Guest guest Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Any suggestions for when he does it at school? Sent via BlackBerry from T-MobileDate: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:52:03 -0500To: <AutismBehaviorProblems >Subject: Re: biting please help Hi Charity,The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower. When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., we would change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. Sara biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Hi Charity, The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower. When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., we would change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. Sara biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008  I can't help you there. Sara biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 My son also does the biting thing. At the height, he was biting at least one person a day at school, in addition to my husband and I. Some of the things they/we did: -immediately hand him an appropriate item to bite-we use theratubing. At home, I would quietly insert the emotion he was trying to express " I know you are mad/sad/happy. " and remind him what he is suppose to do when he feels that way (get his chewy). Generally, though, in the middle of a meltdown the only thing we could do was what I call a bear hug-him in front of me (facing away) holdingh is hands crossed over his chest and my head wedged up against his so he couldn't turn and tag my shoulder. If we were sitting, I would use my legs to hug as well. That helps calm him down quickly both for providing deep pressure input but also gives him something to struggle against. He's a major sensory seeker, though. -sing " If you are happy and you know it " with some words modified-happy=clapping, sad=crying, mad=stomping, surprised=oh my (I didn't makeup the words). We would sing it at odd times, not just when he was at meltdown stage. During meltdown we would sing just the refrain that fit. He did start stomping his feet during meltdowns, with about 40% compliance. -prevention is best (we all know this). Know when he is likely to bite and give him the chewy first (only useful when it is over-stimulation/anxiety and you can see the warning signs). At school, this translated into having a person on hand for all transitions and free time-he couldn't deal with the anxiety. Since most schools are understaffed/underfunded, this, while ideal, isn't always possible. If at school there are certain times when he is most likely to bite, it may be beneficial to work on his schedule-maybe he shouldn't have free time (as an example), perhaps he needs a more structured time, etc. Basically, what works for us is to find something that is appropriate that gives him the same outlet of emotion while working on him becoming aware of when he needs to bite. Unfortunately, my son can understand that biting others is bad and defaults to himself if he can't get the words out/find his chewy. We are now trying to reduce the amount he bites his own hands. We are fortunate that he doesn't break the skin. The single biggest thing that reduced his biting others was providing him with a path to communication. We never could get him into using icons for emotions, or any of the other techniques. It wasn't until he started being more verbal (he is semi-verbal, and spontaneous speech is still emerging). I'm sure you know this, but you can minimize the damage from bites by (a) pushing his face/head into the item he is biting (this forces the jaws open and reduces the damage, ripping your hand, for example, out of his mouth will cause more damage) and ( immediately icing the area down (cold on the skin will tend to repel the blood and keep it from swelling). Sorry for such a long post (and it's my first on this group). I tend to write novels re-stating the obvious. > > Any suggestions for when he does it at school? > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile > > Re: biting please help > > > Hi Charity, > The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower. When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., we would change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. > > Sara > > biting please help > > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion? > > Thanks, > Charity (Dublin's Mom) > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 I don't have that option in a public school. any suggestions to clam there? biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.9.7/1798 - Release Date: 11/18/2008 8:59 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 The behavior specialist along with the autism specialist, need to brainstorm ways to prevent/handle biting and aggressive episodes. They would start the process by taking data, and doing a fuctional behavior assessment. With this data, they would try to pinpoint triggers for your child's meltdowns. Prevention is obviously the best plan. Unfortunately, these episodes often come out of the blue, so the school must have a plan, to contain the agressive child, without anyone getting hurt. Sara www.hiyah.net biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.9.7/1798 - Release Date: 11/18/2008 8:59 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 I know this might sound crazy, but my son only bites when exposed to sweet clover which he is very allergic to. Does this seem to happen around the same time of year? Is it all the time? Indoors or out? After eating or on an empty stomach? These are all things I would look into. My son gets allergy shots for it and we never have a problem unless I forget to give them to him. HTH, > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion? > > Thanks, > Charity (Dublin's Mom) > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Wow, , those are great suggestions. Pat K My son also does the biting thing. At the height, he was biting atleast one person a day at school, in addition to my husband and I.Some of the things they/we did:-immediately hand him an appropriate item to bite-we use theratubing.At home, I would quietly insert the emotion he was trying to express"I know you are mad/sad/happy." and remind him what he is suppose todo when he feels that way (get his chewy). Generally, though, in themiddle of a meltdown the only thing we could do was what I call a bearhug-him in front of me (facing away) holdingh is hands crossed overhis chest and my head wedged up against his so he couldn't turn andtag my shoulder. If we were sitting, I would use my legs to hug aswell. That helps calm him down quickly both for providing deeppressure input but also gives him something to struggle against. He'sa major sensory seeker, though.