Stimming
Helpful Hints to Raising Differently Abled Children
Suzanne DeRemer is not only a poet, but also the adoptive mother of this very special young man with a duel diagnosis of Down syndrome and Autistic spectrum disorder. Adopting her son meant embracing the miracle of a child who needed a home. She wrote a poem, "A Child's Plea" to help foster children find homes, and this began her journey of wanting to adopt a child.
April is Autism awareness month. My son was born with Down syndrome at birth, and then as time went on I was told he also had pervasive development disorder. Often I would ask specialists if he had something other than Down syndrome when I watched him drop toys on the slate by my fireplace. He exhibited sensory needs at an early age with wanting to hear sounds, but yet being afraid of other sounds. I felt the purpose of dropping toys on the slate was to hear the toy make a distinct noise. Many times I was told that my son only had Down syndrome. As he grew his behaviors changed, and one of the behaviors I saw increase was stimming.
Many children with different diagnoses share some of the same challenges. One of those challenges can be stimming. Stimming is a self-stimulating behavior such as rocking back and forth, twirling a shoe string or object, hand flapping, head butting, vocalizing or humming, and nonsense talk that is repetitive. Although these behaviors may appear to not serve a purpose, I do believe that stimming helps to soothe and calm individuals. Often times children with autism are over sensitive to sounds. If you are quiet and listen closely, you can hear the humming of florescent lights. All the sounds that we learn to block out as children, can be alarming to a child who has super sensitive sensory issues. There are some really great videos on You Tube with children explaining how scary the world can be to them. Children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Fragile X syndrome, Autistic spectrum disorder, Angelman Syndrome, Aspergers syndrome and other conditions can stim.
There is much controversy about stimming. Some professionals may feel it is best to stop a child from stimming as stimming can make it very difficult to teach a child (Stimming is detrimental to child development, 2016).Stimming can also impact socialization skills. When a child's brain is in stim mode, it can be hard to get their attention. In the past two years my son became very impulsive grabbing pencils, spatulas, or anything he could find that was long and straight to repetitively move back and forth in his hand. My son grabbed these items so quickly that often I would be walking out of the house and he had a spatula or pencil in his hand. However, as a parent you learn to pick your battles. Stopping repetitive behaviors can be quite difficult for many families. If you struggle with this, you are not alone! I found that I could make a deal with my son, to give me the pencil before he got out of the car to go into school. Although I quickly learned that my son had issues in the school with his impulsive nature. It is a daily struggle for us. My son also has other behavioral issues such as vocal stimming.
Vocal stimming interferes with watching movies, and listening to music. My son loves to watch movies and listen to music. However, I find that his loud vocal humming makes it very hard to listen to movies. As a parent, you can tune some of it out, but it can be very distracting. How can we change this with our children, and do we really want to change the behavior? Raising a differently abled child may mean practicing quiet time and then reinforcing this quiet period. It can even be teaching your child "quiet hands". Although, in my opinion, stimming keeps our kids from exhibiting some real negative behaviors such as self injurious behaviors. Keep in mind every behavior serves a purpose even if it doesn't make sense to you. If you see your child enjoys vocal stimming, it may be a pleasurable sensation in their mouth that is soothing to them. Follow this link to find sensory items that are non toxic: https://www.nationalautismresources.com/oral-motor/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Chewable+Oral+Motor&utm_term=chew+toys+for+kids&utm_content=Chewable+Toys
You can also try to change how they stim by providing something to chew on. They may enjoy the feeling in their throats by vocal stimming. Stimming provides a way to deal with the world. Learning to replace behaviors with acceptable behaviors can be challenging, but often worth while. You are still allowing your child to find comfort, but just in a different way. Providing sensory toys, weighted blankets, strings or twisty shoe laces, or other objects over something they could potentially get hurt from. My son had actually taken one of the head bands and stimmed with that, but when upset I learned rather quickly how that could be used in a negative way. Make trade offs with your child by providing safe stim items when possible.
My son has shown me new ways in which he copes with the world. He loves to feel the world in much different ways than I was ever use to. He can come up and put his hand under my nose to feel my breath. Or tap his hand on my face or objects to get a feel for things. His way of coping is unique to him, but there is a video which shows stimming behaviors and explains why the behavior exists for these children. This video gives a prime example of a young man flapping his hand on a plant, which he later explains he is trying to get a feel for the plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJylq8NNqTw
Many individuals do not understand why our kids stim, and actually the behavior can interrupt socializing when children fear a child who is vocalizing. You can help your child, by helping others understand that this is how my child copes with the world around him or her. My son loves to interact with others and he can be quite the comedian at times. As a parent, advocating to help your child in the world can close the gap for these children. I will give you a senerio: Let's say you are at the beach and there is a group of girls playing together and your child takes interest in these girls. The girls can clearly see your child is different and so they shy away. You can always go to the girls and say my child loves to play tag you're it or Marco Polo in the water. With any luck these children will get a better understanding that they are more alike than different. You can even explain the vocal stimming to them if they seem alarmed. Do not be afraid to explain to family and friends what stimming is, and why your child exhibits this behavior. You have the power to make a positive impact in the life of your child.
I wish you the best on your journey with your child! Stay positive and remain encouraged as the journey is worth all efforts you make. 💗💗
(The opinions expressed in the below article are not necessarily the opinion of the writer.)
