#like im not gonna incessantly click a pen during class while taking a test

[adhdandcomics]

Hello, could I have your opinion on something? I am one of those people who feels like I'm faking everything for attention, so I wanted to know if you think it's a valid stim if like, you started doing it on purpose? Like consciously made the decision 'I will do this because I like how it feels' and then it became habit? My brother has autism and all of his stims are unconscious and he actively dislikes that he does them, so I feel sometimes like I'm doing something wrong/faking/appropriating Real ADHD because I stim consciously and intentionally a lot of the time...

nah dude sometimes i think about stimmimg and do it bc i was thinking about it and suddenly want to- i think anything that makes you feel good or comfortable is valid even if you’re doing it consciously when others do it unconsciously - “stimming” is just a word for self-stimulatory behavior, so everyone does it to some degree! and a lot of the societal pressure of stimming=not good/disruptive behavior is ableism. anyone should be able to stim if they want to! but not everyone has to want to do it or like it, you know?

something that is helpful for one person could be not at all helpful to someone else, and that’s perfectly fine!

and if it’s not hurting you or anyone else i don’t see why anyone shouldn’t be able to do it!

#like im not gonna incessantly click a pen during class while taking a test #but thats just one way to stim! i like audio stims too but i cant do them all the time bc i get annoyed too #i think the important thing to rememeber is ability is super multifaceted and nuanced #something that is helpful for one person could be a detriment to the focus of another #its why the subtitles vs audio debate is dumb for instance. bc different people have different needs #a little off topic #but yeah it doesnt have to be good for everyone to be good for you #answered ask