Autism Pinching Behavior: Causes and Management

Part of the Comprehensive Guide to Stimming

When children are young, they engage in many behaviors that aren’t appropriate as they age. This could include putting non-food items in their mouth, banging on furniture and pinching other people or themselves.

Some of these behaviors are how children learn the world around them. In time, children will stop doing many of these behaviors, though they may need their parents’ help and encouragement to do so.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though, may have a more difficult time stopping some of these behaviors as they age. This is especially true of pinching.

Pinching is a behavior that can harm other people or the child themselves, and actually cause a lot of stress in both the child, parents, caregivers and other authority figures. So, why do children with autism pinch, and what can be done about it?

We’ll dive deeper into this topic below.

Table Of Contents

What’s Autism Pinching Behavior?

Autism pinching behavior is defined as children on the autism spectrum pinching either themselves or other people. There may not be a rhyme or reason for the behavior, but it is present frequently enough that it has become an issue.

In many cases, children with ASD who pinch don’t have any negative intent behind their behavior. That doesn’t make their actions not harmful and painful to themselves and others, though.

Sometimes, pinching can be a way that children on the autism spectrum try to achieve sensory regulation. Children with autism commonly struggle to communicate how they are feeling or what they need or want, and the frustration they experience because of that can sometimes be released in harmful behaviors such as pinching, biting and hitting.

While pinching would certainly be preferable to hitting or biting, it’s still damaging, hurtful and inappropriate.

What’s Wrong with Pinching?

Pinching may seem relatively harmless, but it’s not. Pinching can cause other people, or the child themselves, to suffer physical harm and injury.

If a child pinches hard enough, they could break the skin and even scratch while they’re doing it. Since they may not be able to regulate their reactions to what they’re feeling, it may not feel like an “innocent pinch,” but rather a hurtful, forceful and painful incident.

It’s also possible that pinching could lead to other harmful behaviors, such as biting, hitting and head banging. If the child starts to engage in these behaviors, even more physical damage could be done.

In addition to that, frequent pinching could result in children with autism being ostracized by their peers. If other children don’t want to play with them because of their pinching habits, they might shun them.

This could lead to long-term damaging effects, as it could make it even harder for children with ASD to form meaningful social relationships. This doesn’t just apply to peers, but also to family members who are pinched often.

What are Some of the Reasons for the Pinching Behavior?

There isn’t one single reason why children with autism engage in pinching behavior. That being said, some potential causes have been identified by researchers, and they relate to some common triggers.

These underlying triggers include an unexpected change in the child’s routine, an emotional or sensory overload, and overstimulation. For instance, if a child with autism is put in a crowded, foreign environment that’s noisy, they may become quickly overstimulated and/or overwhelmed, which could trigger certain repetitive behaviors such as pinching. This may be similar to other types of self-regulatory behavior known as stimming.

How Can Autism Pinching Behavior Be Managed?

The most important part of managing autism pinching behavior is first identifying the triggers that cause the child to pinch in the first place. This can be done by tracking what actions, scenarios, environments or situations presented themselves immediately before the child started to pinch.

Knowing this information can help parents understand why their child might be pinching so that they can make necessary adjustments to help them through it.

This type of behavior modification is central to the principles of applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy, which is considered the gold standard treatment for children with autism.

ABA therapists observe all their patients at first so they can have a good understanding of what their unique strengths and challenges are. Then, they create a personalized treatment program that addresses these challenges by setting up achievable and trackable goals.

Using positive reinforcement and repetition, ABA therapy can help children on the autism spectrum — and their parents, caregivers and healthcare providers — manage their pinching behavior better. The goal, of course, is to get the child to stop pinching and do something healthier when they experience one of the triggers.

Blue Gems ABA Helps Children Manage Stimming Behaviors

Pinching is a behavior that children on the autism spectrum might have trouble stopping at an early age. Some children with ASD pinch in response to feeling stressed, overwhelmed and overstimulated.

At Blue Gems ABA, our experienced therapists work with children on the autism spectrum to help them manage pinching behaviors, and any other challenges that they face.

To learn more, please contact us today.