Stim Positive is short for "stimming positivity". What is stimming? Stimming is short for "self-stimulating".
Self-stimulating behaviors include repetitive motor movements and sounds like rocking back and forth, fidgeting, hand flapping, and even finger tapping. It also includes things like making atypical noises and echolalia (meaningless repetition of words, sounds, or phrases). However, stimming is an umbrella term for an extensive list of what can be considered self-stimulating behaviors.
Everybody engages in self-stimulating behaviors, but those with neurodevelopmental disabilities like Autism or ADHD engage in these behaviors significantly more than other groups of people.
So, what is stimming positivity exactly? Stimming positivity refers to a movement within neurodivergent (those with atypical neurological conditions) communities in which the goal is to bring increased positive awareness to these behaviors.
Stimming is healthy behavior, and important for the well-being of neurodevelopmentally Disabled people. Stimming is a self-regulatory mechanism. It is the way in which we help regulate ourselves emotionally, mentally, and physically. While not all stims are healthy, and some extreme forms of stimming should be re-directed (e.g., forms of self-harm), the act of stimming in itself should not be suppressed.
Stimming is an element of Disability that is heavily stigmatized. Those who exhibit these behaviors are systematically taught to disengage with these behaviors in exchange for social acceptability. Engaging in self-stimulating behaviors is often categorized as being weird, disruptive, distracting, and even rude and disrespectful. It has been historically thought of as an obstacle preventing individuals from fully engaging with learning or others. The opposite is true. The suppression of stimming hinders an individual's ability to focus, and properly engage with others and activities around them.
In a 2021 study published in the journal of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, researchers found that 84% of Autistic adults reported being told to stop stimming by others and that it had a negative impact on their cognition and emotions. 75% reported modifying their stims in a way less preferable to them for the sake of social acceptance.
Instead of teaching Disabled individuals to suppress their self-regulating behaviors, and their natural way of being, we should be advocating for accommodations, understanding, and acceptance.
In the spirit of the overarching theme of de-stigmatization, this website is named Stim Positive, as it is my goal to break the stigmas around Autism, ADHD, and neurodivergency as a whole.
SOURCES:
Rebecca A. Charlton, Timothy Entecott, Evelina Belova, Gabrielle Nwaordu,
“It feels like holding back something you need to say”: Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults accounts of sensory experiences and stimming,
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders,
Volume 89,
2021,
101864,
ISSN 1750-9467,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101864.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750946721001392)
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