Beyond self-regulation: Autistic experiences and perceptions of stimming

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. three authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Morris, I. F., Sykes, J. R., Paulus, C. R., Dameh, A., Razzaque, A., Esch, L. V., Gruenig, J., & Zelazo, P. D. (2025). Beyond self-regulation: Autistic experiences and perceptions of stimming. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330241311096

Publication date: 1 Jan 2025 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 8 (37.5%)
  1. Isabelle F. Morris *
  2. Jesica R Sykes *
  3. Crius R. Paulus
  4. Alharith Dameh
  1. Aysha Razzaque *
  2. Lauren Vander Esch
  3. Jenna Gruenig
  4. Philip David Zelazo

Abstract

Repetitive, self-stimulatory behaviors (“stimming”) are a hallmark characteristic of autism. Stimming is thought to aid in self-regulation, but autistic perspectives of stimming are underrepresented in the literature. Autistic adults (Study 1 N = 131; Study 2 N = 117) completed a survey about their autistic identity and their experiences and perceptions of stimming, as well as the functions stimming served. Participants reported stimming to be sometimes positive and sometimes negative, with stimming only being a negative experience when it was self-injurious or stigmatized. Despite frequently being a positive experience, participants purposefully suppressed stimming (“masking”), which was done almost exclusively for extrinsic reasons (e.g. to avoid judgment from others). The majority of participants felt stimming (1) was an important part of their friendship with other autistic people, (2) helped them connect with other autistic people, and (3) that when they saw other autistic people stimming, they could tell what they were feeling. Study 2 found that the degree of connection to the autistic community was the most important predictor of whether stimming served these social-communication functions. Lay abstract Stimming, or repetitive self-stimulatory behavior, is commonly seen in autistic people and is believed to help with self-regulation. However, the views of autistic people on stimming are not well represented in academic research. Two studies surveyed autistic adults (131 in Study 1 and 117 in Study 2) about their identity, experiences, and views on stimming, as well as its purposes. Participants reported that stimming could be both positive and negative, with negativity only arising when it caused self-injury or was stigmatized. Although stimming was often a positive experience, many participants intentionally suppressed it to avoid judgment from others. Most participants felt that stimming played a key role in their friendships and connections with other autistic individuals and that it helped them understand each other's emotions. Study 2 revealed that a strong connection to the autistic community was the most important factor in whether stimming served these social and communicative purposes. Given the potential importance of stimming as social communication within the Autistic community, interventions to enhance social and communication skills in Autistic individuals should consider ways to incorporate stimming. A better understanding of the important roles stimming plays in Autistic people's lives is beneficial for the well-being of Autistic individuals.

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: 2 Oct 2026 11:55.

Cited references
43
With a DOI
36
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
6
5 / 43 (11.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 43 (9.3%)
References with detected author names
40 / 43 (93.0%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
6
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
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
120
From DOI or external metadata
120
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
8
37 / 120 (30.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 83 / 120 (69.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
7 / 120 (5.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 7 / 37 (18.9%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 6 / 106 (5.7%).
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