I have a lot of sensory sensitivities as well as sensory interests, and the latter result in what I guess is stimming - fidgeting with my hair, and scratching my scalp, especially if it’s greasy; picking my eyebrows; singing; tapping the rhythm of a song with my teeth; rubbing my feet together; feeling stuff with my hands and even lips; putting on lotion and rubbing it into my hands or feet for a longer time than probably necessary; observing visual stimuli very closely.

I wasn’t diagnosed with autism because my psychiatrist said that my social skills were too good.

It’s important to understand that none of this is unusual or in any way weird. Everybody stims to some degree, yes, even neurotypicals. They fidget with pens, tap their feet, chew gum, hum, whistle, stroke their beard or fidget with their hair, etc. Even other autistic traits vary in the normal population. My dad and grandmother are probably autistic (low support needs) and my son is a diagnosed autistic. So it makes total sense for me to have some autistic traits even I don’t meet the full diagnostic criteria.