Stimming

Self-stimulatory behavior (also called stimming,^[1] stims,^[2] self-stimulation,^[3] stereotypy, and stereotypic movement disorder) is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, words, moving objects, or other behaviors. Stimming is a type of restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB).^[4] Such behaviors are found to some degree in all people, but are especially intense and frequent in those with developmental disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sensory processing disorder,^[5] or autism.^[3]

Stimming has been interpreted as a protective response to sensory overload, in which people calm themselves by blocking less predictable environmental stimuli, to which they have a heightened sensory processing sensitivity.^[3][5] Stimming can be a way to relieve anxiety and other negative or heightened emotions.^[6]

Although some forms of stimming behaviors have typically been shown to be healthy and beneficial—as they help regulate intense sensory experiences, relieve intense emotions such as anxiety, may facilitate understanding and social interactions with other autistic people, may promote pleasant emotions, and facilitate sense of security—^{[7][8][9][10][11]} stimming is often socially stigmatized. Those who are neurodivergent often feel that they should hide or decrease their repetitive behaviors because they appear to be socially unacceptable and often elicit negative reactions from those who do not understand their cause. While reducing disruptive or inherently harmful repetitive behaviors can be beneficial,^[12][13][14] there are also potential risks to mental health and well-being in suppressing and masking some autistic stimming behaviors that are not harmful or are adaptive.^{[8][15][11][10][16][17][9]}

Stimming behaviors can consist of tactile, visual, auditory, vocal, proprioceptive (which pertains to limb sensing), olfactory, and vestibular stimming (which pertains to balance). Some common examples of stimming include hand flapping, clapping, rocking, blinking, pacing, head banging, repeating noises or words, snapping fingers, toe walking, and spinning objects.^[18][19] In some cases, stimming can be dangerous and physically harmful to the person doing it; for example, individuals may risk injuring themselves by forcefully banging their body parts against walls.^[20] Another problem is that repetitive behaviors can disrupt learning and social communication for some autistic individuals in some situations.^[21][22]