Self Stimulation in Autistic Children
Self-stimulatory behaviors are valuable because they tell you how your child takes in information. If your child likes to burrow down inside the cushions of the couch, be held or hugged a lot, enjoys massage, etc., you can assume that he is motivated by information he receives proprioceptively. If your child likes to vocalize, listen to music, or bang things together next to his ear, you can assume he is motivated by information he receives auditorially.
These behaviors can be used as a way to explore the individual's preferred sensory channels for receiving information from the world. With this information we may identify preferred sensory experiences around which we can develop more "mainstream" leisure activities that our children will also come to view as "leisure." For example, if a child enjoys the visual sensation of lights we can find age-appropriate toys that might be motivating to him. In addition to familiar toys such as Lite-Brite, consider lava lamps, continuous wave machines, lighted drafting tables for drawing, and even some Nintendo-type games. You might also consider extracurricular events such as visiting arcades, decorating with lights for appropriate holidays or lying in a hammock under a tree watching the play of light through the leaves.
Each day, a good portion of our energy is spent in self-stimulation. Just look at the people around you. You are in a room with your family watching television or at a meeting with a group of co-workers. Although you are seemingly engaged in the same activity, your daughter or colleague is playing with her hair. Your son or your office-mate is shaking his leg and tapping out rhythms on the arm of the chair. Your husband is flipping channels with the remote or your boss is flipping papers. If you ask them what they were doing, they would likely reply that they are watching television or having an important meeting. They would be less likely to say they were channel surfing, twirling their hair, practicing the drum part for "Wipe Out," or fanning their papers.
Each of us, even those of us with more intact central nervous systems, tolerates differing degrees of stimulation. Look at the difference in the preferred musical tastes (and intensity levels) between the teenager and the forty-year-old. Although most teenagers enjoy megawatt rock concert with all the trimmings, most adults are more inclined to seek out softer music or silence in a dimly lit room. In the same way, children with deafblindness vary in the amount and intensity of stimulation they need.
If we come to accept that self-stimulation is an important and valid activity for individuals without disabilities, then we must begin to revise our thinking about addressing self-stimulatory behaviors in individuals with deafblindness.
Children with deafblindness (just like you and me) participate in self-stimulatory behavior to calm, to energize, to get feedback, etc. Most of the time you can't completely extinguish the behavior, and perhaps you shouldn't, because it does serve a purpose.
Most parents find that their child is more likely to participate in self-stimulatory behaviors when he/she is idle or stressed. Interacting with your child in some way may break up the self-stimulation. If the behavior appears in response to stress, finding ways to help him relax (e.g., massage, being wrapped up in a quilt, etc.) may reduce the amount of time spent in the behavior you find inappropriate or harmful. If your child is left alone, however, it is likely he/she will re-engage in this activity as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Some behaviors may present problems because they are considered socially inappropriate. Those of us who are smokers have learned to refrain from our favorite self-stimulation behavior on flights, but we all know exactly where to go in the airport for that last cigarette before the flight leaves.
With some effort, many children can learn to remove themselves to their bedroom or a private place when engaging in self-stimulation that is not considered socially acceptable. Using calendar symbols to represent this favored activity and scheduling the activity as part of the child's day may help the child refrain from this particular self-stimulation behavior for increasingly longer periods of time and stay involved in other kinds of activities.
Take time to observe the types of self-stimulation that your child participates in and when this behavior occurs. Watch him/her and make notes about what you see and when you see it. Then try to see if there is any pattern to these behaviors that would give you insight to the type or types of stimulation he/she prefers and the purpose it serves. At the same time note what types of activities he/she finds aversive.
When you have a good understanding about his/her preferences, begin to brainstorm ways that you can offer other stimulatory activities, modify or expand on the preferred self-stimulation. Ask for help from your child's teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and others. Look at children of the same age, and try to find toys or activities that may make the self-stimulatory behavior appear more "normal."
Changes in schedules, moves to new environments, and so forth, can also bring about increases in self-stimulatory behavior. Helping the child anticipate these changes, and providing as much consistency as possible through familiar routines during times of change, may help reduce this type of behavior.
There are a number of ways to intervene. Keep the child involved with others during the course of the day. Help him/her contain the behavior, or engineer the environment to make the behavior safer. Schedule times in the day for your child to engage in the preferred activity. Look at ways the behavior can be adapted, so it will appear more "normal." Use the information these behaviors tell you about your child's preferred channels of sensory input, to develop recreational and social pursuits that may be enjoyable for him/her, even if these activities will not entirely meet his/her "leisure" needs. Finally, accept that you will probably never completely extinguish the behavior without having it replaced by another self-stimulatory behavior. Self-stimulation is common to all humans and serves an important purpose.
