The weird and Wonderful world of ‘Stimming’

A different way of expressing

Weird being the more appropriate word when you see a person with ASD stimming but actually we all do it, even Neurotypical people. ‘Stimming’ is the posh word that describes the coping mechanisms of processing sensory input. For example, if you see a child with ASD hand flapping, spinning around in circles or flicking their fingers in front of their eyes, then this is more than likely a stim.

My first encounter of stimming was of Ted at 6m old. He would get really excited by a tv programme and start flapping his hands in excitement. All sounds pretty normal for child to display excitement this way. However when you team that up with rocking and head banging, I was alarmed at this strange behaviour my child was displaying. As he got older and became more mobile he would walk up and down a wall, facing forward and look at the wall thought the corner of his eyes. Researching ASD and all that comes with it, I came across videos of other kids with ASD doing similar things, Clicking fingers, scrunching their face, sucking inanimate objects. It intrigued me. Why do children with ASD do these strange things? It wasn’t until I joined an ASD forum that it became clear…. its to cope!!!

As i have discussed in previous blogs, the world can be a very confusing and frustrating place for people with ASD and sensory stimulation can be a minefield. A tv being slightly too loud, a light being too bright, the texture of clothes being too rough, everything that we tend to put up with as a simple inconvenience can be debilitating for someone with ASD. Their brains can not process it and makes focusing on the task in hand impossible.

Take for example nails down a black board or in my case i HATE the sound of scrapping ice. It makes me squirm, my ears feeling like their bleeding and makes me increasingly uncomfortable. But luckily for me that is the only thing that ‘goes through me’. With ASD it can be the simplest of things that we live with that can cause that greatest reaction. Being uncomfortable is a regular occurrence for someone with ASD, but their amazing minds create these coping mechanisms to deal with these overwhelming emotions. They instinctively come up with intuitive ways to best expel that overwhelming feeling and provides their own comfort and that’s why it is ever more important to allow a person Stim.

So… how do we stim?

Have you every been in a training room or an interview and noticed that your bouncing your leg or you start twiddling with your hair when you get nervous? That’s a stim. Your using a stim to direct the prominent emotion or feeling (e.g. nerves, fear, sadness) into something more comforting or bareable. Its how we all cope with the everyday stresses. I always think of it as….. when a sensory input is overwhelming. e.g. waiting for the verdict of an interview, our brains don’t like it or can not cope, so to balance or self regulate ourselves we need to expel some of that undesired emotion through a sensory output e.g. tapping out fingers or shaking our foot.

But because of how we conform to social rules, we tend to subconsciously do these habits discreetly so we don’t bring attention to our emotional state. That’s where the beauty of ASD comes into its own. They don’t care!!!!! well speaking more about children than adults with ASD but their priority is to not be seen as weird or different, they just want to expel this emotion and will do it in a way that comforts and works for them. Its not just about comfort thou. As a reserved society we tend to dampen down our reactions to situations. We provide an elegant standing ovation at the theatre and when there is a happy occasion at a wedding we will clap and maybe use the odd ‘Whoop!’ But ASD allows them to just lets rip. They go for it. If they are excited, they are the most excited they have ever been, they will run, jump, scream, laugh, anything that expels that emotion in its strongest form. I like to think of it like watching the world cup. Its the one time when no one has any inhabitations, they let loose and if England score a goal…. All hell breaks loose. Drinks go flying, people are jumping on each other, screaming, cheering and going insane. There is no thought, no consideration or control, you are just letting it all go.

The importance of understanding and allowing stimming is vital. Some people want to stop stimming (unless it is harmful then it needs to be managed) but the truth of the matter is, they need it. Like all of us we need tools to self regulate our emotions and even though they can look weird or eccentric they have a purpose and can be a great guide into maybe managing the situation around that individual better so that they dont feel so anxious or overwhelmed. Changing the hue of the lighting, having a fiddle toy to use in tough situations, changing the texture of the chair they have to sit on in class. They are all small things but have a huge impact. So if you see a child stimming or a change in their behaviour ask the question, Why are they stimming? What emotion is it being used to cope with? and is there any adjustment i can make to make the situation more comfortable. Small insignificant changes or adaptations for us can have a life enhancing affect on them.