Jenina, this one's for you.
One of my wonderful assistants at work has a beautiful daughter with autism as well. We are on the path of learning everyday together, constantly comparing notes and histories. She asked me to do a piece on stimming to help her understand some of her daughters behaviours.
Stimming by definition is self stimulation of any of the senses. It often consists of repetitive behaviours, some of a socially acceptable type and some not. The theory is that this is the way autistic kids manage their sensory input. Some of the behaviors are meant to be excitatory and others are meant to be calming.
Here are some common examples of stimming:
visual- staring at lights, lining things up, flicking fingers in front of their eyes, blinking
auditory-snapping fingers, humming, grunting, singing
smell- smelling objects or people
taste-licking object and placing objects in the mouth
tactile-scratching, toe-walking, hair twisting, clapping, nail biting
vestibular- rocking, jumping, spinning, pacing
proprioception- teeth grinding, pacing and jumping
All of us engage in some of these behaviours, but for our kids they can be so excessive that it actually interferes with their ability to do school work or focus their attention. Lots of these behaviours can be dealt with using the help of an OT or occupational therapist. My youngest son had several stimming behaviours when he was smaller that just seem to have extinguished themselves, partly due to training and perhaps partly because of our dietary changes.
He was late to walk, ( 17 mths) and we were concerned enough that we went to our pediatrician who referred us to a pediatrical orthopoedic surgeon to see if there was some organic reason he was not walking. He couldn't identify any problems other than a slight torsion of both of his femurs, but he assured us that many professional athletes have the same thing.Within a month, he did in fact start to walk, but he never "practiced" much, he just one day stood up and walked. And with that came the toe walking which lasted about 2 years. We tried everything short of tying weights to his heels to get him to stop, but once he had to wear shoes regularly it just seemed to go away.
He never had many visual stimming behaviours, instead his were mostly auditory. He is quite a talented musician, and he never stops humming or singing. He drives his brother crazy! I often think he would make a great singer or actor because he has no stage fright at all. When he was younger, we would walk into a restaurant and he would be singing Christmas carols at the top of his lungs, regardless of the time of year. He has an amazing voice, so it is not that bad a talent. He once stood up at a staff function without being asked and sang a beautiful ballad to the bride to be in a party of 30 women! What I could have done in my life without stage fright!
The only other time I notice him stimming is during times of extreme excitement or extreme stress. He will flap his hands in both of these situations and will be completely unaware of it as though he has someone else's body.
The conference I was at in January had some great suggestions that I had never heard about. There was a company called Innovaid in Edmonton that produces weighted products like vests, blankets and neck wraps. Some people find that their kids respond to pressure therapy where children are placed between two soft object like bean bag chairs and compressed. It is the same idea as Temple Grandins squeeze machine. The outcome is that it produces a calming effect in kids and adults that are touch averse or find their environment too stimulating. I did purchase a blanket for both of my boys but like everything else in autism, not everything works for every person. However, I have a staff member who was suffering with anxiety and I think the blanket worked reasonably well for her. It was an interesting idea, and I have since spoken to many people for whom these aids work like nothing else. As a kid, my grandmother had given me a silk and cotton carded quilt. That sucker must have weighed at least 30 lb and I could not sleep without it. Even now no matter how hot it is, I can't sleep without a heavy blanket. My youngest is a bit claustrophobic and couldn't manage the weight.
Some as I said, are behaviours that to some extent we all do, but in this context, they can be taken to an extreme. Tooth grinding I can tell you, is very common and I see some fairly severe wear on the teeth of autistic patients in my office. In the extreme I see tooth wear equivalent to someone twice or three times their age.
In terms of being able to manage behaviours that occur in a public setting, the use of things like mini trampolines and exercise balls can be invaluable. Kids can use the exercise balls as chairs at school. They can better pay attenion when their bodies are also being challenged. They need exercise to burn off anxiety and to allow them to concentrate. I think it is why I have noticed such a big difference taking the boys to the YMCA.
Inappropriate stimming behaviours such as licking or smelling people can be redirected by substituting hard candies or aromatherapy. There are ways to successfully redirect some of these behaviours. We had a terrible time with magnetic toys. Our son could not resist the taste and feel of magnetic things in his mouth. We tried everything to discourage this as we were really worried he would choke. The final straw was hearing on a news story of a child who ended up with a gangrenous section of bowel after swallowing two magnetic balls that then attracted each other and cut off the blood supply to a section of the child's intestine. That was it, we threw them all out and continued to get rid of anything he put in his mouth. This was effective in extinguishing this behaviour while he was still under 10 years of age.
My honest suggestion after listening to Temple is work with your child. To totally try to extinguish these behaviours is to deny that there is a difference in how they process sensory information. Accomodate or redirect their stimming behaviours as necessary especially when they are dangerous. But realize that our children's sensory input systems are very different than ours, and that these behaviours help to relieve them to some extent. Where the child is capable, talk about the behaviours and find out whether they are used to "rev up" or "rev down". Once we understand, it is easier to find alternate behaviours that might be more socially acceptable. These behaviours often make them a target for teasing and bullying. If your child is high functioning they may be able to learn enough insight into the reactions of their peers to these behaviours to be very motivated to find alternatives.
