Talk:Motivation and emotion/Book/2019/Stimming motivation

Conversation: Do you stim?
MissLunaRose says hi Hi, I'm Luna, and I'm autistic. I noticed your work when you added a picture I uploaded, and I wanted to say that this is an excellent project you're working on! Not enough people understand stimming, and with more understanding can come more acceptance and support.

I drew another thing in case it's helpful to you. I'm an active member of the Autistic community online, and I've seen people there talk about stimming. These are some of the reasons that have come up, and they match my personal experience as well. I don't have scientific sources for most of them, but they could be useful from a community perspective standpoint.

I also noticed you're looking for case studies right now. You can use me if you'd like; just tell me what type of information your case studies need and I can supply it. MissLunaRose12 (discuss • contribs) 17:48, 14 October 2019 (UTC)

MissLunaRose attempts to finally answer despite the bot flagging everything she does

If you need another case study, I'm an option. I'm a medium-support autistic woman, currently 23 years old, in college with plenty of disability accommodations to help me get by. If you write my name, you can say that my first name is Luna and my last name is Rose. (It's a pseudonym for online safety.)

Before my autism diagnosis, I didn't know I was stimming. Walking in circles, playing with my USB drive necklace, and other repetitive behaviors were just things I "liked to do." I remember seeing a video of myself rocking back and forth during a surprise birthday celebration and I felt confused about why I did that. Now that I'm diagnosed, I understand my stimming and have embraced it as healthy behavior.*


 * Aside from the excoriation disorder. That I'm trying to redirect to a safer stim.

The other day I was writing code in class and I tried something hoping it would work. (I'd been battling many bugs.) It did work. I waved my hands back and forth in excitement and I felt pleasantly surprised by the discovery. My stimming was a way to express my feelings non-disruptively in class.

I tend to rock back and forth or side to side in class. I'm usually but not always aware I'm doing it. It's especially common when I'm trying to write code, managing frustration and attempting to focus. (In my opinion, people overestimate the intelligence needed in order to write code and underestimate the patience needed to write code.)

I stim more when I am thinking hard. When I am lost in thought, I may rock back and forth, walk in circles counterclockwise, bounce while sitting on an exercise ball which I use as a desk chair, or make other repetitive movements. Moving body, moving mind. My Fitbit says that my heart health is unusually good for my age despite my couch potato tendencies; perhaps the constant stimming played a role in that. (This potato rocks back and forth on the couch.)

I don't really understand self-realization and stimming. I guess you could say that stimming freely is a way to be comfortable in my Autistic identity. I am me, and I stim. It feels good and it helps me focus. I'm glad for it. I wouldn't want to be different because being who I am is good enough.

Here it is if you need it! MissLunaRose12 (discuss • contribs) 18:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

Feedback Hi there, This is a great BC and I have just learnt a whole lot about Stimming. I had never even heard of it! You explained it really comprehensively. In your 'see also' section are the any other BC's on ASD/ autism that could store useful info (just an idea). I really liked the table explaining the neurobiological brain. Cheers, hannah --Brynn Courtney (discuss • contribs) 04:31, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

-- Jtneill - Talk - c 08:10, 23 September 2019 (UTC)

-- Jtneill - Talk - c 03:56, 6 November 2019 (UTC)

-- Jtneill - Talk - c 00:20, 18 November 2019 (UTC)