References Stimming is detrimental to child devel copment. (2016, Apr 06). Pacific Daily News Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/1778694694?accountid=8289ck
Suzanne DeRemer is not only a poet, but also the adoptive mother of this very special young man with a duel diagnosis of Down syndrome and Autistic spectrum disorder. Adopting her son meant embracing the miracle of a child who needed a home. She wrote a poem, "A Child's Plea" to help foster children find homes, and this began her journey of wanting to adopt a child.
April is Autism awareness month. My son was born with Down syndrome at birth, and then as time went on I was told he also had pervasive development disorder. Often I would ask specialists if he had something other than Down syndrome when I watched him drop toys on the slate by my fireplace. He exhibited sensory needs at an early age with wanting to hear sounds, but yet being afraid of other sounds. I felt the purpose of dropping toys on the slate was to hear the toy make a distinct noise. Many times I was told that my son only had Down syndrome. As he grew his behaviors changed, and one of the behaviors I saw increase was stimming.
Many children with different diagnoses share some of the same challenges. One of those challenges can be stimming. Stimming is a self-stimulating behavior such as rocking back and forth, twirling a shoe string or object, hand flapping, head butting, vocalizing or humming, and nonsense talk that is repetitive. Although these behaviors may appear to not serve a purpose, I do believe that stimming helps to soothe and calm individuals. Often times children with autism are over sensitive to sounds. If you are quiet and listen closely, you can hear the humming of florescent lights. All the sounds that we learn to block out as children, can be alarming to a child who has super sensitive sensory issues. There are some really great videos on You Tube with children explaining how scary the world can be to them. Children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Fragile X syndrome, Autistic spectrum disorder, Angelman Syndrome, Aspergers syndrome and other conditions can stim.
There is much controversy about stimming. Some professionals may feel it is best to stop a child from stimming as stimming can make it very difficult to teach a child (Stimming is detrimental to child development, 2016).Stimming can also impact socialization skills. When a child's brain is in stim mode, it can be hard to get their attention. In the past two years my son became very impulsive grabbing pencils, spatulas, or anything he could find that was long and straight to repetitively move back and forth in his hand. My son grabbed these items so quickly that often I would be walking out of the house and he had a spatula or pencil in his hand. However, as a parent you learn to pick your battles. Stopping repetitive behaviors can be quite difficult for many families. If you struggle with this, you are not alone! I found that I could make a deal with my son, to give me the pencil before he got out of the car to go into school. Although I quickly learned that my son had issues in the school with his impulsive nature. It is a daily struggle for us. My son also has other behavioral issues such as vocal stimming.
Vocal stimming interferes with watching movies, and listening to music. My son loves to watch movies and listen to music. However, I find that his loud vocal humming makes it very hard to listen to movies. As a parent, you can tune some of it out, but it can be very distracting. How can we change this with our children, and do we really want to change the behavior? Raising a differently abled child may mean practicing quiet time and then reinforcing this quiet period. It can even be teaching your child "quiet hands". Although, in my opinion, stimming keeps our kids from exhibiting some real negative behaviors such as self injurious behaviors. Keep in mind every behavior serves a purpose even if it doesn't make sense to you. If you see your child enjoys vocal stimming, it may be a pleasurable sensation in their mouth that is soothing to them. Follow this link to find sensory items that are non toxic: https://www.nationalautismresources.com/oral-motor/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Chewable+Oral+Motor&utm_term=chew+toys+for+kids&utm_content=Chewable+Toys
You can also try to change how they stim by providing something to chew on. They may enjoy the feeling in their throats by vocal stimming. Stimming provides a way to deal with the world. Learning to replace behaviors with acceptable behaviors can be challenging, but often worth while. You are still allowing your child to find comfort, but just in a different way. Providing sensory toys, weighted blankets, strings or twisty shoe laces, or other objects over something they could potentially get hurt from. My son had actually taken one of the head bands and stimmed with that, but when upset I learned rather quickly how that could be used in a negative way. Make trade offs with your child by providing safe stim items when possible.
My son has shown me new ways in which he copes with the world. He loves to feel the world in much different ways than I was ever use to. He can come up and put his hand under my nose to feel my breath. Or tap his hand on my face or objects to get a feel for things. His way of coping is unique to him, but there is a video which shows stimming behaviors and explains why the behavior exists for these children. This video gives a prime example of a young man flapping his hand on a plant, which he later explains he is trying to get a feel for the plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJylq8NNqTw
Many individuals do not understand why our kids stim, and actually the behavior can interrupt socializing when children fear a child who is vocalizing. You can help your child, by helping others understand that this is how my child copes with the world around him or her. My son loves to interact with others and he can be quite the comedian at times. As a parent, advocating to help your child in the world can close the gap for these children. I will give you a senerio: Let's say you are at the beach and there is a group of girls playing together and your child takes interest in these girls. The girls can clearly see your child is different and so they shy away. You can always go to the girls and say my child loves to play tag you're it or Marco Polo in the water. With any luck these children will get a better understanding that they are more alike than different. You can even explain the vocal stimming to them if they seem alarmed. Do not be afraid to explain to family and friends what stimming is, and why your child exhibits this behavior. You have the power to make a positive impact in the life of your child.
I wish you the best on your journey with your child! Stay positive and remain encouraged as the journey is worth all efforts you make. 💗💗
(The opinions expressed in the below article are not necessarily the opinion of the writer.)
References Stimming is detrimental to child devel copment. (2016, Apr 06). Pacific Daily News Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/1778694694?accountid=8289ck
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