Can a neurotypical child stim?

[Ihaveneedofwaternear]

My son (5) is doing some movements that I'm starting to think might be stimming. He moves his fingers up and down quickly / twists his hands in front of his face/eyes, the same two types of movement. Now that I think about it, he used to do it when he was younger, along with moving his hand/pointed finger round and round to the left of his face.

He has some tics (motor and verbal), which I realised last year have been going on since he was 2. But these movements don't seem like the tics - they seem more purposeful and he does them when he's excited or happy. The tics are very intrusive and are usually shoulder/head/face movements and/or vocal.

But I'm wondering, does this sound like stimming or a tic? Or of it is a stim, does stimming always mean autism? There is a history of his nursery querying autism, but he grew out of some of it.

We are on the list for the paediatrician for the tics, but I think we might need to be on the list for a different professional team if the query is autism. That's why I'm wondering if this could be stimming... But if he's coping well, does it even matter?

I'm neurotypical but have various tics that become prominent when stressed/anxious. I can control it around others but they come out when I'm at home, alone in my car driving etc. Throat clearing, huffing, eye rolling, eye blinking, and so on. They can be a delayed reaction to stress, so don't necessarily happen near to the time of a stressful event, but maybe appear the day or a few days after. I think they are part of my processing things that make me anxious.

I cope well in life so it doesn't matter to me. Other people may bite their nails when anxious and I view it similarly as it doesn't upset the rest of my life.

You could bring up the suspected autism with the paediatrician when he's being assessed for tics. I have also known children who have tics around primary age and then grow out of it. It's fairly common.

most people stim one way or another

Pretty much everyone stims to some extent (nail biting, finger drumming, hair twirling, knuckle cracking, running fingers along radiators etc). It can often be part of a wider ND diagnosis, but doesn't necessarily mean much in isolation.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and examples.

The nursery was concerned about repetitive, solitary, play, lining up etc, his social skills, his constant counting and "school level" maths skills. He did count all the time for about two years (literally all the time) and he still does count often or look at numbers on his calculator.

But he's grown out of a lot of the behaviours they were concerned about, except the anxiety - he has always been and still is an anxious little boy. And he still struggles with loud noise. But he's years ahead in maths and reading according to the school, so doing well academically. Has some little friends and come on loads socially.

I suppose my worry is that these movements are a symptom of anxiety and I want to help him with that.

Stimming isn’t only present in individuals with autism but is certainly more common in autistic individuals and occurs more frequently and with less regard as to whether the behaviours are socially acceptable. Tics are also common in people with autism, more so than in the general population, so I don’t think you’re unreasonable to be considering autism, especially considering the previous concerns raised by nursery. Autism can present in so many different ways, lots of autistic children are ahead academically and have friends so those aren’t reasons to think he couldn’t be autistic, but equally liking maths and lining up toys as a toddler aren’t guarantees he is autistic! I think it’s probably worth discussing your concerns with your GP and looking into getting him a proper autism assessment.

Are you seeing a community paediatrician? If you are you could talk about other concerns/behaviours at the same time. I think it would definitely be worth getting an autism assessment from reading your 2nd post. In my experience it's much better to have the diagnosis as early as possible even if they're not currently struggling because things can change as they move up in education and although support should be needs based, in practice that's not everyone's experience. I have an autistic 13yo and my 4yo is also on the pathway for an assessment. My 4yo DS also has a strong interest in numbers, is behind socially (but not totally disinterested in other children), very anxious, sensitive to noise.

It's good to hear it's a valid concern. He is pretty noise sensitive too. I'll mention it to the paediatrician, I think the waiting list is really long, and I've also heard it would be better to be on the list for CAMHS, so not sure what's for tj best.

Hi how’s your son now ? Xx do you mind me asking when you noticed these behaviours ?

@Vittoria123 they started when he was 1, but I just didn't realise what it was. The specific movements I mentioned in my OP started when he was 5.

He is absolutely fine, still lots of tics and movements but they don't usually bother him. Still big into numbers ❤️

Referral was rejected for paeds and CAHMS, so we are just getting on with life. We mainly just focus on any anxiety he feels and supporting him through that.

Do you have a child who stims/tics?

Hi x it is so good to hear from another mum ☺️ sometimes i feel really lonely in this . I have an 18 months DD who’s on track with everything but she tip toes occasionally when barefoot and rotates her wrists and ankles when in the buggy . Been to the gp and to a private orthopaedic surgeon who said it is mainly idiopathic . Is your Ds okay with food or does he any sensory issues if you don’t mind me asking ?

@Ihaveneedofwaternear I'll jump in as both my children stim and my youngest also has a lot of food sensitivity (eldest will eat anything).
My eldest was referred to child development as a toddler, via the health visitor at our request, they basically signed him off though as they didn't feel there was anything other than the hand flapping/twisting.
He's now at secondary school and is back on the camhs waiting list as he is interested in possibly looking at an ADHD/ASD diagnosis.

With my youngest, we will possibly look to refer her too, along with the hand twisting she also has food sensitivity and can get very anxious.

It's also very possible to have stand alone stims/motor stereotypies and these Facebook groups have been very useful if you're on there;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/motorstereotypy/?ref=share

https://www.facebook.com/groups/732946733426070/?ref=share

I absolutely remember the loneliness and worry when we first raised concerns and finding those groups was a godsend 🙂

Oops I meant to tag@Vittoria123🙂