How do you stop handflapping? Thing is, like I think some other autistics who are still learning about autism I've started to adapt some behaviours that I didn't use to do before but feel very natural to me nonetheless. And now I sometimes handflap when I'm happy and it's cool but I never know how to stop. Abruptly stopping feels just as strange as getting slower. This might be a strange question, but I'm really confused about it, so ... any ideas? XD
The best way to stop yourself from handflapping if you want to is to distract your hands. Find something to fiddle with, or a task that will keep your hands busy. You might also find that applying pressure to your hands might make abruptly stopping feel less strange (such as sitting on your hands for a brief period, or squeezing your hands, squeezing your fingers together).You might also find it helps to concentrate on another part of your body (such as wiggling your toes).It might also help to just not think about it as something you’re actively doing. In situations where you don’t necessarily need to stop handflapping, try to just let yourself handflap and see whether you forget you’re doing it and naturally eventually stop. I handflap and I’m not often aware of the fact I’ve started or stopped (and didn’t realise I handflapped at all until someone else pointed it out to me in adulthood) so that might also help you to feel less strange about stopping.