What is Stimming?

Although I’ve missed World Autism Month (apologies for that, exam season at college is crazy, and I’ve been working a lot lately too!) I still wanted to do a post on something I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time; stimming.

According to AsIAm.ie, stimming (short for self-stimulatory behaviour) can be defined as a repetitive series of actions which an autistic person may do when they are excited, anxious or stimulated.

While yes, the word ‘stimming’ is something traditionally associated with the autism community, the actual behaviour is something most people are familiar with. Almost everyone has a habit or action they do subconsciously when they’re bored or anxious, such as twirling their hair, tapping their foot or humming. The difference between the aforementioned behaviours and an autistic person stimming, is although the actual action might be tame, such as fidgeting, tapping or humming, it’s usually an indication of a more intense emotion, be it excitement, anxiety, anger, etc. Stimming can also be helpful when processing information, so isn’t always an indicator that something is wrong. Autistic children will often stim while receiving instructions from a parent or teacher, and I will often stim during lectures in university.

My stims vary depending on the purpose it serves; whether I’m excited or happy, anxious or angry, or simply trying to make sense of my surroundings. My most common stim is wringing my hands, or crossing my arms while tensing pretty much every muscle in my upper body. I’ve often been told I look like I’m cold, and onlookers who may not know I’m autistic regularly check in on me and offer to close windows or even give me a coat! I usually just reassure them I’m fine rather than explain that I’m stimming, as unfortunately few people actually know what that is or how it works. I am aware that I look very uncomfortable when I stim, but as I have explained to many, this is my somewhat ‘toned-down’ stim, usually for when I’m happy or excited, but also when I’m slightly anxious, overwhelmed, or am processing information or my surroundings. I often joke with my boyfriend that if he sees me squeezing my hands or tensing my muscles, I’m either happy or anxious, but it’s up to him to figure out which it is!

When I’m really stressed, or considerably anxious or overwhelmed, I revert to my old stim; when I was first diagnosed and learning to cope, I flapped my hand or rocked, two very classic autistic stims and two of the biggest giveaways that someone is on the spectrum. I’ve warned friends and family that if you see me flapping or rocking, things are bad and I need to be removed from the situation. This is because me reverting to the stims I resorted to pre-diagnosis is a sign that the more subtle ones I have learned and developed since diagnosis, both with age and a bit of therapy (but not ABA), obviously are not doing the trick, and I am so overwhelmed and frustrated that I have completely backtracked psychologically and returned to my failsafe stim.

However, the reverse is also possible. One situation where I would be so happy or excited I would be unable to regulate my emotions and therefore begin rocking or flapping my hands would most likely be when the Lion King live action remake releases this July. The Lion King has been my all time favourite movie for as long as I can remember and both myself, my boyfriend and my family are fully prepared for tears when we go see it together! Also likely to fall under this category of uncontrollable stimming due to extreme positive emotion would be seeing The Lion King Musical on Broadway (an absolute life dream), and just visiting any Disney Park really. I cried at Disneyland Paris, and I expect nothing less when I visit all the other parks.

The above link directs you to AsIAm’s fabulous short article on stimming, which includes links to even more detailed resources should you wish to read further on the topic. Two of the most important aspects of this article that I want to touch on and discuss are the importance of stimming to an autistic person, and possible dangerous stims.

Firstly, the act of stimming is essential for people on the spectrum in order to function. It helps us process information and regulate our emotions if we’re overly anxious, stressed or excited. It allows us to make sense of the world around us. My brain is unable to filter out any background noise, so I will often stim while in conversation with someone to help concentrate on what they’re saying, particularly when outdoors and in public. The physical movement of stimming distracts my brain from unnecessary noise and draws me into what or who I should be listening to.

Of course, an autistic person may need to learn new stims as they get older, in order to make things easier for both them and their families, as very obvious stims can make life difficult for an autistic person, especially as an adult; the general public and onlookers aren’t always the nicest!

I made the transition from my more obvious stims (flapping hands and rocking) to my current, more subtle stims (squeezing hands and tensing muscles) not through ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis; I’ll get to that in another post), but through traditional therapy sessions with psychologists and occupational therapists. A lot of it was down to just some regular talk therapy, as one of my biggest issues pre-diagnosis was emotion regulation; I had huge anger issues, and once I began to deal with those through therapy, my stims seemed to tone down also. This doesn’t make me any ‘less’ autistic, or mean that I’m ‘cured’ or that I experience emotions such as joy or anxiety any less intensely. It simply means I’ve gotten better at regulating those emotions.

Transitioning from one type of stim to another may also be necessary if an autistic person’s stim is dangerous. Obviously, we don’t choose our stims, we develop them based on whatever our brain decides will help it cope with its surroundings best. However, the risk attached is that some autistic people develop stims that pose a risk to themselves or others, such as punching, banging their head against walls or furniture, or biting. In this case, it is important that the autistic person in question learns to channel their emotions in a way that will not be hurtful or dangerous.

Of course, these things take time, and some of us may never be able to change our stims. This is why it is important for parents, professionals and others to know that we do not stim for no reason. Most of the time, something is bothering us. If you notice someone may be stimming, whether you know they’re autistic or not, try to either remove the cause of the distress, or remove the person from the room or situation. If they can communicate, ask if there is anything you can do to help ease stress. If they can’t, give them space to stim and work out what’s going on in their head; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been mid-meltdown and it’s at that exact moment everyone decides to crowd around me to try and help. Trust me, space is incredibly important here. While that is happening, try to get the attention of their parent, carer, or whoever you think may be accompanying them, as it is most likely they will know what calms them down. Personally, I love pressure, so an incredibly tight hug usually works wonders for me, but I have autistic friends who hate being touched, so you’re better off not to assume and let someone who knows them do the reassuring and calming.

Stimming is a relatively simple yet incredibly crucial part of every autistic person’s life, and the more people who are aware of it and don’t make us feel uncomfortable for doing something we deeply rely on in order to function, the better!

I may have digressed slightly during this post, but I hope you enjoyed reading it regardless! Don't forget, you can always message me on Facebook (or Instagram), ask me a question on Tumblr, or Tweet me!

Until then, see ya around, it's been a real slice!

Meagan (but my friends call me Meg)