Basics: Stimming
Stimming is a phrase used by the autistic community to describe self regulatory behavior. If you know someone with autism, this is probably the first thing you noticed to be different about their behavior. Common forms of stimming include rocking, hand flapping, and spinning.
Self regulation is important because society is built for neurotypicals to succeed and environments are often not sensory friendly. If you are neurotypical, I would challenge you to notice the various sensory stimuli you encounter going through your day. Then, imagine what you would do if these stimuli were physically painful to you. Are the lights on the subway too bright? Does your local coffee shop offer accessible ordering options? Just being aware of these differences is the first step to making the world a more equitable place.
As an autistic person, specific stimuli are too much for me to handle, but sometimes there is nothing I can do to avoid interacting with my environment. Bills need to be paid and I have to take care of myself. Stimming allows me to control something about my sensory experience and being able to focus on that piece I can control is what allows me to start to ignore the unpleasant parts. I still have meltdowns and shutdowns due to sensory overload, but these are much less frequent when I am able to self-regulate.
If you are in public and see a person stimming, what is your initial reaction? Do you avoid them? Do you think of them as being on drugs? Analyze your initial reaction to these situations and try to catch some of your implicit ableism. In order to work towards a more inclusive society, we all need to analyze our own biases around ability and try to check them whenever possible.
Stimming Resources
The majority of the time, an autistic person who is given the opportunity to stim will figure out what type(s) and method(s) they prefer on their own. However, this can be difficult for late diagnosed people who grew up socialized that stimming was a negative behavior. They then have to learn, for the sake of their mental health, how to let their bodies do what they were designed to do.
The autistic body exists in a world that was not necessarily made for it to thrive and grow, and stimming is one example of this. Behaviors such as hand flapping and rocking are known by most to be linked to autism, so engaging in these behaviors in public essentially announces the person’s autism to the world. Because of this, people who were socialized to hide their autism often find smaller and more discreet ways to stim such as wringing their hands or chewing on the inside of their cheek. These behaviors are more associated with anxiety, so doing them in public will not call out a person’s autism in the same way.
If you are autistic or know somebody who is and you are looking to begin to encourage healthy stimming behaviors, I would recommend getting or making a stimming starter kit. This could include any pre-made stimming products that peak your interest, or it could be handmade. Etsy and Amazon are good websites to start off with if you are unsure what stimming tools might be most useful. I primarily use the website Autastic because they are autistic owned and feature a large variety of chewables, which is one of my most preferred stimming methods.
As the autistic person explores stimming behaviors, they will likely gravitate to certain tools or methods more than others, and you can begin to tailor to them. It is important to note that you should never try to suppress stimming behaviors unless they are causing physical harm to the self or others. In these cases, there are other resources for replacing those behaviors with ones that are not harmful but still meet the sensory need.
Happy stimming!