I Love Stimming

My name's Alaric, and I'm OBSESSED with stimming and stim toys. 

[colormush]

[medpositive]

slime/glow themed Ralph stimboard for @truly-scummy-rat​

x x x 

[medpositive]

please reblog if you are a transmed safe blog 

i am compiling a list of stim/mlm/positivity blogs that are safe for transmeds to interact with. if you are a discourse blog you can rb to spread, but i won’t put you on the list.

[colormush]

[colormush]

[autisticdrift]

signs of a shutdown in autistic people

Becoming less verbal or nonverbal

Looking “spaced out” or detached from what’s happening 

Withdrawing, not wanting to be around people

Curling up in the fetal position

Hiding out under furniture, blankets, etc. 

And no, person observing above-mentioned signs, there’s nothing you can do to help. Except go away.

[gynoidgearhead]

The “go away” bit is good for making a point, since it points out that not intervening is better than trying to intervene and making things worse. That said - some things drawn from my own experience:

As a few other posters have said, if the person shutting down is in a crowded, noisy, or otherwise threatening place, remove them to somewhere calmer and safer. Be gentle, since physical contact can make sensory overload worse.

Try not to ask too many difficult questions (and please do not ask them anything that could wait until later). Being in a shut down often makes executive dysfunction or language processing issues worse; even simple yes-or-no questions can be difficult to handle, either because it is frustrating to process the words, or to make a decision. Do not assume that they haven’t heard you if they don’t respond immediately.

I, personally, tend to be more prone to withdrawing or becoming irritable when I haven’t had food lately. If you know the person in question well enough to evaluate this, take this into consideration. The one question that’s always welcome to me is “do you want food?”. Not “have you eaten lately?” (requires memory + categorization), and not “what can I get you?” (requires decision making).

Most importantly: Do not trivialize or try to blame them for what is happening. This is severely damaging toward trust, and if an autistic person has a bad experience with you while they’re experiencing a meltdown or other episode, they may no longer feel safe around you. Your presence may make a subsequent episode worse if they have a bad history with you. If you suspect you’re not capable of responding apffpropriately (and if you are neurotypical and don’t know the person in question very well, you are in this category by default!), it is a wiser choice to leave.

[euryale-dreams-deactivated20201]

By far the most important thing you can do to support an autistic friend who is having a shutdown is to have talked with this person before they experience a shutdown so that you have a plan in place and both of you understand what to expect in case of emergency. Do this when you both feel emotionally safe. Discuss your plans on a regular basis to reinforce your own preparedness and to reinforce a sense of predictability and security in your friend.

Basically, treat your friend like a human being rather than as a generic cluster of symptoms. Don’t interact with them in a way that is dictated by their diagnosis. Instead, ask them what they need from you, as an individual.

[astudyintransience]

also some indicators that an autistic person is shutting down:

signs that their auditory processing isn’t working as well as it typically does, including frequently asking for things to be repeated for clarification (obviously the context matters with this one–if this is in a loud room or a room with several noises going on at once/if it’s a situation where most people would do this, then it’s likely not a sign of a shutdown, especially if no other signs are present)

not being able to give clear answers (ex. more frequent use of “i don’t know/care/understand”)

more difficulty processing what they’re seeing than is usual (can’t think of indicators of this)

having a harder time/not being able to read

basically anything indicating that their processing isn’t working as well as usual

obvious signs of increased anxiety/distress (rapid stimming, concerning expressions–looking expressionless, teary, angry, and/or frustrated, getting easily frustrated, unusual tone of voice/speech patterns)

most of these are signs i (sometimes) recognize in myself when i’m close to shutting down

and it’s important to remember that a couple of these doesn’t necessarily mean someone is shutting down, especially considering these should be changes and not just what’s typical for the person in question (ex. having constant problems processing audio)

some people also have individualized indicators, which you can find out by (as the previous commenter suggested) talking to/asking them

and if an autistic person tells you that they’re close to a shutdown or meltdown and they need something (to be somewhere with less stimulation, food/liquids, something to stim with, etc.) but they aren’t showing any signs of it, believe them anyway

some of us are very good at hiding these signs (sometimes without even realizing it) for the sake of passing as neurotypical (even if the situation doesn’t call for that), and taking our word for it/listing to us in order to help us through a shutdown or meltdown is the best thing you can do in these situations

[autistics-speak]

For me a flat affect/not emoting “appropriately” in face or voice is an early warning sign that I’m overloading and may be shutting down, often before I even notice it myself. If someone who knows me notices and asks if I’m shutting down that can be really helpful to me, as once I realize what’s going on it’s less difficult to identify what I need to do to handle it.

