Stimming

Day 6 of a 30-day series originally published for Facebook April 2021

Stimming is short for "self-regulating behaviors." In its most cliche form, you probably recognize stimming as arm flapping or finger flicking, but actually everybody stims! Do you twirl your hair, rub your neck, bite your nails, clear your throat, drum your fingers? These are all stims. The difference in neurotypical stimming is that neurotypical people tend to notice when their stim is becoming disruptive to others and they will stop.

Stimming can involve any of the senses. It can be physical, such as rocking, flapping, bouncing, jumping, twirling, or blinking. It can be auditory, like repeating a certain sound over and over, humming, or clicking the tongue. It can be smelling something over and over such as a candle or blanket, etc. Sometimes it can be harmful, like banging one's head against something hard, picking the skin until it bleeds, or pulling hair out. It can also be harmful to others, like pinching, biting, or squeezing too hard.

Stims that aren't harmful should be left alone... this is self-regulation and it's good! Just like you would train any child to stop, and take a deep breath to calm down, a stim is just that.. a technique to calm and regulate. Sometimes a stim can become annoying or be inappropriate in a certain environment.... like vocal stimming in a quiet environment like a library or movie. But ya know what... tough cookies right? My opinion is, accept that my child is humming obnoxiously, or deal with a complete meltdown. Your pick. Or better yet... NOYB. ;)