It’s time to start submitting your stims and getting the conversation rolling! The idea of this blog is to explore how stimming is experienced by autistic people, and to build a database of behaviour types. What are your stims? How do they feel? What parameters of the stim are the most relaxing? What music is best for stimming?
I want to hear how happy you all become when you do your favourite stims. I want to see diagrams of what kind of movements have the biggest effect. I want to see pictures of what you imagine when you stim. I ask not just what stims you have, but how you conceptualise stimming as a sensory experience.
I’m interested in what triggers them as well (add warnings if they’re traumatic). One of my major triggers is actually reading about stimming, so this will be an interesting blog to run!
The blog is currently run by Alyssa.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Autistic Recreation: Tactile Stimulation
Slight temperature changes in our environment are registered by our skin. If a child is hypersensitive to temperature change then the slightest change can be a cause for an outburst. We sense slight pressure when someone lightly touches our skin, we experience vibrations that may occur from an engine running or sound waves at certain levels, movements that we make are all felt by touch as well as pain that we may have. All of these things are experienced through our sense of “touch” also know as Tactile Stimulation.
A child diagnosed with Autism may have Tactile sensory issues which causes him/her to be hyper- (over) or hypo- (under) responsive to Tactile Stimulation. The inefficient processing in the central nervous system of sensations perceived through the skin is known as Tactile Dysfunction. As odd as this may seem, the best way for a child to overcome Tactile Dysfunction is through touch.
Based on our belief in the power of play in a child’s life, we suggest offering Tactile Stimulation during recreation. Recreational activities which can benefit a child with Autism are unlimited when it comes to Tactile Stimulation. Simple ideas for recreation include finger painting, deep muscle massages, allowing a child to play with measuring cups and spoons in a bowl full of dried rice or beans. Anything that adds to a child’s sensory experiences will be beneficial.
I’m unsure whether this post is relevant for this blog, but I think stimming is very much interlinked with sensory issues. How does everyone feel about tactile dysfunction and other sensory issues being framed as something to be ‘overcome’?
- Rob
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