Resources:
These behaviors can be used as a way to explore the individual's preferred sensory channels for receiving information from the world. With this information we may identify preferred sensory experiences around which we can develop more "mainstream" leisure activities that our children will also come to view as "leisure." For example, if a child enjoys the visual sensation of lights we can find age-appropriate toys that might be motivating to him. In addition to familiar toys such as Lite-Brite, consider lava lamps, continuous wave machines, lighted drafting tables for drawing, and even some Nintendo-type games. You might also consider extracurricular events such as visiting arcades, decorating with lights for appropriate holidays or lying in a hammock under a tree watching the play of light through the leaves.
Each day, a good portion of our energy is spent in self-stimulation. Just look at the people around you. You are in a room with your family watching television or at a meeting with a group of co-workers. Although you are seemingly engaged in the same activity, your daughter or colleague is playing with her hair. Your son or your office-mate is shaking his leg and tapping out rhythms on the arm of the chair. Your husband is flipping channels with the remote or your boss is flipping papers. If you ask them what they were doing, they would likely reply that they are watching television or having an important meeting. They would be less likely to say they were channel surfing, twirling their hair, practicing the drum part for "Wipe Out," or fanning their papers.
Each of us, even those of us with more intact central nervous systems, tolerates differing degrees of stimulation. Look at the difference in the preferred musical tastes (and intensity levels) between the teenager and the forty-year-old. Although most teenagers enjoy megawatt rock concert with all the trimmings, most adults are more inclined to seek out softer music or silence in a dimly lit room. In the same way, children with deafblindness vary in the amount and intensity of stimulation they need.
If we come to accept that self-stimulation is an important and valid activity for individuals without disabilities, then we must begin to revise our thinking about addressing self-stimulatory behaviors in individuals with deafblindness.
Children with deafblindness (just like you and me) participate in self-stimulatory behavior to calm, to energize, to get feedback, etc. Most of the time you can't completely extinguish the behavior, and perhaps you shouldn't, because it does serve a purpose.
Most parents find that their child is more likely to participate in self-stimulatory behaviors when he/she is idle or stressed. Interacting with your child in some way may break up the self-stimulation. If the behavior appears in response to stress, finding ways to help him relax (e.g., massage, being wrapped up in a quilt, etc.) may reduce the amount of time spent in the behavior you find inappropriate or harmful. If your child is left alone, however, it is likely he/she will re-engage in this activity as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
Some behaviors may present problems because they are considered socially inappropriate. Those of us who are smokers have learned to refrain from our favorite self-stimulation behavior on flights, but we all know exactly where to go in the airport for that last cigarette before the flight leaves.
With some effort, many children can learn to remove themselves to their bedroom or a private place when engaging in self-stimulation that is not considered socially acceptable. Using calendar symbols to represent this favored activity and scheduling the activity as part of the child's day may help the child refrain from this particular self-stimulation behavior for increasingly longer periods of time and stay involved in other kinds of activities.
Take time to observe the types of self-stimulation that your child participates in and when this behavior occurs. Watch him/her and make notes about what you see and when you see it. Then try to see if there is any pattern to these behaviors that would give you insight to the type or types of stimulation he/she prefers and the purpose it serves. At the same time note what types of activities he/she finds aversive.
When you have a good understanding about his/her preferences, begin to brainstorm ways that you can offer other stimulatory activities, modify or expand on the preferred self-stimulation. Ask for help from your child's teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and others. Look at children of the same age, and try to find toys or activities that may make the self-stimulatory behavior appear more "normal."
Changes in schedules, moves to new environments, and so forth, can also bring about increases in self-stimulatory behavior. Helping the child anticipate these changes, and providing as much consistency as possible through familiar routines during times of change, may help reduce this type of behavior.
There are a number of ways to intervene. Keep the child involved with others during the course of the day. Help him/her contain the behavior, or engineer the environment to make the behavior safer. Schedule times in the day for your child to engage in the preferred activity. Look at ways the behavior can be adapted, so it will appear more "normal." Use the information these behaviors tell you about your child's preferred channels of sensory input, to develop recreational and social pursuits that may be enjoyable for him/her, even if these activities will not entirely meet his/her "leisure" needs. Finally, accept that you will probably never completely extinguish the behavior without having it replaced by another self-stimulatory behavior. Self-stimulation is common to all humans and serves an important purpose.
Resources:
- Kotulak, Ronald. Unlocking the mysteries of the brain. Austin American Statesman, Sunday, June 6, 1993, p G1 and G4-6.
- Restak, Richard, M.D. The Brain, Bantam Books, 1984.
- Romanczyk, R. G., Kistner, J. A., and Plienis, A. Self-stimulatory and self-injurious behavior: etiology and treatment, pps. 189-254 in Autism and Severe Psychopathology, Advances in Child Behavioral Analysis and Therapy, Vol. 2.
Children with Autism spectrum disorder who do learn verbal correspondence, by and large, accomplish language achievements later than children with average improvement.
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