In love and light,
Kathryn
One of my wonderful assistants at work has a beautiful daughter with autism as well. We are on the path of learning everyday together, constantly comparing notes and histories. She asked me to do a piece on stimming to help her understand some of her daughters behaviours.
Stimming by definition is self stimulation of any of the senses. It often consists of repetitive behaviours, some of a socially acceptable type and some not. The theory is that this is the way autistic kids manage their sensory input. Some of the behaviors are meant to be excitatory and others are meant to be calming.
Here are some common examples of stimming:
visual- staring at lights, lining things up, flicking fingers in front of their eyes, blinking
auditory-snapping fingers, humming, grunting, singing
smell- smelling objects or people
taste-licking object and placing objects in the mouth
tactile-scratching, toe-walking, hair twisting, clapping, nail biting
vestibular- rocking, jumping, spinning, pacing
proprioception- teeth grinding, pacing and jumping
All of us engage in some of these behaviours, but for our kids they can be so excessive that it actually interferes with their ability to do school work or focus their attention. Lots of these behaviours can be dealt with using the help of an OT or occupational therapist. My youngest son had several stimming behaviours when he was smaller that just seem to have extinguished themselves, partly due to training and perhaps partly because of our dietary changes.
He was late to walk, ( 17 mths) and we were concerned enough that we went to our pediatrician who referred us to a pediatrical orthopoedic surgeon to see if there was some organic reason he was not walking. He couldn't identify any problems other than a slight torsion of both of his femurs, but he assured us that many professional athletes have the same thing.Within a month, he did in fact start to walk, but he never "practiced" much, he just one day stood up and walked. And with that came the toe walking which lasted about 2 years. We tried everything short of tying weights to his heels to get him to stop, but once he had to wear shoes regularly it just seemed to go away.
He never had many visual stimming behaviours, instead his were mostly auditory. He is quite a talented musician, and he never stops humming or singing. He drives his brother crazy! I often think he would make a great singer or actor because he has no stage fright at all. When he was younger, we would walk into a restaurant and he would be singing Christmas carols at the top of his lungs, regardless of the time of year. He has an amazing voice, so it is not that bad a talent. He once stood up at a staff function without being asked and sang a beautiful ballad to the bride to be in a party of 30 women! What I could have done in my life without stage fright!
The only other time I notice him stimming is during times of extreme excitement or extreme stress. He will flap his hands in both of these situations and will be completely unaware of it as though he has someone else's body.
The conference I was at in January had some great suggestions that I had never heard about. There was a company called Innovaid in Edmonton that produces weighted products like vests, blankets and neck wraps. Some people find that their kids respond to pressure therapy where children are placed between two soft object like bean bag chairs and compressed. It is the same idea as Temple Grandins squeeze machine. The outcome is that it produces a calming effect in kids and adults that are touch averse or find their environment too stimulating. I did purchase a blanket for both of my boys but like everything else in autism, not everything works for every person. However, I have a staff member who was suffering with anxiety and I think the blanket worked reasonably well for her. It was an interesting idea, and I have since spoken to many people for whom these aids work like nothing else. As a kid, my grandmother had given me a silk and cotton carded quilt. That sucker must have weighed at least 30 lb and I could not sleep without it. Even now no matter how hot it is, I can't sleep without a heavy blanket. My youngest is a bit claustrophobic and couldn't manage the weight.
Some as I said, are behaviours that to some extent we all do, but in this context, they can be taken to an extreme. Tooth grinding I can tell you, is very common and I see some fairly severe wear on the teeth of autistic patients in my office. In the extreme I see tooth wear equivalent to someone twice or three times their age.
In terms of being able to manage behaviours that occur in a public setting, the use of things like mini trampolines and exercise balls can be invaluable. Kids can use the exercise balls as chairs at school. They can better pay attenion when their bodies are also being challenged. They need exercise to burn off anxiety and to allow them to concentrate. I think it is why I have noticed such a big difference taking the boys to the YMCA.
Inappropriate stimming behaviours such as licking or smelling people can be redirected by substituting hard candies or aromatherapy. There are ways to successfully redirect some of these behaviours. We had a terrible time with magnetic toys. Our son could not resist the taste and feel of magnetic things in his mouth. We tried everything to discourage this as we were really worried he would choke. The final straw was hearing on a news story of a child who ended up with a gangrenous section of bowel after swallowing two magnetic balls that then attracted each other and cut off the blood supply to a section of the child's intestine. That was it, we threw them all out and continued to get rid of anything he put in his mouth. This was effective in extinguishing this behaviour while he was still under 10 years of age.
My honest suggestion after listening to Temple is work with your child. To totally try to extinguish these behaviours is to deny that there is a difference in how they process sensory information. Accomodate or redirect their stimming behaviours as necessary especially when they are dangerous. But realize that our children's sensory input systems are very different than ours, and that these behaviours help to relieve them to some extent. Where the child is capable, talk about the behaviours and find out whether they are used to "rev up" or "rev down". Once we understand, it is easier to find alternate behaviours that might be more socially acceptable. These behaviours often make them a target for teasing and bullying. If your child is high functioning they may be able to learn enough insight into the reactions of their peers to these behaviours to be very motivated to find alternatives.
In love and light,
Kathryn
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