Examples of Stemming Behaviors for Children with Autism
Autism includes a wide range of symptoms. These symptoms are unique to every child and reflect how your child learns, perceives and understands his or her world. It is usually said that autism comprises of a family or set of disorders affected by many external and internal factors.
The symptoms of autism are mainly difficulties in communication, social interaction and behavior. Behavioral symptoms include stemming behaviors. These behaviors are said to be stereotypical and repetitive behaviors that are related to the diagnosis of autism and other autistic traits.
Typical Examples of Stemming Behaviors for Children with Autism
We review that not all behavioral symptoms of children with autism are examples of stemming behaviors for children with autism:
Behavioral Symptoms
- Has unusual perceptions and reactions to how things look, sound, taste, smell or feel
- Has unrealistic and unusual fears
- Avoids touch
- Limited to restricted interests—prefers the same activities, toys and clothing
- Unusual use of everyday objects
- Limited imaginative or pretend play
- Stereotypical, repetitive or stemming actions like spinning objects, rocking and hand flapping
- Difficulty adjusting in changes of routine
Typically, examples of stemming behaviors for children with autism would include spinning objects, rocking and hand flapping but it doesn’t stop there. Other examples would include handclapping, turning the lights on and off, opening and closing doors and even biting. Stemming behaviors are a way for children with autism to organize themselves when overstimulated and a way to arouse themselves when understimulated.
Since children with autism have difficulties communicating, stemming behaviors act as their mode of verbalizing overwhelming emotions like their unrealistic and unusual fears, confusion, excitement and anger. It is important to take note of what precedes these stemming behaviors –the intensity and frequency of stimulation - whether it is overstimulation or understimulation to better understand what provokes these behaviors. Certain sensory inputs like deep stimulation through relaxation techniques, proprioceptive and vestibular input counteract overstimulation and understimulation and are said to minimize these examples of stemming behaviors for children with autism.
Proprioceptive and Vestibular Input Decrease the Examples of Stemming Behaviors for Children with Autism
Proprioception deals with the position or postural sense and is the awareness of where each body part is. Meanwhile, Vestibular Input would mean the sense of balance. Both proprioception and vestibular input through means of calming massage and the sensation of touch and the calm and quiet coaxing into consciousness stimulates the child with autism and brings back the child’s awareness to reality. Frequent and therapeutic touch could also be a means to enhance reciprocal communication with a child with autism.
Pharmacologic Treatment for the Examples of Stemming Behaviors for Children with Autism
Some children with autism take in pharmacologic treatment in the form of antipsychotics such as risperidone (Risperdal) or haloperidol (Haldol) for specific target symptoms particularly for stereotyped, repetitive examples of stemming behaviors for children with autism, hyperactivity, self-injury, temper tantrums and aggressiveness. Other medications such as clonidine (Catapres), clomipramine (Anafranil), naltrexone (ReVia), and stimulants are used to decrease hyperactive, self-injurious and obsessive behaviors with varied but unremarkable results.
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