Autism

I like to pull the corner of my phone case off and snap it back on

There's been a song stuck in my head for as long as I can remember (decades) that only comes out of the recesses of my brain when I'm alone, and I hum it over and over. Usually this is during driving or focusing on coding. Kinda frustrating that I don't even know if it's a real song or just something my brain is doing for fun. (It sounds a bit like the civil war song, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, I guess?) I'm too self-conscious to do it around other people.

Not exactly my favorite, but my most done is biting/peeling my lips.

Stretching is probably my favorite. Like those good ones after waking up

Finding a soft lock of my hair and twirling it around my fingers. Both for the softness and the gentle tugging at my scalp. And as a bonus it's fairly socially acceptable.

As an adult it is a mix of leg jiggling and rubbing my finger nails against my thumbs. As a child I used to tap out rhythms with my heels and toes, much to the chagrin of my teachers and classmates.

• jiggling pectoral or glute muscles (usually to music)
• opening and closing the lid of an inhaler
• grinding the folded tags in clothing
• stroking beard
• peeling top layer of skin off finger nails
• plucking overly long eyebrow hairs

Usually when I notice I'm doing something (stroking my beard or moving my legs are the most common ones) and I have to be discreet, I try to focus on moving my toes

Toys. I have a speedcube and several Transformers by my computer at all times.

Bouncing my foot, rocking, or playing with my hair

Probably shaking my leg slightly, or stretching

Rotate left & right on my desk chair Pacing around my living room puffing on my nicotine vape & talking to myself Stroking my walrus mustace (I blame Jamie Hyneman lol)

Rubbing my head. I keep it buzzed and it’s 👌🏻

When my feet are available for this, such as laying down or dangling, I like to push one down while pushing it up with the other foot, then switching feet.

Thumb to finger taps. I do this often, more when getting nervous. I tap teeth to each other, too, feeling like I'm tapping one top to one bottom at a time. Going all the way around to tap all my teeth. I realized I'm tapping multiple teeth each time, but it's a tap for each pair of teeth.

I'm a leg bouncer.

I also like those toggle switches with the super tactile click. I'll flip one of those back and forth a bunch if I had one on hand.

I like putting pressure on the arch of my feet. (Or where my arch would be as I have extremely flat feet.)

I actually bought a small wooden foot massager for this. As I'm working, I can just put my feet on this and roll them back and forth. I get the sensory input that I'm craving without needing to stop working to find something to press my feet against.

Cat: We wiggle our knees in and out. Feels good.

Rocking, shaking my leg, tapping my finger, watching YouTube even when there’s nothing interesting on.

poppets!

me, a person who's recently begun to suspect i might be autistic:

óoooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

yep.

• Walking/pacing around the room in circles (I do this very often)
• Shaking my legs
• Twirling my hair