self-injurious behaviors Archives - Autism Awareness

Autism News Tagged "self-injurious behaviors"

Understanding and Addressing Self-Injurious Behaviors in Autistic Individuals

It is estimated that about 42% of autistic people engage in self-injurious behaviors. Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is when a person physically harms themselves by head banging on floors, walls or other surfaces, hand or arm biting, hair pulling, eye gouging, face or head slapping, skin picking, scratching, rubbing or pinching, or forceful head shaking. Another term you may hear is…

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Understanding Stimming and Autism: The Good and Bad Side of Anxious Behaviours

What is stimming? Stimming – or stims – are a wide variety of self-stimulating behaviours that people with autism may exhibit when experiencing sensory overload or high levels of anxiety. Stimming can be a repetitive motion such as hand flapping, rocking, repetition of words or phrases (echolalia), vocalizations, or even the repetitive movement of objects. Stimming still puzzles many neurotypicals,…

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