What Is Stimming?
Within Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and other developmental services, we often refer to “stimming.” This is short for self-stimulatory behavior, and often involves repetitive actions aimed at regulating the body. Whether you know it or not, this is not exclusive to those with ASD! Most people engage in stimming of some sort, whether it be nail-biting or twirling their hair when they are nervous (Healthline). However, for those with Autism, stimming is usually a bit more obvious but also exists on a spectrum. There are many categories of stimming involving auditory, vocal, tactile, visual, vestibular, olfactory, and full body. Let’s go through them all!
- Auditory stimming: These involve hearing sounds. Examples can include tapping fingers on the table, listening to something repeatedly, or even covering your ears often.
- Vocal stimming: This type of stim entails noises as well, but ones you make yourself. It could be repeating the same word or phrase or making the same sound over and over again. Sometimes it can involve clearing your throat multiple times or coughing and making different sounds.
- Tactile stimming: Tactile refers to the sensation of touch. This version of stimming surrounds feelings on your skin, such as repeatedly rubbing, scratching, or biting the surfaces of your body. It also includes rubbing your hands and skin against objects such as a scratchy surface. This is also the category of “flapping” stims, which many may think of when first hearing the word “stimming,” such as flapping your arms or legs repeatedly.
- Visual stimming: Visual stimming involves behaviors surrounding eyesight. This can be blinking often to see the change of light or staring at a light for long periods of time.
- Vestibular stimming: “Vestibular function” refers to the sense of balance, meaning this type of stimming usually surrounds moving. This includes pacing back-and-forth and twirling around.
- Olfactory stimming: These refer to taste and smell stims. Some individuals with ASD have stims that include sniffing or smelling things/people or licking, chewing, and biting objects.
- Full body stimming: These stims include anything that incorporates the full body into the behavior. An example would be rocking back and forth or flapping the entire body.
Despite stimming being associated with Autism, you may recognize similar coping strategies used to manage your own emotions in different situations. This is because stimming is not something that should be stereotyped and stigmatized, as it is more widely used than you may realize and has positive benefits!
Supporting Stimming
Stimming is meant to support emotional regulation. For someone with Autism, stimming may be done when overstimulated or trying to process unfamiliar information. They may be stimming to reduce anxiety, express frustration, or adapt to a new situation. This is why it can be incredibly harmful to stop someone from stimming and can increase distress, which may lead to even more negative behaviors. When stimming is understood, we can work with kiddos on emotional support and balance while simultaneously building our relationships with them through this acceptance.
Not only this, but allowing people to stim can simultaneously lead to mental health benefits. When you are able to freely self-regulate, you can process emotions and new situations more easily and in a more calming way. It has also been studied that when people have a positive relationship with their identity, their mental health is improved. When people with Autism are not allowed to stim or shamed for it, they are also being shamed for an aspect of their identity, which should never be the case.
What’s important to note about all of these stims is that they are not behaviors that need to be stopped or corrected. The only time Autism Care Partners will intervene is if stims become harmful to the individual, in which case we will provide tools to reduce harm while still allowing our little ones to self-regulate! An example would be providing gloves to kiddos who repeatedly chew on their hands or giving safe objects to bite rather than choking hazards. Our clinicians will also often stim with our learners to show acceptance and encourage pairing. This creates a welcoming environment where little ones feel able to express themselves freely, which opens them up to learning new skills!
ACP will always prioritize the mental health of our learners, as discussed in our interview with Kate Marsh, the Clinical Director at our Framingham, MA center. Through different services and supports, we work closely with both caregivers and our kiddos themselves to ensure that skills are being gained in a positive way and at the pace most comfortable for our learners.
We will always work to support your family through acceptance!
Written by Eden Osiason