[peachy-bunster]

Visit Original Link

[moist-astronaut]

Send help I’ve been laughing for 15 minutes the internet killed my sense of humor

[mildlydisconcertingsparrowhawk]

I was expecting exactly that and was not disappointed

[sensoryshark]

looking for stim blogs to follow!

like or reblog this with your stim blog and I'll check it out! (this is a side blog, so I'll follow with my main)

[hellokittystims]

Transmed safe, anyone can interact, no discourse, etc. stim blogs.

Not all of these accounts are anyone can interact! Some have DNIs but not all of them. Please check them out a bit before interacting.

Let me know if there are any blogs on this list that you think shouldn’t be on here.

eyeheartstims - x

stimmythings - x

alienstims - x

doestimmy - x

owostims - x

calmandrelaxing - x

stimminghappy - x

all-satisfying - x

foodlewd - x

taurus-stims - x

stim-bored - x

glowstim - x

soothifying-sounds-asmr - x

felinestims - x

cafejiu - x

strawberry-stim - x

stim-666 - x

sunshinestims - x

sys-stim-error - x

colormush - x

tru-stim - x

princesslime - x

pastelstarflower - x

monstercat-stims - x

shadowrat-stims - x

downtownstims - x

spencestims - x

stimmy-goblin - x

cloudversestims - x

fluffygif - x

localstimdealers - x

primarina-stims - x

fuzzy-stims - x

the-most-stim - x

sun-moon-star-stims - x

ndcupid - x

oceanside-stim - x

stimman4000 - x

stimman3000 - x

stimmingsensation - x

coconutricecat - x

slimy-fags - x

good-feels-good-deals - x

spyrogif - x

stimmyskywishes - x

[i-love-stim]

Rebloging for anyone who might need it. I also don't have ANY DNIs, as I believe that everyone should be able to enjoy stimming posts on Tumblr.

[stimspace]

scenecore

x x x | x x x | x x x

requests are open!

[colormush]

[i-love-stim]

My brain Every time I see one of these: Ooooooohhhh pretty colors

[byebyesunflowerrrr]

💗 | sillysquishies

Credit if using.

[spongebob-autisticquestions]

Nobody should be made to feel bad for being autistic

[dnd-apothecary]

20DiceTeen Giveaway!

That’s right, Travelers! We’re kicking 20DiceTeen off in style!

From January 7th through February 28th, 11:59 pm Central Time, you can enter for a chance to win some goodies!

There will be three (3) tiers of prizes available, with a total of nine (9) winners.

Bronze Tier; Five (5) Winners:

Two small (1.8 oz) soaps from the Apothecary Shop ($16 value) in an exclusive, Giveaway-only fragrance

Silver Tier; Three (3) Winners

A large (16 oz) candle from the Apothecary Shop, in an exclusive Giveaway-only fragrance

A large (3.6 oz) soap from the Apothecary Shop, in an exclusive Giveaway-only fragrance.

Optional, additional prize: a 3 card Yearly Overview Tarot reading from @tilthedayidice

Gold Tier; One (1) Winner

A Bag of Devouring: 20 full sets of standard size, 7-piece polyhedral dice from Wiz Dice

A Dungeons and Dragons rule book, winner’s choice!

Optional, additional prize: a 12 card, comprehensive Yearly Overview Tarot reading from @tilthedayidice

Rules

Open to the United States only. (Sorry, I know it blows.)

You must be following BOTH @tilthedayidice and @dnd-apothecary to be entered into the giveaway! (Yes we will check!)

No giveaway blogs please! If you follow from a main or sideblog, please tag your post with what your blog is so we can check!

1 Like = 1 Entry, 1 Reblog = 1 Entry. Reblog as many times as you please, just be mindful of your followers and don’t spam them!

[dogsstims]

Reminder

If a stim you’re doing is harmful please replace it with a different stim. Your health and safety is important.

[posi-pan]

[Image Description: a photoset of nine images. From left to right, the top three images are; green shaving cream. White text that reads, “autistic is not a bad word” on a purple background. Black text that reads, “I’m an ace panromantic. get it? I’m an awesome asexual panromantic.” on a blue background. From left to right, the middle three images are; a blue slush with a white plastic spoon in it. Watermelon, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe balls. Clear slime on a grey surface. From left to right, the bottom three images are; white text that reads, “flappy hands = happy hands” on a faded red background. White text that reads, “support lgbtqia+ autistic people” on a yellow background. Pink fuzzy fabric. End Description.]

panromantic asexual no people/autistic/stimmy/colorful moodbaord for anon

[ink-and-daggers]

I might do a few more of these but less regularly. Here are all of them :)

[ink-and-daggers]

I just started a new one of these… Still like getting ideas, though I’m too busy to do them often.

[lgbtqi-support-equality]

<3