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‘Ohana Occupational Therapy

1139 N. Princeton Suite B, Wenatchee, WA 98801
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What is stimming and should I let my child do it?

March 16, 2023 By Mary Kostka Leave a Comment

What is Stimming:
Stimming is short for “self-stimulating behavior”. This behavior looks like repetitive movements, words, or sounds. These movements, words, or sounds might serve a couple different purposes:

  1. A way to manage various big emotions (excitement, boredom, fear, stress, happiness, etc.)
    • Big emotions can be difficult for anyone to manage, especially if the sensory system is extra sensitive (or when emotions are hard to comprehend or understand).
    • Stimming is a way to help calm the system in the middle of heightened emotional states.
  2. As a way to distract themselves, or help calm their body when they are overstimulated
    • Stimming is a subconscious way for the nervous system to organize the input it is receiving from the environment.
    • If your child is sensitive to certain input, stimming can help to organize their system, counteract, or distract them from the offending input.
  3. As a way to “wake up” their nervous system when they are under-stimulated
    • When a child’s nervous system does not register input adequately or effectively, they may struggle to have a complete picture of their environment.
    • Stimming can help them to “wake up” their system to make it work more effectively.
    • Stimming can also help increase input to a level that they are able to more easily register it, helping to complete the picture of their environment.
  4. Because it feels good and they enjoy it
    • We all have certain things that simply feel good to us, sometimes a stim is just that.
    • Sometimes children have a hard time coming up with play ideas, or figuring out how to complete play movements; stimming is a less complex way to engage in play.

Is it okay to let my kid stim?
Because stimming serves so many useful purposes and is a very essential part of functioning for those with unique sensory needs, we encourage you to let your child stim. This is their own unique way that they have learned to care for their sensory system and regulate their emotions.

However, if the stimming is hurting themselves or others, or if it is preventing functional activity, replacement behaviors can be developed and taught. You can work with your OT at ‘Ohana to identify and implement the best replacement behaviors for your child. 

A note about social expectation:
Sometimes stimming is harmless and effective, but it makes others (such as extended family members or that stranger in the grocery store) uncomfortable. These situations can be the perfect opportunity to teach someone about stimming and the unique needs of your child’s sensory system. If your child is old enough, you can coach them on explaining their stimming needs to others.


Quick tips and strategies to help shape stimming:

  1. Set up a specific stimming corner or area in your home, child’s room, or their classroom if the stim is disruptive to those around your child (e.g. loud noise).
  2. Talk about stimming with your child, help them identify why and when they need to stim.
  3. Try setting aside specific stim time in your child’s day (e.g. for 8 minutes before meals, 10 minutes to stim before going to bed, etc.). This can be especially useful for showing your child that you want to support their needs, but also need them to be able to focus on other things throughout the day. Keep in mind that if your child has a big emotion, they may need to stim more.
  4. Try setting a timer every time they start stimming. Let them know they can stim until the timer goes off and then it is time to refocus on functional tasks. This can be useful for those kids who stim for long periods of time.
  5. Try adding sensory enriching activities to your child’s day to supplement or enhance their stimming. Ideally, these activities would provide the same input as the child’s stim. Talk to your child’s OT about what type of activities to add.

Blog post compiled by ‘Ohana OT, Abigail Simmons (OTR/L)

Resources:
GriffinOT (2020). How do I stop my child from sensory stimming. Griffin occupational therapy. Retrieved from: https://www.griffinot.com/how-to-stop-child-sensory-stimming/
Miller, C. (2019). What you need to know about stimming. Kid’s creek. Retrieved from: https://www.kidscreektherapy.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-stimming/
What is stimming? (n.d.). Occupational therapy helping children. Retrieved from: https://occupationaltherapy.com.au/what-is-stimming/ 

Filed Under: Blogs, Featured, Learning, Self Care, Sensory Processing

5 Reasons Why Your Child Won’t Sit Still

March 16, 2015 By Mary Kostka Leave a Comment

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There are many reasons why a child will have difficulty sitting calmly in a chair. These are the most common problems I see that cause those wild wiggles!

