Louise88 wrote:
Stims aren't always positive things. I teach an autistic child on a private tuition basis and I don't allow him to stim in class, because the more he stims, the more he needs to and it reduces his concentration and performance.
I obviously don't know the child in question, so things could be different in the case you describe - but at least in my personal experience part of the
reason for stimming is to allow me to focus. It doesn't
look like traditional focus (well, I suppose when I used to pace, most people associate pacing with thinking, so that wasn't too bad) but if you take the stim away from me, I will be focused on not being able to do it, not on what I am supposed to be doing.
If the stimming is a symptom of a particular need not being met, then I could see where meeting that need would be important, and the stim stopping would be a barometer for how well you've addressed the need...but it could also be that the child is putting five times the effort into not-stimming than he's putting into classwork.
Stims that are harmful don't apply in this equation, of course - those need to be redirected somehow.
17 Nov 2014, 7:57 pm
