It wasn’t until a few years ago that I had even heard of the term stimming. I often find that when I talk about stimming and repetitive behaviours, many people do not know what the term stimming means.
So what is stimming? The Oxford Dictionary defines stimming as ‘behaviours consisting of repetitive actions or movements of a type that may be displayed by people with developmental disorders, most typically autistic spectrum disorder; self stimulation.’
An easy way of understanding stimming is: Have you ever been sat in a lesson, in training or at work and you find your leg jumping, your foot tapping. Do you find yourself doodling on a note pad or constantly spinning or flicking your pen? If the answer is yes, then you have been known to stim – Stimming in simple terms is a repeated behaviour that serves as self-stimulating which helps you to focus or cope with stress and anxiety.
Although everyone can find themselves stimming in their everyday lives every now and then, the phrase stimming is often used to describe the everyday behaviours that a neurodiverse person uses for a number of reasons whether it is for pleasure, to get them through a stressful or overstimulating situation or even a way to replenish their ‘spoons’ (replenishing energy levels). But what does stimming look like in a neurodiverse person?
I have a friend that likes to describe her stimming behaviour as ‘dinosaur arms’ because she restricts the movement of her arms, but moves her hands a lot which she says looks like the short arms of a T-rex. For someone else stimming is corners. No matter where you are your child wants to walk in to every corner of the room, the park or playground. In reality stimming looks different in every individual because everyone is different.
The different types of stimming can be divided in to a number of different categories:
Visual
This includes looking at specific object, watching repetitive movements, watching the same programme over and over and over again. In a classroom setting this may look like you are disengaged and not listening, yet this may be the strategy you find helps you to listen and focus in class.
Auditory
This could be something as simple as clicking a pen and also includes verbal repetition, this could be repeating a specific noise like humming, shrieking, repeating words and phrases that have been heard from others around them or even from a TV programme, book or film etc. You may not even notice this type of stimming straight away, until you realise that you have heard the same phrase a hundred times in one morning
Mental
This is similar to auditory stimming in the sense that the person may repeat words or phrases, however they do it in their own mind rather than out loud.
Movement
This type of stimming is quite self explanitory, it is simply repetitive movement of the different parts of the body. This could be very obvious and include the whole body for example, jumping, spinning, running or walking on the spot, even ‘corners’. However it can be something as small as hand flapping, bouncing a leg or tapping a foot under the table. There are many stimming movements that are easier to hide and often go undetected such as picking/pinching skin under the table, fiddling with your hands, rubber, pen lid under the table. This type of stimming can go undetected at schools helping a young neurodiverse person to mask their behaviour or anxiety.
Taste/smell
This type of stimming includes smelling or tasting things repeatedly, which could include licking things whether they are food items, non food items or people.
Tactile
The easiest way to explain tactile stimming is; Have you ever walked into a shop with a child and they literally have to touch everything in the shop (especially if it’s a carpet shop)? Tactile stimming can include touching different textures, rubbing hands together, repeatedly hugging themselves or others, rolling themselves up in a blanket and so on.
Oral
This could include biting their nails, licking lips which can result in very craked sore lips, or even chewing or eating inedible objects. However it may be, as small as putting objects in their mouth or taking a tiny bite out of something, but a tiny nibble here and there can soon end up being a whole jumper sleeve, a shoe, all of the buttons on their shirt or even handfuls of pencils.
So, should you stop someone from stimming?
This is not a straight forward yes or no answer.
Stopping someone stimming can lead to meltdowns or shutdowns. However a neurodiverse person may use stimming behaviour to let others know they can no longer cope with a situation, that they need leave or take time out from a situation. Some stimming behaviour can also be dangerous to the person performing them or to others. If someone is at risk of being hurt, then yes absolutely you should stop them whether you divert their attention, attempt to change the behaviour or remove them from the situation it is important to ensure that anyone involved is safe. You may find that if the neurodiverse person likes to eat or chew non-edible objects then find them an alternative safe object to chew like a chew necklace. There are lots of sensory items available to buy as well as borrow from sensory libraries.
Why is stimming so important?
Neurodiverse people use stimming for a number of reasons from enjoyment to relieving stress and anxiety, or even to gain or reduce sensory input . The ability to stim helps neurodiverse people manage and copy with a range of different situations in their everyday life helping them to self-regulate their behaviour and emotions, which reduces the need for meltdowns and shutdowns.