 1) The Chair Does Not Fit

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Just like Goldilocks our children need a chair that is “just right”.  The table or desk also need to be the correct height. Your child’s feet and back need to be supported. Have your child scoot  back and see if if their back is supported and if the feet touch the ground.  Just like us, children are not comfortable if their feet are dangling and they can’t lean back to rest.  The correct table / desk height is even with your child’s elbow (with arms are down at their side).  When the chair and desk do not fit children will get into all kinds of funny positions to try and get comfortable including: sitting on their leg, kneeling up in the chair, squatting in the chair or standing up. An easy fix for a chair that is too high is to add a foot rest.  You can use old books duct taped together, a plastic box, or a short foot stool.  If the seat is too deep you can add a pillow behind your child’s back. To keep it from slipping off the chair, hold it on with a T shirt or Sweatshirt over the pillow and back of the chair. This is an extremely common problem I see in schools and in the home at the dining table. A few small changes to make the chair and table or desk fit can make a world of difference for your child.

2) Poor Core Strength

Many children  are not strong in their trunk which causes them to move a lot or slump and slide out of the chair.  It takes more strength to be still than to move.  You can screen your child’s core strength by seeing if he can  lift up their arms and legs straight up off the floor while lying on their tummy and hold it for 20-30 seconds.

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The check for abdominal strength see if he can hold a curled up position while lying on his back for 20-60 seconds (knees and head up off the floor while hugging his body – not hugging the legs).

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If this is difficult for your child see an Occupational Therapist for an evaluation.

3) Expecting your Child to Sit for Too Long

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With academic expectations increasing with younger and younger children we are seeing a rise in the expectations for young children to sit for longer than what is appropriate for their age (both at home and school).  Young children (elementary age) need to get up and move frequently. Ideally, children would not sit for more than 15-20 minutes at a time.  A simple break from sitting such as getting up and jumping 10x does wonders for waking up the body and mind.  In general,  children need to move as much as possible in order for their bodies and brains to develop properly

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4) Problems with Body Awareness

Sitting calmly requires and strong sense of where the body is in space. Receptors in the muscles and joints called “proprioceptors” tell the brain about the body’s position. This allows us to operate our bodies without having to pay close attention and watch ourselves move.  This is a very automatic process that is not automatic for many children who have Sensory Processing Disorder. When the body is moving, these proprioceptors are more active than when the body is still. Some children simply need to move to have a sense of where their body is. An Occupational Therapist who specializes in Sensory Processing Disorder aka Sensory Integration Dysfunction can evaluate your child to see if this is the case. She can also help this important sensation mature and give you activities to help your child at home.

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5) Problems with Sense of Balance and Movement

Many children have a very poor sense of balance and movement. This important sensation is located in the inner ear and it is called the vestibular sense. It is basically our inner compass that tells the body what direction it is moving, how fast, if we are tipping over and how much the muscles need to be active to support the amount of movement.  This sense also tells the muscles what to do in order to hold us still.  When this sensation is under responsive, children will be constantly on the move literally “bouncing off the walls’ in order to feel balanced or they may just seem to “melt” and let gravity pull them to the ground.  They will often slide or fall out of the chair and appear lethargic or sluggish. An Occupational Therapist who specializes in Sensory Processing Disorder aka Sensory Integration Dysfunction can evaluate your child to see if your child has problems with the vestibular sense. She can also help this important sensation mature and give you activities to help your child at home.

Mary Kostka is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist specializing in Sensory Processing Disorder at  her  private practice, ‘Ohana Occupational Therapy, LLC,   in Wenatchee and Leavenworth Washington, USA

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OhanaOt.com
‘Ohana Occupational Therapy, LLC
1139 N Princeton Suite B
Wenatchee, WA 98801
Ph: 509-888-7435
Fax: 509-888-7674

Filed Under: Blogs

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Ben's Fund

The Ben’s Fund was founded in 2012 in order to  provide financial support and guidance to children and young adults in the state of Washington who have autism. The Ben’s Fund provides grants to families in need to help with expenses associated with numerous aspects of supporting a child or young adult on the autism spectrum. Click HERE for more information on how to apply for a Ben's Fund grant.

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