What is stimming?

Stimming is repetitive body movements or noises. The word ‘stimming’ is short for self-stimulatory behaviour.

Examples of stimming

• Hand and finger movements – for example, finger-flicking and hand-flapping
• Body movements – for example, rocking back and forth while sitting or standing
• Posturing – for example, holding hands or fingers out at an angle or arching the back while sitting
• Visual stimulation – for example, looking at something sideways, watching an object spin, or fluttering fingers near the eyes
• Repetitive behaviour – for example, opening and closing doors or flicking switches
• Vocal stimulation – humming, whistling, grunting or repeating words or phrases
• Chewing or mouthing objects
• Listening to the same song or noise over and over

Why do autistic children stim?

Many autistic kids stim.

They might stim to cope with and manage strong emotions like anxiety, anger, fear and excitement. Stimming might help them to calm down because it focuses their attention on the stim or produces a calming change in their bodies.

Stimming might also help kids cope with and manage overwhelming sensory information. For example, if your child is oversensitive to sensory information, stimming might reduce sensory overload because it focuses their attention on just one thing. If your child is undersensitive, stimming can stimulate ‘underactive’ senses.

Stimming varies a lot among autistic kids. For example, some kids just have small or occasional hand movements, whereas others spend a lot of time stimming. Stimming also varies depending on the situation. For example, some kids stim more when they’re feeling stressed or anxious.

How does stimming affect autistic children and teenagers?

Stimming isn’t a bad thing if it doesn’t hurt your autistic child or others.

But some stimming can be self-injurious – for example, severe hand-biting.

Stimming can also affect your child’s ability to learn in the classroom. For example, if your child is absorbed in watching their hands in front of their eyes, they might not be able to listen to their teacher or engage with their work.

And other people might judge or bully your child because of their stimming.

We all use stimming sometimes. For example, some children suck their thumbs or twirl their hair for comfort, and others jiggle their legs while they’re working on a difficult problem or task. You might pace up and down if you’re anxious, or you might fiddle with a pen in a boring meeting.

Do you need to do anything about your autistic child’s stimming?

Many autistic people feel they should be allowed to stim because stimming helps them to manage emotions and overwhelming situations. Stopping autistic children and teenagers from stimming or reducing their stimming might make them feel more anxious, angry or sad.

This means it’s important to understand why your autistic child stims and show that you accept your child’s stimming.

But sometimes stimming can hurt your child or other people – for example, head-banging or slapping. In this situation, it might be best for your child to replace the unsafe stim with something safer. This way, your child can still use a stim to manage emotions, and they don’t need to stop stimming or stim less often.

How to reduce your autistic child’s need for stimming

Changing the environment or helping your autistic child with anxiety might help your child reduce their need for stimming.

Change the environment

Stimming might be a sign that your child is feeling overwhelmed in their environment. Your child might need a quiet place to go or just one activity or toy to focus on at a time.

Or stimming could be a sign your child needs more stimulation. Your child might benefit from background music, a variety of toys and textures, or extra playtime outside.

Some schools have sensory rooms for autistic children who need extra stimulation. There might be equipment children can bounce on, swing on or spin around on, materials they can squish their hands into, and visually stimulating toys.

Work on your child’s anxiety

If you watch when and how much your child is stimming, you might be able to work out why your child is stimming. And if the stimming is happening because your child is anxious, working on your child’s anxiety might affect their stimming.

For example, there might be something new or changed in your child’s environment. Your child’s stimming might reduce if you prepare your child for new situations and teach your child new skills to deal with things that cause the anxiety.

Stimming might reduce naturally as your child develops more skills and finds other ways to deal with sensitivity, understimulation or anxiety.

Where to get help with stimming

Occupational therapists can help you look at environmental adjustments to support your autistic child, like reducing or increasing sensory information in your child’s environment.

If your child’s stimming is hurting them or other people, speak to your child’s GP, paediatrician or psychologist or another health professional working with your child. They can help your child replace unsafe stims with safer alternatives.

If you’re concerned about your child’s safety when they’re stimming, there are therapies and supports that can help. These therapies and supports are listed in our parent guide to therapies for autistic children. Each guide gives an overview of the therapy, the research behind it, and the approximate time and costs involved in using it.