question about toddler “stimming”?
Question by geri: question about toddler “stimming”?
Hi all
I have a little boy just turned 2 in October, who is exhibiting behaviour which after research, I have found out is called “stimming”. I looked it up online because it was beginning to worry me a bit.
Basically, he spends a lot of time doing this eye-rolling thing, walking up and down our hall looking at the walls in a kind of sideways glance. Also he spends an unusual amount of time filling and emptying boxes of bricks he has – I’ve since found out these repetitive behaviour patterns are known as self stimulatory behaviour.
I’m a full-time mom, very hands-on, and spend hours with him encouraging interactive play with me – reading books (he’s slightly behind with his speech), doing puzzles, drawing, etc. and he’s rarely left to sit and play on his own during the day, but when I go to the loo, when we have a visitor, or go out to the kitchen to get his lunch ready, he’ll start this behaviour and act like he doesn’t want to be interrupted.
Otherwise, he’s very social, affectionate, and is making good progress with his words.
Of course when I searched this behaviour online, “autism” came up in a lot of results – he’s clearly not at the extreme of autism, but should I be concerned? I mean, will he grow out of this, or should I look for an advice from the Dr.?
Best answer:
Answer by gvr
he is probably mildly autistic
What do you think? Answer below!
Tags: About, question., stimming, toddler
May 14th, 2011 at 1:23 am
Take him to the dr…..now!
May 14th, 2011 at 1:39 am
If you really are concerned then do get some advise from the doctor but all kids do enjoy playing alone sometimes. my daughter still puts bricks in a box and plays alot by herself, shes 3. she has her brother whos 1 to paly with and i do interact with both of them but she just prefers to be left to her own devices sometimes, i mean if you think about it as if you were him would you want someone round you all the time?
Anyway, i do find the eye-rolling thing and looking at the wall thing a bit strange so perhaps get him an eye test or speak to your gp/health visitor about it. good luck
May 14th, 2011 at 2:35 am
it could be something mild on the spectrum, or it could be nothing at all. I would go to http://www.childbrain.com and do the PDD/autism quiz and see what it says. Some of the little quirky things that you think just make him who he is may actually mean something. I would print out the quiz and take it to his doctor and use it to start a discussion.
My oldest son did not say more than mama and dada until he was about 22 months old, then he caught up really quick. He never stimmed that I could tell, and is very social. When he got to school he definately had some anxiety and such with his school work. We found out at 6 years old that he has ADHD. 5 years later he got mad and hit a teacher. when he calmed down he was so angry with himself that he was making suicidal statements. school referred us to the local mental health center for an emergency eval. They decided he was not actually a danger, so did the rest of the screen 2 weeks later. I filled out a mountain of papers about him and his birth and development. After reading the papers the psychologist told me that he had some autistic features, but not enough in the correct areas to be autistic. He is very smart, but he is also very literal, does not always know what is socially acceptable, has trouble following multi-step directions and things like that. Until this year he has been mainstream with only aide support the last 2 years. Puberty tends to mess with medications and stuff like that, so we are having issues currently. I did the childbrain quiz on him a few months ago, and it said he may have mild PDD-NOS ( exactly what the doc said). Of course it also said that my 3 year old has mild PDD, but I attribute it to his issues with apraxia and speech delay.
May 14th, 2011 at 2:42 am
It is so funny to me what the general public view on autism is, in your case ‘extreme’, I have heard daunting, dire, severe, thank god my child isn’t autistic ect. Then I tell people I am autistic, and many laugh or say no your not. Really, I was dx in 1975 before it was readily diagnosed.
Anyways, in addition to myself being on the spectrum so are my boys, 2 of 3.
My 3 year old is a visual stimmer.
Yes its a concern, will he grow out of it, probably, definately it will lessen over time but you should work on it. The visual stimming means he isn’t organized (sensory integration) which would delay speech so it can hold him back. The CNS isn’t mature till age 6-7. Suggestion Read the out of sync child by Kranowicz. Learn the Wilbarger brushing technique.
At this point a doctor is just going to give you an opinion of yes on the autistic spectrum or no or lets wait and see. And doctors will have differing opinions so its not real practical. He has an issue, work on it like you are. Spend some time looking at ways to organize him by learning what you can about sensory integration. He probably wouldn’t qualify but you could try to get some free therapy, have him assessed for by early intervention, its free and you need no referral. An OT eval would probably get you further than seeing a neurologist, developmental, or a psychologist
For a different perspective on autism take a gander at my contacts many of whom are extremely articulate, college educated, bright, and autistic
Here is a video on stimming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f15JexiQt4U