And autism continues to f-ing puzzle me.
Pablo’s been engaging in some fairly troublesome behavior. And it all started at once, very recently. He’s started HITTING HIMSELF IN THE HEAD. And I have no idea what to do about it.
I did a little Googling, and everything I’ve read seems to say pretty much the same thing: he’s frustrated because he’s having trouble communicating, or he’s having trouble doing something, so he’s hitting himself out of frustration. And yeah, I can certainly follow the logic behind those two explanations. But – neither of those is the case, here. Pablo’s actually communicating better than he ever has. He’s speaking in sentences a lot of the time!
Just yesterday, he got a bad blister from making eight thousand trips across the monkey bars, and when I cleaned it with an antiseptic pad, he yanked his hand away from me, and screamed in pain, and then yelled right at me, “THAT HURT, MOM!” Not, “owwww” or “huuuurt” or anything like that. VERY specific! Right now, I asked him to put the markers away and come eat, and he said, “I’m not finished yet!” And, as if to prove my point even more, every time he hits himself in the head, he says, “Don’t hit yourself, Pablo.”
Also, the hitting seems just…random? He doesn’t do it when he’s angry, or upset, or frustrated. He just…does it. Like, every couple of minutes. All day. What the hell?
The other thing he’s doing is SQUAWKING all day. I need to make a video of it, because I think I’m starting to tune it out, and then I wonder why people are staring at us. He makes a grunty, screamy, chirpy sound every couple of minutes. I really start to notice it (and start to think about stabbing myself in the eye) when he really gets into it, and starts doing it about every 10 to 20 seconds. And again, this just started like a week and a half ago, the same time he started hitting himself in the head.
I am totally at a loss here. This is the first time I’ve had to deal with these behaviors, and I need to figure out how to make them STOP. I know some autistic kids can really get BAD with the self harming, and I absolutely don’t want it to get to that point. What do I do?
Possibly Related
LaLaGirl is the mother of a teenager and two young sets of twins. She's happily married, loves living in Colorado, and writes almost daily about married life, raising multiples, and parenting a child with autism.
I completely understand your concern. Christopher would develop a habit like that, and the it would just stop. So hopefully, that will be the case with Pablo. But that is so great that he is communicating better with you guys!
Many of the kids I’ve worked with have done self-injury things, like banging their head on the nearest thing, throwing themself on the floor, etc. More often than not, it’s been best to totally ignore it. Obviously Pablo has been told “Don’t hit yourself Pablo.” so he says that, knowing that’s what he’s supposed to “do”, but isn’t able to connect the “script” to his action, and apply it.
As for the squawking, the little 4 year old girl I work with, roars. Drives you nuts, but nothing we’ve discovered stops it. Usually these odd developments disappear, along with your sanity.
hey la (((HUG))) i am wondering – did this behavior start when he started back to school or before? maybe it’s all the change rearing it’s ugly head finally? you know, b/c i am an expert
(((HUG)))
I don’t know what to do about the hitting. There’s something. Just something.
My son does the biting. His left shoulder is constantly, completely bruised. We always (obviously) reassure him for whatever it is that we can possibly imagine *might* be doing it…someone came in his periphery, his toy wasn’t working right, too much noise, nothing………..
MiaHysterias last blog post..Change in the Home? ~ TherExtras Blog Carnival
Hi there and thanks for stopping by my blog!!
I wanted to share that I had an autistic student a few years ago — I remember how puzzling it was, but at the same time, how rewarding each milestone and breakthrough was. I may think about writing a blog relflection about it soon. It is important for all to understand.
Thanks,
David
Arrrteests last blog post..Family Life, part 3: Round Up
Hi Laura,
Do you give your son fish oil at all? My daughter, Caitlin, used to pinch herself a lot, and after we started giving her fish oil, she stopped. She also began to become more verbal, less frustrated, and began to stim less.
As one whose daughter is often in the minority in regard to what works and what doeesn’t for kids with autism, I’m not going to say I’m 100% sure it’s going to work, but I swear by the effectiveness of fish oil for this sort of thing and melatonin for sleep problems.
Warmest regards,
Greg
Greg Reichs last blog post..Be thankful that I have a job right now?
Hi!
Well self-harming behaviour is quite common … my brother would (and very rarely still) hit himself on the head all the time; sometimes it would last for over 10 minutes if we didn’t stop him (when we used the ignore-him tactic to show he’s not getting any attention). Possibly try to distract Pablo to do something else? Sometimes yes, the frustration of not being able to communicate leads them to self-harm. Sometimes it’s boredom. And sometimes something is actually hurting them! My brother would sometimes guide our hands to massage him on his temples when we tried to stop him hitting himself, and by massaging him on his temples, applying a lot of pressure seemed to calm him down. Maybe you could try that?
Good luck!
Hi there. The head banging might be related to seeking strong sensory stimuli. As for the SQUAWKING – was your son checked for a tic disorder? it is often comorbid with Autism spectrum disorders and can be treated. Hope this helps.