Stimming

Stimming

The word stim is short for self-stimulation. Stimming is the process of a repetitive behavior. We all stim to one degree or another. We tap our foot, tap a pencil, twist our hair, pick at our cuticles, rocking. What is different about the type of stimming that children with autism do, is the excessive amount or degree with which they do it.

Stimming helps block out excessive sensory stimulus, or it may provide extra sensory stimulus.  It may help manage emotions (this may be for the detriment or the benefit of the child/adult) thus emotions or difficult

situations may lead to an increase in stimming. Some stims serve the purpose of comforting or soothing.

Stimming, when done with boundaries, should be allowed and considered normal. There are times when stimming should be limited or an alternative stim should be found as a replacement.

We use all of our senses to interpret the world. When we walk into a room, we use sound, a kind of sonar, to determine the size of the room, the furniture placement, and our relationship to the room, how quiet or noisy the room is. We use visual see how many people are in the room, were furniture placement is, etc. Taste, tactile, all help us interpret the world around us. Our senses do this for us automatically without us being stimming                      conscious of this.

 A child with autism or sensory processing disorder, their senses and brain do not work in the same way. Their senses take in the information, but the brain does not process the information, or doesn't process it correctly. For example, some children, when they walk into a room, their auditory doesn't automatically tell them, through sonar, where they are in relationship to the size of the room or the location of the furniture. These children then immediately feel unsafe and uncomfortable, since they cannot place themselves in a new location. To feel safe, they will then need to adapt, they do this by running around the room to get a *feel* for the size of it and location of furniture. They will often start screaming to let their brain get a sonar picture as well, similar to what dolphins do.

Stimming, just like OCD, starts in the brain and the part of the brain that is in operation, has the neurons fire repeatedly. When this part of the brain is in operation, then other parts of the brain are not in use. When a child is stimming excessively, or for example, they are flapping their hands in front of their face for 30 minutes or more, they are not able to take in visual stimulus around them.  This limits their brains ability to take in visual information and then interpret the environment around them. In this way, stimming gets in the way of their ability to learn from their environment.

Excessive stimming also prevents other parts of the brain from developing. This is especially critical in childhood when the brain is still developing and learning and growing.  When large amounts of time are devoted to stimming, then that time cannot be used to interpret the environment, to learn new things such as reading or math, and only that part of the brain devoted to the stimming is being developed at the expense of other parts of the brain.

There are stims that are also harmful, either to the child or to others, or create a maladaptive environment. A child who bites themselves, pulls their hair out, are examples of bringing harm to themselves. A child who screams in a classrooms inhibits the learning environment for the other students and creates agitation in the other students and teachers. Any stim that is self-harming or harming to others should be limited and an alternative stim should be actively found.

Stims that are done to excess should also be limited, as this prevents healthy brain development in the child. Stims can be used to motivate the child to finish their work, can be used as a reward and should be limited. 

For example, a child who needs to flip a rubber band on their wrist, they can be given the rubber band after they finish a school assignment, for following the rules, after they eat, or when they are being quiet in their room. In this way, they still have access to the stim, but on a limited basis.

It's important to remember that the stim provides a vital role for the child and should not be eliminated, just boundaries put around it. A stim provides comfort for many children, so in stressful situations, offering the stim as comfort or after completing a difficult task is highly motivating for the child.

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