-sing "If you are happy and you know it" with some wordsmodified-happy=clapping, sad=crying, mad=stomping, surprised=oh my (Ididn't makeup the words). We would sing it at odd times, not justwhen he was at meltdown stage. During meltdown we would sing just therefrain that fit. He did start stomping his feet during meltdowns,with about 40% compliance.-prevention is best (we all know this). Know when he is likely tobite and give him the chewy first (only useful when it isover-stimulation/anxiety and you can see the warning signs). Atschool, this translated into having a person on hand for alltransitions and free time-he couldn't deal with the anxiety. Sincemost schools are understaffed/underfunded, this, while ideal, isn'talways possible. If at school there are certain times when he is mostlikely to bite, it may be beneficial to work on his schedule-maybe heshouldn't have free time (as an example), perhaps he needs a morestructured time, etc.Basically, what works for us is to find something that is appropriatethat gives him the same outlet of emotion while working on himbecoming aware of when he needs to bite. Unfortunately, my son canunderstand that biting others is bad and defaults to himself if hecan't get the words out/find his chewy. We are now trying to reducethe amount he bites his own hands. We are fortunate that he doesn'tbreak the skin.The single biggest thing that reduced his biting others was providinghim with a path to communication. We never could get him into usingicons for emotions, or any of the other techniques. It wasn't untilhe started being more verbal (he is semi-verbal, and spontaneousspeech is still emerging).I'm sure you know this, but you can minimize the damage from bites by(a) pushing his face/head into the item he is biting (this forces thejaws open and reduces the damage, ripping your hand, for example, outof his mouth will cause more damage) and ( immediately icing thearea down (cold on the skin will tend to repel the blood and keep itfrom swelling).Sorry for such a long post (and it's my first on this group). I tendto write novels re-stating the obvious.>> Any suggestions for when he does it at school? > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> > Re: biting please help> > > Hi Charity,> The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower.When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., wewould change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. > > Sara> > biting please help> > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting,scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn'thave the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've triedextinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?> > Thanks,> Charity (Dublin's Mom)> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Sara, we do the same thing with Karac in fact Karac will ask for it when he is about to lose control. Pat K; Hi Charity, The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower. When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., we would change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. Sara biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 I bought my son a battery operated puppy back massager. It helps a lot but it helps if everyone starts to recognize the precursors. It might not be obvious to the rest of us but something sets it off and whatever it is is valid for him. Last night we went to a birthday party and the fact that there were just too many kids was enough to set my son off. It seemed like a normal party to the rest of them but for Noah is was total chaos.Debra Byrne wrote: I don't have that option in a public school. any suggestions to clam there? biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.9.7/1798 - Release Date: 11/18/2008 8:59 PM "Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler" - Albert Einstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Thanks so much. Those are all excellent ideas!Sent via BlackBerry from T-MobileFrom: pkuenstler@...Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:25:22 ESTTo: <AutismBehaviorProblems >Subject: Re: biting please help Wow, , those are great suggestions. Pat K In a message dated 11/21/2008 3:58:30 P.M. Central Standard Time, steelady13gmail writes: My son also does the biting thing. At the height, he was biting atleast one person a day at school, in addition to my husband and I.Some of the things they/we did:-immediately hand him an appropriate item to bite-we use theratubing.At home, I would quietly insert the emotion he was trying to express"I know you are mad/sad/happy." and remind him what he is suppose todo when he feels that way (get his chewy). Generally, though, in themiddle of a meltdown the only thing we could do was what I call a bearhug-him in front of me (facing away) holdingh is hands crossed overhis chest and my head wedged up against his so he couldn't turn andtag my shoulder. If we were sitting, I would use my legs to hug aswell. That helps calm him down quickly both for providing deeppressure input but also gives him something to struggle against. He'sa major sensory seeker, though.-sing "If you are happy and you know it" with some wordsmodified-happy=clapping, sad=crying, mad=stomping, surprised=oh my (Ididn't makeup the words). We would sing it at odd times, not justwhen he was at meltdown stage. During meltdown we would sing just therefrain that fit. He did start stomping his feet during meltdowns,with about 40% compliance.