Purposeless? Says Who? A Scoping Review of Potential Functions of Stimming in Autistic Adults

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Camin, M., Hudry, K., Jellett, R., & Flower, R. L. (2026). Purposeless? Says Who? A Scoping Review of Potential Functions of Stimming in Autistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood, Article 25739581261497840. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581261497840

Publication date: 13 Oct 2026 Added to AutiHub: 15 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 4 (25.0%)
  1. Marie Camin *
  2. Kristelle Hudry
  3. Rachel Jellett
  4. Rebecca L Flower

Abstract

Background: While the Autistic community widely perceives stimming—or repetitive behaviors—as serving a self-regulatory function, it is unclear whether the academic literature aligns with this perspective. Academic sources have sometimes framed stimming negatively (e.g., as purposeless or in need of suppression), though empirical support for this remains unclear. Clarifying the potential functions of stimming has practical implications for Autistic people, including for clinical practice. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the published literature on stimming in Autistic adults between 2013 and 2024 to identify potential functions of stimming and examine how it has been conceptualized in the literature to date, using search terms such as “stimming” and “repetitive behaviors.” A comprehensive search yielded nine studies which met eligibility criteria and were retained for data charting. Results: The nine retained studies, predominantly from the United Kingdom, variously utilized quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods designs. The studies highlighted the self-regulatory or positive role of stimming for Autistic adults. However, only two studies explicitly set out to investigate the function of stimming, highlighting a significant gap in the current understanding. We identified limitations such as variability in the key terms used to refer to stimming (n = 13) within the academic literature on Autistic adults to date. Conclusions: Currently, the academic literature on stimming in Autistic adults provides emerging evidence for the functions of this behavior from the perspective of Autistic people. To strengthen our understanding of stimming, future studies should establish a precise, widely accepted conceptualization, including clarifying the relationship between stimming, higher-order repetitive behaviors, and sensory-seeking behaviors (e.g., whether these constructs are truly distinct or share common functions). A clearer understanding of the potential functions of stimming may inform more appropriate and neuroaffirming supports, including recognizing and accommodating stimming as a meaningful self-regulatory and communicative behavior, rather than trying to extinguish or suppress stimming in the absence of harm.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 23 Oct 2026 08:00.

Cited references
35
With a DOI
26
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
9
5 / 35 (14.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 35 (8.6%)
References with detected author names
32 / 35 (91.4%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
9
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
160
From DOI or external metadata
160
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
5
41 / 160 (25.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 119 / 160 (74.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
10 / 160 (6.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 10 / 41 (24.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 10 / 142 (7.0%).
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