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.
Hi all
Thank you for posting this. Although I do not suck my thumb I was convinced that I don’t stim. I have seen on here from reading this thread that biting the inside of you cheek and the skin around your nails could be a sign?? In the past I have tried to stop this thinking it was just a bad habit. My wife constantly tells me off for doing this and gets quite annoyed about it. Do you think my compulsion to do this is a form of stimming? I tend to do it when I’m having some downtime and in a relaxed state.
It’s not the same you don’t understand…as a young child my parents tried everything including this they gave me the sucker hoping I’d prefer it guess and I remember it vividly: in the 80’s they had suckers called THUMB FUN made in 1985 google it if you like but my thumb is soft it fits perfectly in the roof of my mouth it’s warm. It’s not the same
I am now 40 and I sucked my thumb well into my early 30’s I’d guess and I’m not sure exactly when, but I did eventually stop. I do know i started when I was 3 or 4 my mom was married to a drunkard, loud abusive man and I would hide under my cover and suck my thumb until the screaming stopped or my mom came to find me. I sucked my thumb through elementary, middle and high school no one knew unless I wanted them to. But I felt very ashamed like I always had a terrible secret just waiting to come out. My parents tried everything to get me stop… nail biter polish, hot sauce…duct taped socks on my little hands, bribed me, begged me but I still continued my mom was frustrated she said I was wrecking my teeth and she used to say she was going to put dog sh!t on it but I never stopped. I grew up got married had 3 children. Through all the years and changes I was still sneaking whenever I could sucking my thumb while watching television, reading or especially to go to sleep. My husband was a alcoholic and was very abusive but he didn’t make a big deal out if it. Eventually we got a divorce, i was 26 by now…the same year I lost my dad to cancer he was only 42. After that I lost custody of my children and started taking prescription pain pills. I struggled a few years with addiction, recovered and the thumb sucking continued. It was constant always there and it was comforting. Now I didn’t so much suck my thumb so much as place in it my mouth with my pointer around my nose and my hand resting on my face. Tjis caused disfigurement of my thumb (to this day it is slightly smaller) mouth, jaw and teeth. This was a huge problem I could not hide and I felt very insecure. So in my late 20s I got teeth fixed and this was the start of the end of my thumb sucking…for one my mouth hurt and for 2 the reason I had to go through all of the pain and embarrassment was the thumb sucking and 3 I had been ckean now a couple of years I was working slot of hours keeping busy and working on myself. The thumb sucking gradually slowed down then stopped all together. I gave t thought about it in years but I sleep on my back now I used to sleep on my belly or in a fetal position with the blanket over my head. I have recently wondered if I am on the spectrum and it just went unnoticed.
I am 35 and I've sucked my thumb since I was in the womb. Literally, they have a sonogram of me sucking!
I sometimes wonder what people think about my thumb sucking, but 80% of the time I just don't care - they can stare if they like that's fine with me. I often (largely) don't notice I am doing it. The only time I stop and think 'this must look odd' is if I am sitting in traffic sucking my thumb, I worry it might be offputting for other drivers, so then I will make an effort to correct my behaviour.
Nobody seems to mind me sucking my thumb really, apart from my sister who sometimes tells me to take it out because she thinks I'm encouraging her children to do it too (they are both natural thumb suckers anyway - regardless of my influence).
I never thought of thumb sucking as a stim but I guess, the way I do it (rhythmically) it probably is. Useful to know!
I am 46 autistic level 2 have always sucked my thumb or index finger and used pacifier to regulate and when I sleep. Not sure if it is stimming to me its a way to sort out the sensory input. But sometimes I just can find my self sucking my thumb or finger anytime. My parents told me I was odd, strange and stupid because of this and said I must be ashamed of it, but I am not since a few weeks back. But have been forced ashamed for my entire life.
I am 21 and I still suck my thumb at night and when I’m stressed or uncomfortable I also get the urge to do so I always thought it was just a really bad habit I’ve quit at Least 3 time in my life and none of them where successful my mom bothers me about because I still do it sometimes when where together watching a movie she always tells me to stop but it just makes me upset but I was also never diagnosed with autism I had a paediatrician as a child who said I had borderland ADD. and a reading and writing comprehension disorder but I was very young i think if I went back now and got retested they would probably give me a more accurate diagnosis
I’m 25 years old and I still suck my thumb. I have never been diagnosed with autism but I have quite a few autistic traits and my mum suggested I might be autistic. I stopped thumb sucking for a bit as a teenager when I got my braces but started up again at some point. I do it at night and whenever I’m watching TV. I just find it so comforting and calming. I am more aware of when I do it in public or in front of people but tbh I don’t really care what strangers think of me.
I’m 25 and I still suck my thumb. I stopped for a bit when I was a teenager when I had braces but I started up again at some point just coz it feels so good and so calming. I’m not sure if I have autism but I do have quite a few autistic traits and my mum suggested I might have autism. I am more aware of when I do it in public but tbh I don’t really care what strangers think of me
How does your thumb sucking cause a big smile if you don't mind me asking?
Yes, we keep doing these things, and people must wonder why don't you just give up, but I don't like hiding it.
Well the sugar would be a problem as I am diabetic and the duration of the sucking would mean I spent twenty thousand pounds a year on lollipops, thank you for your reply, it was appreciated, especially the spirit in which it was meant.
I do the same thing with my bottom lip, and have done for as long as I can remember. In my case, I'll keep on picking to the point that my lip bleeds and becomes sore.
I pick my lip until it bleeds almost. I have always done this and do it everywhere I go. It's a go to urge to counter my stress and depression. I actually can't stop doing it.
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I bite my nails, often until they bleed, it's really annoying and painful. But stopping myself makes me feel uncomfortable
i have a good idea for you.... why not get lollipops?that way you can suck a lolli on the train, which is totally normal, and it will provide that same feel for you.
Oh well, I always feel like I am hiding something when I desist in public, being chicken in some way, but what happens to you at the traffic lights in the ever increasing instances of long queues in motorway traffic?
I personally don't suck my thumb. I do more like picking and playing with my hair all the time especially when my hair is thick and long.
I don't know if this is of any value but I have a cousin who use to suck their thumb right into their teens and early adult years but they are neurotypical and don't have autism so I would say I have heard of it but not within the context of it being stimming behaviour or related to autism just because I knew my cousin did it for years.
I’m 52 and still suck my thumb. I am constantly complemented from my big smile as a result. My family is totally accepting. I don’t do it in public except for in the car. I don’t know how I would get through life without it.
52 and still suck my thumb - a lot. (People compliment my big smile as a result). Also I’m on the spectrum. Family totally accepts it. I don’t do it in public except in our car.