Stimming is a way of regulating one's experience of the sensory world. It can be conscious and unconscious. Stims might include: Hand flapping, Whistling, Rocking, Repeating words (echolalia), Touching certain textures, using fidget toys, chewing, pressing buttons etc.
It helps reduce anxiety and stress, allowing a person to cope at difficult times. Everyone stims in one way or another, however, Autistic people stim more due to our different experiences of the sensory world being more overwhelming to us.
Suppressing or restricting someone's stims or ability to stim causes greater overwhelm and distress due to the inability to regulate how they feel.
Normalise stimming rather than shaming it or judging it as weird. Simply rocking side to side can make a person feel happier and more at ease. There's nothing wrong with that!
Stimming, what is it, why we do it and why we should not restrict them!
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