If there is one part of being on the spectrum that is guaranteed to make you look "disabled" it is stimming.
Stimming is characterised as repetitive movements that are either triggered by anxiety/stress or a need for sensory input. It can be quite soothing. Examples include hand-twisting, hand-flapping, finger-flicking, rocking, humming, or thumping/slapping a part of the body. This is not an exhaustive list.
Something that I have noticed only recently is my tendency to hand-twist when I'm overwhelmed. And yes, it happens in public.
I was waiting by the side of a road, already stressed from navigating a large supermarket and now faced with crossing the road. I was trying to judge the traffic and my hand-twisting became so extreme that a bus driver looked at me and stopped the bus so I could cross, probably because I looked "disabled" and needed assistance getting across the road. Note: city buses do not stop just to let someone cross a road except at traffic lights.
My friends rarely see it as I'm not usually stressed around them. But The Boyfriend has and once I've started it's like I'm locked in a repetitive cycle and will need hands-on support to stop it, such as holding my hands firmly or bear-hugging me.
If I'm on a bus and feel the need for sensory input, I am always extremely tempted to start banging my palms against the window. It's an almost overpowering urge. Maybe it's too quiet. Maybe it's too loud. Maybe my brain is itchy. This action would stop the bus and an ambulance/police would probably be called. So I have to sit on my hands and press my head against the glass instead.
I have a point.
If you see someone making repetitive movements or trying not to make them, don't write them off as stupid or insane. It is serving an important need and we really don't need comments like, 'Look at that retard on the bus.'
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