What is stimming?

Stimming is short for self-stimulatory behavior, self-regulating repetitive behaviors. Examples include: rocking the body, hand-flapping, jumping, making repetitive sounds, chewing on objects, biting one's own hands, twirling hair, tapping fingers, pacing in circles, and repeating words or sounds (echolalia).

Why it happens: the nervous system of autistic people and people with ADHD processes stimulation differently. Stimming regulates that processing, it can increase stimulation in an under-stimulating environment, or reduce internal chaos during sensory overload. It is a form of self-regulation.

Is stimming a problem? Most of the time, no. Stimming is only a problem when it causes physical harm (injury) or significantly interferes with important activities. Forcibly suppressing stimming can increase anxiety and cause harm; the energy spent suppressing it does not just disappear.

The neurodiversity movement advocates for the right to stim in safe spaces. Environments that accommodate some stimming are healthier for autistic people than environments that demand total suppression.

Stimming is not exclusive to autism; people with ADHD, anxiety, and neurotypical people stim too (chewing on a pen, tapping fingers, bouncing a leg).