As a parent of a kid with challenges the word “stimming” is like a dagger in the heart.  I’m going to take the gloves off and tell you if you are working with a “professional” (yes, I purposely put that word in quotes, because sometimes you just wonder where they actually got that degree from) and they use the word “stimming” then get a new professional. Because they clearly don’t know what is driving child to do what they are doing. I am not joking here, although the irony of the title of this article doesn’t escape me.  It seems that if some therapists don’t know what’s driving a kid to do what they do, then they drop this word like it’s no issue, it’s almost as if they are stimming on the word “stimming” itself.

If your therapist even mentions the word “stimming” to you, the parent, or even the more politically correct version, “perseverate”, lose them!  They clearly don’t know how to work through and manage your kid’s challenges. Using those words are just a cop out for not knowing what to do!  I know it is easy for me to sit here on a keyboard and say “just drop your therapist”.  But, in reality, you should really start looking for one more appropriate for your child’s needs.

I learned this recently from working with a speech therapist, when my kid kept talking about a certain subject.  I was getting frustrated and clearly lost.  She brought up the word to teach me on how and we should not use it.  Then I watched her simply sit back, watch my kid for a short while, then go in and start talking with him.  What was amazing, is she just dove into what he was talking about, and started expanding in several different ways around the subject, until he stopped talking about it.  Essentially, he has this itch to learn more about this word or subject, but didn’t quite know how to ask that or explain what he was thinking.  She taught us a new way to approach it and all this “stimming” went away after a few months.  She hit it right on the head, and it was her wisdom that knew what to look for.  I am so grateful to work with her and, more importantly, to have her constantly educate us on the “why”, so we know what to do in the future.

Learn more ways to work with your child on their challenges at: KidConnectionZ.com