What is side glancing in autism?

Does your child with autism look out of the sides of their eyes, wiggle their fingers in front of themselves, or seem fascinated by spinning items? If so, your child might be “visually stimming”!

healisautism.com - Visual Stimming: What can we do about it? - Healis autism centre

Do soulmates stare at each other?

Some say yes. One of the biggest eye contact love signals is feeling like your soulmate already knows how you feel. Through a single stare, you can...

Last updated Feb 22, 2020

Is true love happens only once?

“Love can happen many times. If you fall in love and the person turns out to be the wrong one for you, you can't force yourself to continue loving...

Last updated Jul 21, 2019

Do you really know who the “One” is? Your true Soulmate?

Promotion

The solution to reduce the stimming is to offer a replacement that is more alluring than the stim. Does your child with autism look out of the sides of their eyes, wiggle their fingers in front of themselves, or seem fascinated by spinning items? If so, your child might be “visually stimming”!

What is visual stimming?

Visual stimming is one of the self-stimulatory behaviours that children with autism often present with.

It may include repetitive behaviours such as:

Staring or gazing at objects, such as ceiling fans or lights

Repetitive blinking or turning lights on and off

Moving fingers in front of the eyes

Hand-flapping

Eye tracking or peering from the corners of the eyes

Object placement, such as lining up objects

Why do they stim?

It is not easy to pinpoint or determine the reason for stimming. However, it is important to note these behaviours have been thought to be a form of coping mechanism that serves a variety of purposes. According to Healthline (2019), a child may stim because he/she is trying to:

Stimulate the senses or decrease sensory overload

Reduce anxiety and calm themselves

Express frustration, especially if they have trouble communicating effectively

Avoid certain activities or expectations

What can we do about it?

In order to understand your child’s stimming behaviour, Lindsey Biel (2009) provided a useful framework of questions to ask yourself:

In what type of situations and under what circumstances does my child stim?

Could it be that they are tired/hungry/anxious/bored/frustrated?

Are there too many unexpected changes or transitions?

Is the behaviour worse at a certain place or with certain people?

What does my child get out of this behaviour?

Are they doing it because they need attention or are distressed?

What are they trying to tell me?

Is it a way to block out unpleasant sensations?

Does this help them to calm down or release pent-up energy?

Is there an underlying medical issue?

This is important to consider especially when the behaviour is new.

Visual stims could be a way to self-soothe eyes that are strained due to undiagnosed visual acuity or convergence problems

What would help?

Do you need to reduce the sensory demands of the situation? (eg. Taking a break, dim the lights)

Would providing a distraction work?

Do they need to engage in one of their sensory diet activities?

Being able to pinpoint the root reason why your child is engaging in this behaviour will help you find suitable strategies to apply to the situation.

Tips to manage visual stimming

What makes a painting high quality?

What Makes a Good Painting? In the end, what makes a painting successful is that its composition, color, and subject matter all work harmoniously...

Last updated Nov 30, 2021

What are the 4 rare zodiac signs?

Top 3 Rarest Zodiac Signs: Are You one of them? Aquarius (January 20 – February 18) The sun enters Aquarius at the end of January and stays there...

Last updated Aug 7, 2019

Promotion

Behaviour: Child is under-responsive

Children who are under-responsive to visual input may seek out increased amounts of visual stimulation to alert the brain. Hence you may try to: 1) Provide access to visual stimulation at intervals after they complete their work

Spinning objects Light toys Videos

2) Explore a multi-sensory approach when practicing skills like writing

Write on different textured surfaces (whiteboard, sandpaper, carpet, chalkboard) Writing with fingers in different mediums (sand, water, shaving cream, paint)

3) Provide visual aid to facilitate copying from book or board

Use a ruler to mark when reading Use fingers to help with spaces between words These will help the child to maintain an adequate level of alertness and attention throughout the day.

Behaviour: Child is over-responsive

Children who are over-responsive to visual input may process lighting as much brighter. They may also be more sensitive to light and hence would want to escape to a darker place. More often than not, they have difficulty filtering out varying visual stimulation in the room which he/she may feel overwhelmed and highly anxious. Hence you may try to:

1) Reduce visual distraction

Seat child away from doors, windows and colourful displays Keep lights dimmed and use natural light when possible Limit the amount of visual materials hanging from walls and ceilings. Reduce clutter.

2) Allow children to wear lightly tinted sunglasses if necessary

Be mindful of areas or reflective surfaces which may concentrate or magnify light sources Prepare child when entering environment with different/strong lightings

3) Do not force or demand child to make eye contact

Your child may be listening and paying attention without making eye contact – it might even enhance their ability to process verbal information Teach child to look near the eyes instead of directly into the eyes

Conclusion – Provide a more alluring replacement behaviour

Ultimately, the overall principle is to provide the child an experience that produces similar feel-good sensations that self-stimulatory activity gives them but go one step up on the developmental ladder of regulation, engagement and interaction. The solution to reduce the stimming is to offer a replacement that is more alluring than the stim! If your child stops stimming when you ask, do reward him/her! By addressing the sensory issues, family members and therapists can make it easier for the child to learn, socialise and participate in activities.

Written by Jermaine.

References:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319714#stimming_type

https://www.healthline.com/health/autism/stimming#reasons

https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Sensory-Smart-Child-Definitive/dp/0143115340

https://sensory-processing.middletownautism.com/sensory-strategies/strategies-according-to-sense/visual/under-responsive/

healisautism.com - Visual Stimming: What can we do about it? - Healis autism centre

Who was the first boy to get pregnant?

Beatie had gender reassignment surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial...

Last updated Dec 21, 2022

What signs make good couples?

Scroll down to see if your and your partner's signs appear in the list of the 9 best zodiac couples. Aquarius And Gemini. Save. ... Leo And...

Last updated Aug 30, 2018

Promotion

Why do guys get a new girlfriend so quickly?

Men who move on faster may also be good at compartmentalizing, meaning they can just put their old relationship in the past and look at a new...

Last updated Jul 14, 2021

Promotion

Is sketching a skill or talent?

Drawing is a Skill, so you can learn how to draw even if you are not talented. It will take more time and effort but generally the artists who are...

Last updated Apr 1, 2020