You can also gather them in little bags for emergencies, as I'll probably show in the next chapter.

Then there's my personal favourite, body stims! These include flapping, bouncing, jumping, rocking, clapping, hitting your head, leg bouncing/tapping, swinging your legs, swaying, spinning, toe wriggling and many more! I usually do these when happy or to cope with sensory overload.
There are so many different kinds of stims and reasons people stim out there!

If you're neurotypical, and you still don't understand why, think of the way you feel when you've had too many energy drinks- you get full of energy, you need to move. Or when you're nervous and scared in a crowded place. When you can't pay attention in class or at work.
That's a normal day for a lot of us. We need to have something else, or leave, or we cannot cope and experience sensory overload where everything is too loud, or the lights are too bright, or people are too close, or the smells are too strong, or a combination of these things. It can lead to a shutdown or a meltdown, which is as unpleasant for us as it can be for you to witness or deal with- even more so, in my opinion. Often enough we don't have someone to help us through it, especially in public. Neurotypicals do not, and likely cannot understand what it is like to be neurodiverse, and what sensory overload, shutdowns and meltdowns are like to experience.

If you notice your friend stimming, don't judge them for it- just let them be, don't look at them weird, and continue on. Half the time we don't even realize we're doing it!

Have a lovely day, stim freely if you're comfortable doing it in public, don't judge people who are stimming, and stay safe if you attend the protests or your city/country is still being affected by Covid. Later!