-prevention is best (we all know this). Know when he is likely tobite and give him the chewy first (only useful when it isover-stimulation/anxiety and you can see the warning signs). Atschool, this translated into having a person on hand for alltransitions and free time-he couldn't deal with the anxiety. Sincemost schools are understaffed/underfunded, this, while ideal, isn'talways possible. If at school there are certain times when he is mostlikely to bite, it may be beneficial to work on his schedule-maybe heshouldn't have free time (as an example), perhaps he needs a morestructured time, etc.Basically, what works for us is to find something that is appropriatethat gives him the same outlet of emotion while working on himbecoming aware of when he needs to bite. Unfortunately, my son canunderstand that biting others is bad and defaults to himself if hecan't get the words out/find his chewy. We are now trying to reducethe amount he bites his own hands. We are fortunate that he doesn'tbreak the skin.The single biggest thing that reduced his biting others was providinghim with a path to communication. We never could get him into usingicons for emotions, or any of the other techniques. It wasn't untilhe started being more verbal (he is semi-verbal, and spontaneousspeech is still emerging).I'm sure you know this, but you can minimize the damage from bites by(a) pushing his face/head into the item he is biting (this forces thejaws open and reduces the damage, ripping your hand, for example, outof his mouth will cause more damage) and ( immediately icing thearea down (cold on the skin will tend to repel the blood and keep itfrom swelling).Sorry for such a long post (and it's my first on this group). I tendto write novels re-stating the obvious.>> Any suggestions for when he does it at school? > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> > Re: biting please help> > > Hi Charity,> The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower.When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., wewould change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. > > Sara> > biting please help> > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting,scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn'thave the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've triedextinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?> > Thanks,> Charity (Dublin's Mom)> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 this is such valuable simple information...I need more of this...thanks so much. To: AutismBehaviorProblems Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 9:27:05 AMSubject: Re: biting please help Sara, we do the same thing with Karac in fact Karac will ask for it when he is about to lose control. Pat K; In a message dated 11/21/2008 1:52:22 P.M. Central Standard Time, sarapoli@mindspring .com writes: Hi Charity, The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower. When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., we would change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. Sara biting please help Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?Thanks,Charity (Dublin's Mom)Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 ...did I read this LOL...somehow I must have missed this yesterday, that or I don't remember reading and or responding...Talk about out of it.... lol... Thank you, Thank you for these suggestions...I can use the shower, and or many of the things you have mentioned, even with my little 2 yr old...I needed this. e To: AutismBehaviorProblems Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 9:25:22 AMSubject: Re: biting please help Wow, , those are great suggestions. Pat K In a message dated 11/21/2008 3:58:30 P.M. Central Standard Time, steelady13gmail (DOT) com writes: My son also does the biting thing. At the height, he was biting atleast one person a day at school, in addition to my husband and I.Some of the things they/we did:-immediately hand him an appropriate item to bite-we use theratubing.At home, I would quietly insert the emotion he was trying to express"I know you are mad/sad/happy. " and remind him what he is suppose todo when he feels that way (get his chewy). Generally, though, in themiddle of a meltdown the only thing we could do was what I call a bearhug-him in front of me (facing away) holdingh is hands crossed overhis chest and my head wedged up against his so he couldn't turn andtag my shoulder. If we were sitting, I would use my legs to hug aswell. That helps calm him down quickly both for providing deeppressure input but also gives him something to struggle against. He'sa major sensory seeker, though.-sing "If you are happy and you know it" with some wordsmodified-happy= clapping, sad=crying, mad=stomping, surprised=oh my (Ididn't makeup the words). We would sing it at odd times, not justwhen he was at meltdown stage. During meltdown we would sing just therefrain that fit. He did start stomping his feet during meltdowns,with about 40% compliance.-prevention is best (we all know this). Know when he is likely tobite and give him the chewy first (only useful when it isover-stimulation/ anxiety and you can see the warning signs). Atschool, this translated into having a person on hand for alltransitions and free time-he couldn't deal with the anxiety. Sincemost schools are understaffed/ underfunded, this, while ideal, isn'talways possible. If at school there are certain times when he is mostlikely to bite, it may be beneficial to work on his schedule-maybe heshouldn't have free time (as an example), perhaps he needs a morestructured time, etc.Basically, what works for us is to find something that is appropriatethat gives him the same outlet of emotion while working on himbecoming aware of when he needs to bite. Unfortunately, my son canunderstand that biting others is bad and defaults to himself if hecan't get the words out/find his chewy. We are now trying to reducethe amount he bites his own hands. We are fortunate that he doesn'tbreak the skin.The single biggest thing that reduced his biting others was providinghim with a path to communication. We never could get him into usingicons for emotions, or any of the other techniques. It wasn't untilhe started being more verbal (he is semi-verbal, and spontaneousspeech is still emerging).I'm sure you know this, but you can minimize the damage from bites by(a) pushing his face/head into the item he is biting (this forces thejaws open and reduces the damage, ripping your hand, for example, outof his mouth will cause more damage) and ( immediately icing thearea down (cold on the skin will tend to repel the blood and keep itfrom swelling).Sorry for such a long post (and it's my first on this group). I tendto write novels re-stating the obvious.