Vocal Stimming in Students with Autism
Many students with autism make frequent sounds and noises when excited or anxious. Repeated vocalizations can sound loud or quiet, high-pitched or low-pitched, happy or upset, and are often a form of self-stimulatory behavior, called stimming.
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What is vocal stimming?
Vocal stimming occurs when students with autism perseverates (repeats) a specific sound or a selection of sounds in order to self regulate their sensory system. Your students might be trying to tune out the school or classroom environment which is overwhelming to them.
Autistic students can have vocal stims whether or not they are verbal. Some students with autism have both vocal stims and vocal tics.
What causes students with autism to 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 their nervous system 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 in the school, or the voices of classmates and staff. Working with your students’ parents can be helpful in identifying their sensory triggers. Parents who are new to autism and sensory processing disorder might find my Sensory Processing Easy Read Guide helpful to read.
Stimming usually has a meaningful purpose for students with autism. They have repeated stimulatory behaviors because they are trying to regulate their body and brain. Some autism therapies advise joining in with stims to show acceptance and build connections with kids. However there are many times and situations in school when this would not be appropriate. Some stims can be disruptive and even dangerous. A small number of autistic students might even stim deliberately to get over excited, or as part of attention seeking behaviors.
Vocal stimming examples
Every student with autism is different, 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?
We all might have some repetitive vocal behaviors. You might, for example, hum a few lines of a familiar song while concentrating or relaxing.
However, students with autism typically stim more often, louder, and with more intensity because of their difficulties with their body’s level of regulation. It is common for students with autism to produce vocal stims in at the same time as motor (movement) stims.
What triggers vocal stimming?
Sensory Overload
Sensory overload (too much sensory input) can cause students to use vocal stims to try to self-regulate their central nervous system.
Anxiety
When an autistic child is anxious about an activity which is going to happen, a task they need to do, or a place they need to go in school or in their community, they might produce frequent vocalizations in an attempt to self-soothe.
Concentration
In order to concentrate on an activity and tune out distractions such as background noise, some students with autism might make repetitive sounds or perseverate on verbal words or phrases.
Need for stimulation
An autistic child or teen might stim vocally if they are seeking more auditory or oral sensory input.
Excitement
A student in your autism classroom might stim vocally when they are excited by an activity, or in anticipation of an activity or event they enjoy.
How to tell if sounds or inappropriate language by autistic students are vocal stims.
If your students with autism is not calming, or soothing themselves by making repeated noises or saying inappropriate words and phrases (including using bad language), then they’re most likely not really stimming. They could be using Echolalia which is common in children with delayed language. Or they could be doing it deliberately to seek attention, or a reaction from parents, teachers, or peers.
If the sounds or language your students with autism are using are causing distress and agitation to them, they’re becoming over-stimulated, or their stims are upsetting and distressing others, setting some behavior boundaries is important. This set of Statements for Verbal Behavior Boundaries can be used (or adapted) to help you clarify for a student what you will and won’t do in response to their verbal behaviors.
Should you stop an autistic child from stimming?
Do the sounds or words your student with autism makes:
raise their 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 it is advisable to take steps to help your student feel more regulated by adapting the classroom or school environment, where possible, to reduce their sensory overload.
It’s also important check with parents if a student has any new or ongoing medical issues which 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?
The reason for a student’s vocal stimming will affect what you decide to do - whether you go with it or need to adjust the environment. For example, if your student with autism is stimming because they are seeking sensory a specific input then attempting to stop that input won’t work. 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.
Depending on the situation, other ways to reduce an autistic student’s need for vocal stimming include:
Reducing some (not all) demands to take the pressure off and lessen anxiety.
Reduce the student’s anxiety about what’s going to happen next by telling them clearly or showing them real photos or a visual schedule.
Sincerely telling the student that you understand how they feel and that you want to help them feel calmer and safer.