Stimming

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Please will someone provide me with a definition of stimming?

I've had to stop reading a few otherwise fascinating threads due to my ignorance of this term.

Cheers


Michaelmas

PS I hope it's not rude

Stimming is a jargon term for a stereotypy, a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner. It is one of the symptoms listed by the DSM IV for autism, although it is observed in about 10 percent of non-autistic young children. Many autistics have no stims.[1] Common forms of stimming among people with autism include hand flapping, body spinning or rocking, lining up or spinning toys or other objects, echolalia, perseveration, and repeating rote phrases.[1]

There are many theories about the function of stimming, and the reasons for its increased incidence in autistic people. For hyposensitive people, it may provide needed nervous system arousal, releasing beta-endorphins. For hypersensitive people, it may provide a "norming" effect, allowing the person to control a specific part of their sensorium, and is thus a soothing behavior.[2]



From Wikipedia.org

Best read these:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=31886
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=30457
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=31290
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=28614

There are loads of them. You can do your own search

Quote:
Repetitive behaviors

Although people with autism usually appear physically normal, unusual repetitive motions, known as self-stimulation or "stimming," may set them apart. These behaviors might be extreme or subtle. Some children and older individuals spend a lot of time repeatedly flapping their arms or wiggling their toes, others suddenly freeze in position. Some spend hours arranging objects in a certain way rather than engaging in pretend play as a typical child might, and becoming agitated if they are re-arranged or moved. Repetitive behaviors can also extend into the spoken word; perseveration of a single word or phrase can also become a part of the child's daily routine. Some may repeat words from movies and watch certain bits over and over again.[44][45] Autistic children may demand consistency in their environment. A slight change in the timing, format or route of a routine or trip can be extremely disturbing to them.[citation needed]. Autistics sometimes have persistent, intense preoccupations. For example, the child might be obsessed with learning all about computers, television programs, lighthouses or virtually any other topic.[46]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseveration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism

Kaleido wrote:

MasterKron wrote:

Kaleido wrote:

Since I have found out about my Aspergers, I have noticed that I love thinking deeply, but I enjoy it so much that I seem to get over excited and will suddenly get up out of the chair and pace off into another room and wonder why I am there;

Quote:

I do this quite a lot myself. Often I find myself getting up and going to an empty room to pace around while thinking...usually not productive thinking either But it helps me get my space, particularly when I feel "people-d out."

I am so relieved that someone else does this too

I do this often when I am not doing anything but thinking. Other times I "stim" by rocking
back and forth. Another thing I sometimes do is stim in sync with some external stimulus,
ie: tapping my fingers in sync with a car's turn signal.

Thanks everyone - I'll start running through the quotes.

I'm still new to WP and am trying to learn. I tend to read only the most recent page of each forum before moving to another forum altogether. I will in future research a little longer before asking for help.

I was about to sign out, and ofcourse found the stimming term on the home page - it bothered me so but I couldn't
remember where I'd seen it before I posted.

Thanks again,


Michaelmas

PS can anyone point me towards the WP thread titles index/quick search should one exist?

I'm still not 100% sure what "flapping" is. Since my mom started learning about AS, she now thinks I do it when I'm talking about something excitedly.

I had to ask a million times about stimming too. When I first started reading about AS, I thought I didn't stim...until I got it defined, and realized I seem to do it quite a bit.

I'd never considered the vocal hand gestures to be flapping, but I guess they can be construed as that - I have seen a few videos of flapping online, and they remind me of a little kid having a tantrum.

Thanks Wolfpup - I think I really let down my consultant when after my second assessment she (confidently) announced me A S and asked what I thought of that. True to form I gave an honest answer - I'd never heard of it and certainly hadn't researched the topic. I simply knew I was (acording to my peers) consistently odd.

What I mean to say is, whilst I'm said to be intelligent, I do baffle the so-called NTs - I am A S and certainly not intelligent across the board; I could not recognise stimming in myself until you chaps kindly provided guidance and practical examples. Now I see it all too clearly.


Michaelmas

Stimming can be relaxing.