Stimming vs. Fidgeting: What’s the Difference?
As conversations about neurodiversity become more mainstream, so do the characteristics of certain neurotypes. Learning about autism and ADHD may introduce the idea of fidgeting and stimming, yet in many online resources the two are conflated as essentially the same thing.
In reality they are not, and in today’s blog post I will discuss what is fidgeting and stimming, what is the difference between them and why it's important to delineate them as unique.
What is fidgeting?
Generally speaking, fidgeting can be described as small, repetitive and unconscious movements of hands or feet. These movements can both be done during a period of inattention and a period of focus.
Fidgeting can look like bouncing a leg, tapping fingers against a table, clicking a pen repeatedly, shifting your seating position (crossing and uncrossing your legs, moving from position to position frequently, etc.).
The purpose of fidgeting is to relieve anxiety and stress, regulate your nervous system and help focus on the needed task. By increasing physiological stimuli, attention can be more easily channeled into desired form.
Fidgeting is generally not intense or overly repetitive (as in, there is dedicated attention channeled toward repetition, as it is with autistic folks).
What is stimming?
Self-stimulatory behavior or stimming is typically more intense, repetitive and in the eyes of neurotypical society may be perceived as “atypical” (as this is a neurodivergent affirming space, I will go ahead and call this notion out as unsavory, judgemental and downright oppressive, as the only reason “typical” behavior exists is because of a social constraint for it to be so).
Stimming has historically been associated with autism, and describes behaviors that autistic people themselves qualify as a physiological need, rather than a way of regulating anxiety or relieving stress.
Stimming can look like making repetitive sounds, flapping hands, spinning/twirling/swinging, rocking back and forth, examining an object intensely through touch, listening to a specific song on repeat for hours, etc.
Unlike fidgeting, stimming is done for a wide variety of purposes: physiological and neurobiological regulation, as an expression of excitement and joy, as a way to regulate overwhelming sensations/emotions and as a way to direct attention to a desired place. Stimming encompasses many stimuli: visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, etc.
Why the difference matters
Language always matters; it allows us to capture and describe an experience with clarity. Knowing that fidgeting and stimming are not the same can help us name our experiences appropriately in the moment, and notice where our attention is and why.
More importantly, these terms have historic associations - fidgeting with ADHD and stimming with autism. Stimming has been pathologized by the medical community for decades, resulting in horrific treatment of autistic children and adults (to learn more about this and much more read Loud Hands: Autistic People Speaking).
While social media is normalizing the use of the word stim and stimming, it can cross a line into co-opting language that is important to delineate, name the history of, and specify as to why it is different.
ADHD community has had more voice and representation in our society in comparison to the autism community. It has had more research and funding, which means more education and training for professionals of various kinds. Autism is still very under-researched, largely stigmatized and to many clinical professionals - a “mystery”.
Conflating the two terms can not only be inaccurate and misleading, it can take attention away from particular traits of autism and dilute their purpose and significance for autistic people.
It’s important to note that both autistic and ADHD folks fidget, and both stim. Yet knowing the difference between the terms, as well as historical context and its implications, can help us be better informed as we describe and name our own experience of this world and as we discuss the experiences of others.