Vocal Stimming in Children with Autism: What You Need to Know
Many kids and teens with autism make frequent sounds and noises when excited or anxious. These vocalizations — which can sound loud or quiet, high-pitched or low-pitched, happy or upset — are often a form of self-stimulatory behavior, called stimming. Families sometimes say that their loved one with autism hates noises, but is the noisiest person they know.
What is vocal stimming?
Vocal stimming is when someone perseverates (repeats) a specific sound or a selection of sounds in order to self regulate their sensory system. They might be trying to tune out an environment which is overwhelming to them.
The person with autism doesn't need to be verbal (able to speak) to have vocal stims. Vocal stimming is common in kids and teens with autism who are non-verbal, preverbal, or minimally verbal.
A person’s vocal stimming might sound like vocal tics, but these are not the same, however some people with autism have both vocal stims and vocal tics.
Why do children with autism stim?
Children with autism stim to try to self-regulate. The purpose of some vocal stims is to produce auditory output (noise) to self-soothe or calm down because they are trying to prevent sensory overload. At other times verbal stimming may occur to block or tune out auditory input such as background noise or people’s voices. To learn about the basics of sensory processing disorder read my Sensory Processing Easy Read Guide
Stimming has a meaningful purpose to the person with autism. They need to regulate their body and brain. An autistic person should not be scolded or blamed for needing to stim.
The Son-Rise program for autism calls stims ‘isms’. It defines ‘isms’ as when a child is “in their own private world and doesn’t respond or interact”. And the Autism Crisis Turnaround says stimming happens when a person is dysregulated, so they advocate for parents, carers and teachers to Stop Stopping Stims
Vocal stimming examples
Every individual with autism is different, and your child might stim differently from another child with autism, but here are some common examples of vocal stimming:
Humming
Giggling
High-pitched shrieking
Wailing/whining
Bellowing (low-pitched)
Clicking
Hissing
Repeating words
Repeating phrases
Repeating conversations
Scripting from movies/tv/adverts
Singing
Whispering
Babbling or saying made-up words
Saying phonemes (letter sounds/blends)
Mimicking animal sounds
Crying
Is vocal stimming normal?
From time to time, we all might have repetitive vocal behaviors. You might, for example, hum a few lines of a familiar song while concentrating or relaxing.
However, people with autism typically stim more often and with more intensity because their stims have a purpose and meaning to them. It is common for kids and teens with autism to produce vocal stims in addition to motor stims.
What triggers vocal stimming?
Sensory Overload
Sensory overload (too much sensory input) can cause children and teens with autism to stim more. They might use vocal stims to try to self-regulate.
Anxiety
If a child is anxious about an activity they know they are about to do, or anxious about going to a specific place in their community (for example, a doctor's appointment), they might produce more vocalizations in an attempt to self-soothe.
Concentration
In order to concentrate on an activity and tune out distractions such as background noise, a person might make repetitive sounds or perseverate on verbal words or phrases.
Need for stimulation
A child might also stim vocally if they are seeking more auditory or oral sensory input.
Excitement
A child might begin to stim vocally when they are excited by an activity, or in anticipation of an activity or event they enjoy.
Should you stop an autistic child from stimming?
According to the Son-Rise Programme, you should not stop an autistic child from stimming. Instead, it recommends joining in with the ‘isms’ to show your child how much you love doing what they love.
Outwith the home environment, there might be times when you really need to help a child to reduce their pitch or volume, such as if they are shrieking loudly in excitement and the noise is causing distress to another child or adult in a public place.
You might want to think about whether or not the noise causes harm to the child who is stimming or to those around them. For example, does the noise:
raise the child’s heart rate or blood pressure?
disturb or frighten others?
cause pain to anyone with hyperacusis (noise sensitivity)?
contain abusive or offensive language?
If your answer to any of these is “yes,” then you should try to take caring and loving steps to help the child or teen feel more regulated by reducing some of sensory inputs which are overwhelming them.
It’s also important to find out if the child has any medical issues that may be causing the stimming, such as pain, infection, or PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections).
How do you reduce vocal stimming?
For situations where you need to reduce and redirect vocal stimming because it is causing harm to the individual or others around them, the first step is to find out the cause for it. (It’s important to make sure that the stimming or vocalizations aren’t caused by any medical issues or by a comorbid disability such as Tourette’s syndrome, which can cause vocal tics.)
The reason for the behavior will affect what you can do - whether you go with it or need to adjust the environment. For example, if your child, teen, or student with autism is stimming because they are seeking sensory a specific input eg rocking for vestibular input, then attempting to reduce their back & forth movements won’t help. And if they are stimming to self-regulate because of too much sensory input, then adapting the environment or your own actions to reduce specific sensory inputs can reduce the need for stimming by helping them to feel calmer and more regulated. To quickly assess the sensory needs of your student or child with autism, complete my Sensory Preferences Checklist.
Depending on the situation, other ways to reduce a child’s need for vocal stimming include:
Reducing demands to take the pressure off and lessen anxiety.
Reduce the child’s anxiety about what’s going to happen next by telling them clearly or showing them photos or pictures.
Sincerely telling the child that you understand how they feel and that you want to help them feel calmer and safer.