Stimming in Autism: What It Really Means and Why Stopping It Directly Never Works
Parents of autistic children often come with one common concern:
“Doctor, my child keeps doing the same thing again and again.”
Hand flapping, rocking, jumping, humming, spinning objects—these behaviors are commonly labelled as stimming (self-stimulatory behavior). Unfortunately, stimming is also one of the most misunderstood aspects of autism.
Most advice given to parents focuses on stopping the behavior.
But stopping stimming without understanding its cause is like silencing an alarm without checking why it rang.
What Is Stimming, Really?
Stimming is not bad behaviour.
It is not naughtiness.
It is not a habit picked up deliberately.
According to Dr Santosh Kondekar, stimming is a brain response, not a discipline issue.
In autism, the brain often struggles to:
Integrate sensory input
Understand the environment meaningfully
Stay engaged with people and situations
When the brain does not receive meaningful input from the world, it creates its own stimulation.
Stimming is the brain trying to regulate itself when the world does not make sense.
Why Stopping Stimming Directly Fails
Many parents try:
Scolding
Holding hands
Repeatedly saying “no”
Random medicines
These methods may reduce stimming temporarily, but it returns or changes form.
Why? Because the core problem—poor receptiveness and poor cognitive engagement—remains unsolved.
As long as the brain has nothing meaningful to process, it will return to self-stimulation.
The Correct Goal
The goal is not to stop stimming.
The goal is to make the brain receptive, attentive, and meaning-oriented.
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