>> Any suggestions for when he does it at school? > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> > Re: biting please help> > > Hi Charity,> The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower.When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., wewould change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. > > Sara> > biting please help> > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting,scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn'thave the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've triedextinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?> > Thanks,> Charity (Dublin's Mom)> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi! Not to detract from the wonderful suggestions so far... but I just wanted to add that the biting behavior may continue until you get to the root of the problem. You can certainly redirect the biting from human flesh to something like theratubing -- which is definitely better than trying to "punish" the behavior, but it doesn't address why your child is biting. Also, sometimes when you redirect the behavior but don't address the underlying cause, the behavior can shift topography. So, instead of biting, you may have hitting or kicking or scratching or hair-pulling or self-injury or property destruction or elopement (or a combination of all of the above). Teaching the child the language of emotions is a great start as someone suggested --which is labeling for the child (preferably in the moment) what you think they're feeling... and giving them a rudimentary system for communicating their feelings. But even then... if the triggering circumstances or reason for the frustration or sadness or being overwhelmed remains... you've only taught the child the label for the feeling without addressing the problem. So, they can learn to tell you they're mad... but they're still just as mad because you're not solving what they're mad about. And then it's even more frustrating because they've learned a new skill but it's not immediately helping them. If, for instance, a child is feeling overwhelmed by the demands that are being presented to him or what is being presented as an expectation (i.e., learn this, do that, stop doing that, say this, go here, don't go there, etc.) is too difficult or challenging, then the only thing that will solve the problem is either removing that demand (for now) or changing the demand so that it's easier or more manageable for the child. Dr. Ross Greene, the author of The Explosive Child and the developer of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach (www.explosivechild.com), teaches that, for a child with explosive behaviors, including aggression, or meltdowns/tantrums -- it's not an issue of a lack of motivation, but lacking skills (pathway deficits) that create meltdowns and other disadvantageous behaviors. I can elaborate further if anyone is interested or I've provided a website address. Best wishes, -Debra To: AutismBehaviorProblems From: veersounds@...Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:19:10 +0000Subject: Re: biting please help Thanks so much. Those are all excellent ideas! Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile From: pkuenstleraolDate: Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:25:22 ESTTo: <AutismBehaviorProblems >Subject: Re: biting please help Wow, , those are great suggestions. Pat K In a message dated 11/21/2008 3:58:30 P.M. Central Standard Time, steelady13gmail writes: My son also does the biting thing. At the height, he was biting atleast one person a day at school, in addition to my husband and I.Some of the things they/we did:-immediately hand him an appropriate item to bite-we use theratubing.At home, I would quietly insert the emotion he was trying to express"I know you are mad/sad/happy." and remind him what he is suppose todo when he feels that way (get his chewy). Generally, though, in themiddle of a meltdown the only thing we could do was what I call a bearhug-him in front of me (facing away) holdingh is hands crossed overhis chest and my head wedged up against his so he couldn't turn andtag my shoulder. If we were sitting, I would use my legs to hug aswell. That helps calm him down quickly both for providing deeppressure input but also gives him something to struggle against. He'sa major sensory seeker, though.-sing "If you are happy and you know it" with some wordsmodified-happy=clapping, sad=crying, mad=stomping, surprised=oh my (Ididn't makeup the words). We would sing it at odd times, not justwhen he was at meltdown stage. During meltdown we would sing just therefrain that fit. He did start stomping his feet during meltdowns,with about 40% compliance.-prevention is best (we all know this). Know when he is likely tobite and give him the chewy first (only useful when it isover-stimulation/anxiety and you can see the warning signs). Atschool, this translated into having a person on hand for alltransitions and free time-he couldn't deal with the anxiety. Sincemost schools are understaffed/underfunded, this, while ideal, isn'talways possible. If at school there are certain times when he is mostlikely to bite, it may be beneficial to work on his schedule-maybe heshouldn't have free time (as an example), perhaps he needs a morestructured time, etc.Basically, what works for us is to find something that is appropriatethat gives him the same outlet of emotion while working on himbecoming aware of when he needs to bite. Unfortunately, my son canunderstand that biting others is bad and defaults to himself if hecan't get the words out/find his chewy. We are now trying to reducethe amount he bites his own hands. We are fortunate that he doesn'tbreak the skin.The single biggest thing that reduced his biting others was providinghim with a path to communication. We never could get him into usingicons for emotions, or any of the other techniques. It wasn't untilhe started being more verbal (he is semi-verbal, and spontaneousspeech is still emerging).I'm sure you know this, but you can minimize the damage from bites by(a) pushing his face/head into the item he is biting (this forces thejaws open and reduces the damage, ripping your hand, for example, outof his mouth will cause more damage) and ( immediately icing thearea down (cold on the skin will tend to repel the blood and keep itfrom swelling).Sorry for such a long post (and it's my first on this group). I tendto write novels re-stating the obvious.