Why is it so hard to sit ‘normally’?
“Sit up straight!”
Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.
If your school experience was anything like mine, the phrase “sit up straight” probably sends a shiver of fear down your spine. If you slumped, tilted your chair, wriggled about, constantly changed positions, sat on your feet, or tried any other number of ‘unusual’ ways of sitting, chances are you had at least one teacher with something to say about it. Sure, some make sense - I’ve seen students break chairs by tilting too far back on them, or hitting their head on the classroom wall - but others seem like they’re corrected out of a sense of what’s deemed ‘proper’.
So why do some people continually sit ‘wrong’, even when there are negative consequences?
While there is little academic research on the subject, many people with lived experience of neurodivergence, myself included, believe it’s linked to proprioception. In short, proprioception is our awareness of our body’s location in space. (For more detail, I’ve explained proprioception in depth in this blog post.) People on the autism spectrum in particular can have low levels of proprioception, and as a result, can feel almost ‘detached’ from their body.
Therein lies the connection between neurodivergence and ‘weird’ sitting habits. When we sit like we’re ‘supposed’ to, our feet are on the floor and our arms are by our sides or on a desk or table. Our bodies aren’t really connected to anything but the chair, which means our brain isn’t receiving much feedback. This exacerbates the feeling of disconnect. Neurodivergent (ND) people often favour sitting positions that give us more proprioceptive feedback. For instance, right now I’m sitting in my chair with my left foot tucked under my right leg. Because I’m receiving physical feedback from both legs, I’m far more aware of where I am in the space around me and feeling more regulated as a result. It often ends up in a case of pins and needles, but I instinctively sit like this regardless.
You might also see ND people sitting in chairs with their legs crossed, or even crouching. They might lean their face on their hand or wrist, have crossed arms, or even sit on their hands. All of these positions are subconscious ways of seeking more proprioceptive feedback. Most of us aren’t even aware that we’re doing it unless it’s pointed out to us. Basically, ND people tend to favour sitting positions with contact between body parts, because it increases our awareness of how our body is occupying space.
However, it’s too simple to think of ‘sitting’ as one continuous action. The majority of people, even neurotypicals, rarely sit entirely still. We fidget, wriggle and change positions constantly. ND people, particularly those with autism or ADHD, are likely to shift around more than their neurotypical (NT) peers. This isn’t inherently problematic, but the NT people around them might perceive it as deliberate and/or disruptive. On top of that, many sensory-seeking ND people also need movement to focus. While shifting positions is one way to achieve that, it manifests in a variety of ways. Some of the other ways that people might seek proprioceptive stimulation while sitting include:
Bouncing their leg
Tipping back on their chair, including rocking or spinning on one leg
Rubbing their feet (on carpet, nearby furniture, etc.).
As a teacher, I’ve seen pretty much every weird sitting position. Most aren’t an issue unless they’re disrupting the people around them or posing a risk to the individual. Things like tapping or playing with Tech Decks (yes, really) make noise, and tipping chairs can break them or lead to the student falling and hurting themselves. When you or someone else uses method of seeking proprioceptive input is inappropriate for the environment, it’s important to help them find other ways to fulfil that need. Without it, many of us ND people actually can’t focus on what’s going on!
Photo by David Bartus on Pexels.
Things such as fidget toys (like the fidget spinner pictured), listening to music, more subtle fidgeting like finger tapping or wriggling feet, or even weighted objects like blankets or toys can all help to manage your fidgety urges. For example, I have a weighted toy dog that I put on my lap when I have to sit still for a Zoom meeting, because it provides enough sensory input that I don’t feel the urge to move around.
Proprioceptive needs vary greatly between individuals, so the best approach is to try different strategies and see what works best. For younger people in classrooms, teachers, classroom aides and other professionals in the child’s support network can collaborate to find what works best. It’s a bit more complicated for adults, especially in the workplace. Once again, trial and error with suggestions and help from the person’s support network (such as support workers and occupational therapists) can establish the best strategies for each situation. Since most peoples’ needs vary on a day-to-day basis, the solution for Wednesday might be totally different to Monday’s solution.
There’s no such thing as normal. What we think of as normal is very specific to our context - that is, the time period and culture that we live in. Sitting differently to other people is nothing to be ashamed of. I hope that understanding proprioception and its link to how we move helps you to understand and empathise with those (including yourself!) who sit a little bit differently.
