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A weird stim behavior

NAS89644

Hello everyone,

I know stimming is very common for children or even adults who have autism. But, I've noticed that my daughter will place her hand in between her thighs (not near her private area) and then cross her ankles and squeeze as hard as she can. Her hand will then turn red, she then stops. Her Doc says she isn't concerned. Has anyone experienced this? Has anyone found a way for this type of stimming to stop? 

Thank you

  • Thank you everyone for a response. These are things my husband are I never thought of. We don't necessarily want her to stop, we just are afraid she will do it to much or to hard and hurt her hands. They do turn quite red, but it seems she knows her limits. I appreciate everyone's side to this. We are still learning as parents of an autistic child and listening to everyone else's point of view helps a ton. Thank you again.

  • Some of my own stims relate to pressure. I find it very soothing and calming to squeeze my hands together or sit on them or squeeze my calves and thighs very hard.

    Is this actually causing a problem?

  • My daughter does this when she’s bored, I used to do it if I was too worked up to sleep. Actually sometimes I still do to be fair. Tense all my muscles at once then let go and the effect is quite relaxing. It really confuses my husband when my daughter does it  because he thinks she’s cold and trying to keep her heat in. Unless her hand is turning purple or black you would possibly do more harm (psychological) to try and stop her from doing it

  • Why do you want this to stop? It doesn't seem to be causing harm?

    While I don't do exactly this, I sit on at least one of my hands a lot of the time, and in a car I often squeeze it between my legs. It's just another sensory input, and it helps me feel grounded. 

    Other suggested reasons from other people is it keeps my hands warm and it stops me waving my hands around a lot, which is still what happens when I infodump or relax.