>> Any suggestions for when he does it at school? > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> > Re: biting please help> > > Hi Charity,> The only thing that worked for us was putting my son in the shower.When he went into rages of biting, hair pulling, scratching, etc., wewould change the negative stimulus to a soothing positive one. Putting him in the shower still calms him down in less than 5 minutes. > > Sara> > biting please help> > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting,scratching, and hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn'thave the words and sometimes just out of nowhere. We've triedextinction ,and time out, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestion?> > Thanks,> Charity (Dublin's Mom)> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile> One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today! 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Guest guest Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Hi, Debra...thank you for this. e To: autismbehaviorproblems Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 7:28:26 PMSubject: RE: biting please help .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Thanks, Astrid, Karac likes to bite on the skin too. He is 16 and the bath and shower seems to work the best. Pat K Hi,I am 22 with autism (verbal) and have done one form of self-injury or another since the age of 6 or younger. Hand-biting and head-banging, my most "primitive" forms of SIB, came back in the summer of 2007 after having been gone for a few years, bu tmy strategies will work with any form of SIB for me. What helps me is:- Showering, like others have suggested.- Doing yoga or other relaxation techniques (obviously this will not be possible with a 4-year-old since they won't understand the techniques). But one thing that may work is if you have a large ball on which your child can lie and roll himself gently. I bought a 25-inch diameter ball for this purpose, but for a small child maybe there are smaller ones. It gives vestibular stimulation, which may not be what the child needs at tha tmoment, but it might just work.- of course, chewing on something other than someone's skin may be the most suitable replacement for biting. But in this sense, it is important to know what the child "enjoys" about the biting. In my own case, for example, it is really the skin that I need to feel, and in this case using a chewy would not work. Rather, body brushing might work (not used myself but it could). The key is having something that fulfills the function that the biting now serves but tha tis not harmful.Astridastridastridvanwoerkomhttp://www.astridvanwoerkom.com/ biting please help>>>> Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, > and> hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and> sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but > nothing> seems to be working. Any suggestion?>> Thanks,> Charity (Dublin's Mom)> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile>>>>>>> **************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social > networks,> and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com> today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp> %26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001)> I'm protected by SpamBravehttp://www.spambrave.com/ Life should be easier. So should your homepage. Try the NEW AOL.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Hi, I am 22 with autism (verbal) and have done one form of self-injury or another since the age of 6 or younger. Hand-biting and head-banging, my most " primitive " forms of SIB, came back in the summer of 2007 after having been gone for a few years, bu tmy strategies will work with any form of SIB for me. What helps me is: - Showering, like others have suggested. - Doing yoga or other relaxation techniques (obviously this will not be possible with a 4-year-old since they won't understand the techniques). But one thing that may work is if you have a large ball on which your child can lie and roll himself gently. I bought a 25-inch diameter ball for this purpose, but for a small child maybe there are smaller ones. It gives vestibular stimulation, which may not be what the child needs at tha tmoment, but it might just work. - of course, chewing on something other than someone's skin may be the most suitable replacement for biting. But in this sense, it is important to know what the child " enjoys " about the biting. In my own case, for example, it is really the skin that I need to feel, and in this case using a chewy would not work. Rather, body brushing might work (not used myself but it could). The key is having something that fulfills the function that the biting now serves but tha tis not harmful. Astrid astrid@... http://www.astridvanwoerkom.com/ biting please help > > > > Our 4 year old son bit his bt on the face. He's been biting, scratching, > and > hitting when upset or frustrated because he doesn't have the words and > sometimes just out of nowhere. We've tried extinction ,and time out, but > nothing > seems to be working. Any suggestion? > > Thanks, > Charity (Dublin's Mom) > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile > > > > > > > **************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social > networks, > and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com > today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?redir=h\ ttp://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp > %26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001) > I'm protected by SpamBrave http://www.spambrave.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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