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started. Welcome, everyone. Today we are talking about stimming. And stemming is short for self-stimulatory behavior.

And there are many different ways that people stem. For example, you might see a child or teen spin objects, rock back and forth, hand flap, repeatedly say certain words, nail pick,

really getting into feeling different textures, jiggling, and the imaging.

These are just a few types of self-stimulatory behavior that we may see in neurodivergent folks. Okay, so let's chat about the reasons why people stem.

So one reason is that they're understimulated. They may need more stimulation. In other words,

their body isn't stimulated enough and they just aren't getting it from their

environment or their body.

So their body will create more stimulation by engaging in these behaviors that help them feel

better.

Number two, sometimes a child will be over stimulated.

This is kind of the opposite.

There is too much stimulation and their body. will be over-stimulated. This is kind of the opposite.

There is too much stimulation in their body or their environment, and stimming can help block out some pretty uncomfortable sensory stimuli, such as lights, sounds, smells, or temperature.

Number three, sometimes children who are experiencing pain may stem in order

to decrease that pain. So let me explain. Here's an example. If a child has a cavity and it's causing

pain, they may hit themselves, which might release beta endorphins,

which can help reduce pain. This can become really tough if a child doesn't have a way to

communicate pain to their parents or their caregivers. It's important to always have a qualified medical professional

evaluate a child to rule in or out any medical concerns that would contribute to self-stimulatory

behavior. So even if a child was recently evaluated by their physician, and then they started hurting themselves after, it's important to have them evaluated again because we don't want to miss anything.

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