Greetings Earthlings! 🙂
This week I’d like to discuss another more unusual autistic behaviour- pebbling.
Ah Aoife, you must be making these up now!
You couldn’t be more wrong!
Before I lose you completely, let me explain.
Pebbling is where an autist spontaneously shows their loved ones affection through thoughtful gestures and tokens. The behaviour is so named as it mimics the act of pebbling in penguins. Gentoo penguins mate for life, so when a male penguin is interested in a female, he will collect, smooth shiny rocks for her as part of the courtship ritual. If she is interested, she will use the pebbles to build a nest to lay eggs in. Here’s a clip of the penguins in action:
Autists often struggle with social interactions and displaying affection, but pebbling can be our way of making up for it. ‘I love you’ isn’t always easy to say, but pebbling does the talking. It’s our way of showing we love you and are thinking about you- a unique form of affection, communication and connection.
Personally, when I heard about pebbling, I immediately identified with it! I’ve been unconsciously pebbling the ones I love my entire life. If I’m out shopping, I will often pick up little trinkets that remind me of my loved ones and their interests, or I might grab their favourite treats to bring home. Other times I might bake their favourite sweets for no reason, or craft them something they might like, or just a simple gesture like offering to do something for them.
This video explains it pretty well:
Not all autists display pebbling behaviours, and pebbling can take various forms, but it’s a pretty cool way to show love to the people you care about 🙂
Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings!
Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Aoife
A Is For Aoife Not Autism 