Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, I was only recently diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, It was six years ago and only recently have I taken the diagnosis very seriously.
Some sort of enlightenment has dawned but one behaviour I have that may or may not be stimming is thumb sucking, it is usually only something I do asleep, which is where my ego has no control, but, on public transport, which I use but little, I find I want to suck my thumb maybe to reduce stress, and I do feel that people bite their nails or smoke in public so why should I desist?
I know that the wider public considers the habit rather odd in a person of my age but would the enforced discontinuation of it be masking?
When using computers, which I hate, it is also better to suck rather than shout I find.
I have of course repeatedly had the New Year Resolution of I really must stop sucking my thumb many times, except once in about 1998 in Eskdale where I pointedly sucked my thumb at a New Year's Day Party. Is it O.K. to do this, is it stimming or is it just flagrant attention seeking? The fact that I do it more often in private does suggest that it is more than an affectation but another inescapable fact is that it is corrosive to self esteem and that this is not entirely down to negative public reaction.
Some public reaction, funnily enough, was quite supportive, but never it there ever going to be a thumb sucking pride parade unless some toddlers get strangely politically aware.
Well I was just wondering if anyone else here had seen or heard of this as a stimming behaviour? The internet is very wide of course and so I have come across an autistic thumb sucker or two who was an adult, but that maybe nothing to do with autism.
Hmm, aI sucked my index finger as a child, but never as an adult. I prefer to bite and pick all digits!
But, my ex husband used to suck his thumb. He didn’t ever do it in public, but around close family he often would. He isn’t Autistic, but we do suspect he’s ND. (Probable ADHD, dyslexia)
It sounds like the social acceptability thing happened to you, you compromised and moved on to something no less observable like nail biting which is answering I think the same need. There are some statistics on thumb sucking that say around ten percent of adults do it for whatever reasons but you never see them much in public, I tend to come across another very five years or so and I have only known one who had the force of character to do it everywhere and anywhere. The figure of ten percent might be high as the statistics are always voluntary and self reported, some claim that they do it and do not and some will disclaim when they do, but it really must be down to the fact that people do give funny looks and sometimes even laugh or get angry and this is no good if the behaviour is a stim I think. Hiding the behaviour is a form of masking maybe? Which would increase stress.
I keep getting told by medical and psychiatric professionals, oh it's o.k. to do it, so long as it is not in public, which is exactly where I find the most urges to do it. If it's O.k. surely that means anywhere, even a top level business meeting or a world peace conference?
Many Thanks for taking the trouble to reply, I thought that nobody would.
I didn’t compromise. I was a very small child, and my father told me to stop doing it, so I had too. You did what your were told in my house. My finger was calloused, and my front tooth was wonky because of it.
Recent memories surfaced whilst I was analysing myself prior to my assessment, and I remembered that he had also stopped me flicking my fingers, and rocking onto the back of the sofa….
Whats interesting is that his brother is Autistic. He was put into a mental institution when he was 15, and was only diagnosed with Autism about 10 years ago. I think he must be around 60yrs old now. When he visited us when I was a child, he flicked his fingers a lot and rocked violently. Maybe this is why my father told me not to do it; in case I ended up in an institution too?
As for the advice given to you, why should you not do it in public? It’s not hurting anyone else. People will only look. If they laugh, it’s only because they feel unsure and don’t know why you’d do it. It would be nice for someone to come over and ask you, and then you tell them why. Simple.
Oh sorry I did not read his brother right, I saw ...my brother and so I concluded that you were about my age and in fact you must be a lot younger. Non verbal, oh that is a long way from me or you, but a part of the spectrum. I myself was in one of those half way houses and in many ways it was a lot better than my current standard issue one bedroom urban flat. Which is at least the best it could possibly be in a delightful town.
They are a lot better than the wards, but the usual way is to move the residents into independent living, I saw that ruin the recovery of one schizophrenic I knew. Same blind dead state run machine everywhere. With a little luck your Uncle will stay halfway into this world? Or am I assuming too much?
I have two brothers out in the world doing all the over achieving for me.