Stereotypy

A stereotypy is a repetitive behavior; a ritualistic movement, posture or utterance. Some of these types of movement are body rocking, self-caressing, crossing and uncrossing legs and marching in place. Stereotypies are associated with many different conditions such as intellectual disabilities (retardation), autism spectrum disorders, tardive dyskinesia, stereotypic movement disorder, schizophrenia, and frontotemporal dementia. Stereotypic behavior in autistic children is often called "stimming" because it is believed to be a part of self-stimulation.