
On Stimming and Autistic Authenticity - barry-cotter
https://thingofthings.wordpress.com/2019/04/24/on-stimming-and-autistic-authenticity/
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kcolford
I don't like the obsession with returning to what's natural. It's deceptive
and totally glosses over the underlying rational for why things are/were a
certain way.

These "stimming" behaviours are better described as "soothing" behaviours.
Yes, some of them stimulate and excite us, but they occur in response to
stress (e.g. loud noises or boredom). Of course you're going to become
depressed when you actively stop yourself from soothing, the stress is just
going to run rampant through you. That doesn't mean you have to embrace them
completely though. You can learn different ways to cope, ones that the less
aware can tolerate better.

That's just my two cents though.

~~~
thanatropism
In the couple months before my first big hypomanic episode (and my mercifully
swift diagnosis), I was experiencing what in retrospect looks like strong
anxiety. But I'd been reading autism/neurodiversity literature and found that
the self-rocking behavior soothed me, specially in public, and enabled me to
be in social situations (even went to a party once).

Foolish 25-year old me though "well, autistic stimming helps me, maybe I have
a touch autism". Ha. \----

Edit: I have a young nephew who's probably gonna have confirmation on an
autism diagnosis in an year or so. Since he spinned so much, I started
spinning with him, either independently or raising him from the ground and
making him fly.

Now I like to spin on my own, late at night, when no one will interrupt me.
Caught it from a kid.

------
Cybernetic
Last year for Halloween, I dressed as Hunter S Thompson (Fear and Loathing
style). I remember being out and people remarking they really liked the
costume, but how well I portrayed him. One person asked, "Are you on ether?" I
replied, "No I'm on the spectrum." My normal body language movement is very
fluid, seldom still. I don't hand flap, but I'm certain I have my own things.
I feel masking will never do anything to change the conversation or raise
awareness. ASD isn't entirely a disability, in fact to myself and likely many
on this site (if you have it), there are aspects that are extraordinary if not
super-human and quite beneficial day-to-day. The conversation about ASD seems
to revolve only around the disabling aspects - expecting people to be
something they are not, because their default mode is 'bad' does nothing to
help.

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wrnr
This is a well-observed phenomenon in the care-industry. After a patient is
diagnosed with a disability there is a danger of overfitting other behavior to
the disease profile. Its called a "second/third order disability" depending on
whether it the patient themself or their environment that is making the claim.

Take Greta Thunberg as an example. Her mother started claiming that her autism
makes her more susceptible to the dangers of climate change. Her detractors
are throwing this back at her, saying this little girl has autism which makes
her susceptible to the global-warming lobby. Neither of these statements is
any help to either side of the cause because they are an ad-hominem
attack/defense.

When I squint my eyes, a lot of this autism awareness looks like identity
politics by other means. Another argument to be made in the everlasting
master-slave dialectic.

~~~
pjc50
> a lot of this autism awareness looks like identity politics by other means.
> Another argument to be made in the everlasting master-slave dialectic.

I'm not really clear what you mean here?

"Identity politics" is what arises when people are treated negatively because
of what they appear to be; they then reclaim this identity that they are
called and try to use it for collective action.

I have no idea what "master-slave dialectic" has to do with any of this?
There's no "slavery".

~~~
vorpalhex
Identity politics is when someone's identity characteristics (gender, race,
etc) are used to assign to them to a characteristic based group instead of an
ideological one. Eg, "Irish Engineers Club" instead of "Socialist-Republic
Engineers Club" (to use an entirely fictional example).

The master-slave dialectic is when one posits two sides as having a master
(dominant, in charge) side and a slave side (subordinate, no control over
their own circumstances). Eg, a CEO and low-level workers.

~~~
SolaceQuantum
_" Identity politics is when someone's identity characteristics (gender, race,
etc) are used to assign to them to a characteristic based group instead of an
ideological one. Eg, "Irish Engineers Club" instead of "Socialist-Republic
Engineers Club" (to use an entirely fictional example)."_

I could see legitimate uses for this, though. For example, there are
definitely medical, legal, and ethical concerns regarding identifying as a
trans person. Such resources such as how to advocate for yourself to recieve
appropriate medical treatment for gender dysphoria, what laws to pay attention
to, what politicians and policy proposals are involved, where to purchase
products, what to say to police, etc. are all very specific to being a trans
person.

I could totally imagine a trans-specific resource pool and community to
discuss shared knowledge. A group as defined by identity affected by political
changes. That might collectively advocate politically based on their identity.
Eg. Medicare for all is great, but will medicare for all cover gender
affirmation?

Similar groups form for couples dealing with infertility and the legal,
emotional, political issues with alternative ways of creating a family.
Adoption is a massive process. IVF often isn't covered by insurance, or if it
is, it's coverage is extremely limited. Surrogacy is also rife with problems
legally. They, too, can form political movements based on their similar
experiences.

~~~
vorpalhex
I wasn't making a value statement that any given ideology is good or bad. I
was simply providing definitions.

~~~
SolaceQuantum
Yes, I understand, I was trying to provide context of why people might be
doing that.

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taneq
Jiggling your leg counts as stimming? Hmmmmm. I do a few of the other things
too...

~~~
scardine
It may come as a surprise, but neurotypical people also show stereotypical
movements (stereotypy is the term used formally in scientific literature for
this behavior).

There is a neural pathway that triggers this to occur in about any human,
under the right circumstances - just watch anyone doing something that demands
deep focus or concentration combined with fine motor skills.

For example, watch a musician or a someone playing videogame and you can
identify motor stereotypical moves in the facial muscles (specially
tongue/mouth/jaw).

The stereotypical moves in autistic persons tend to be very characteristic and
are easy to spot if you have a trained eye.

So don't worry about moving your toes in patterns or jiggling your leg while
you are coding, it is perfectly normal.

------
KONAir
Am I getting this right; he learned to act like an autist, people got mad, he
stopped and now he is observing autists like Kung-fu masters observing cranes
and mantis'to come up with new moves?

~~~
PhasmaFelis
No.

They stimmed naturally as a child; were shamed for it and stopped; eventually
realized that stimming is harmless and helpful to them; and started
consciously allowing themself to do it again, using other autistic people as a
reminder of how to do that.

Edit: Why is this being downvoted? I am factually summarizing the content of
the article. If you don't like the article, don't take it out on me.

~~~
KONAir
This was the answer I needed, I just don't understand or care about the rest
of... whatever is being discussed.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
For the future, you'll get more helpful answers if your questions aren't
snarky and insulting, and if you make a good-faith effort to understand before
assuming the worst.

