Need help with new bizarre behaviors

[Guest guest]

My son is in Kindergarten and I got this letter today.

He rolls on the floor, stands on his head, and makes noises. He has a hard time listening to me (teacher). Yesterday he pulled up his pants leg and licked his leg. Today he was sitting on the carpet and he turned around and licked the leg of the table. I am moving him so that he does not sit by any object that he can lick and I am keeping a close eye on him in hopes of catching him before he licks him,self. He also has started biting on his clothes again.

The only big issue we had with him was breaking his habit of sucking on his shirt, which had stopped. I have seen an increase in bizarre behavior at home too lately. It seems his impulses on on overdrive and he cannot resist an impulse he has. Ex- we were at the DFCS office and they have a thing where you pull a ticket for a number. He was very hard to control because he had fixated on pulling numbers. The lady at the front started shouting at him and me for him to stop. She didnt get

that it was an impulse, she thought he was just being bad. Usually when I correct him he stops even though he may stand there looking at the object thinking about it. It is like he feels he HAS to, and this behavior is extremely repetitive. He will flick a light switch on and off over and over, same thing with opening/shutting doors. It almost seems like a form of OCD. WHy is this suddenly happening? There hasnt been any changes in routine. He receives OT therapy, she gave me a brush to brush him every 2 hours to help center him. He will not sit down long enough for me to do it properly, he doesnt like to be held down and touched. He screamed like I Was hurting him, was the sensory input too much for him? Not sure what to do to help him and correct the

behavior. He is not on meds and the only diagnoses he has are Autism , speech impairment and sensory issues.

[Guest guest]

Every 2 hours sounds like torture for someone with extreme sensitivity to touch. My son when recovering was able to tell me that it DID hurt him to even get tapped. It may be necessary though to desensitize him, maybe less often?? Usually behavior for us just meant a way of communicating that they are trying hard to process changes that are unsettling and it is very difficult. Anything that worked though brought regression first and it's hard when living in it to fully believe there is light on the other side. I hope it is for you and your son.

Need help with new bizarre behaviors

My son is in Kindergarten and I got this letter today.He rolls on the floor, stands on his head, and makes noises. He has a hard time listening to me (teacher). Yesterday he pulled up his pants leg and licked his leg. Today he was sitting on the carpet and he turned around and licked the leg of the table. I am moving him so that he does not sit by any object that he can lick and I am keeping a close eye on him in hopes of catching him before he licks him,self. He also has started biting on his clothes again.The only big issue we had with him was breaking his habit of sucking on his shirt, which had stopped. I have seen an increase in bizarre behavior at home too lately. It seems his impulses on on overdrive and he cannot resist an impulse he has. Ex- we were at the DFCS office and they have a thing where you pull a ticket for a number. He was very hard to control because he had fixated on pulling numbers. The lady at the front started shouting at him and me for him to stop. She didnt get that it was an impulse, she thought he was just being bad. Usually when I correct him he stops even though he may stand there looking at the object thinking about it. It is like he feels he HAS to, and this behavior is extremely repetitive. He will flick a light switch on and off over and over, same thing with opening/shutting doors. It almost seems like a form of OCD. WHy is this suddenly happening? There hasnt been any changes in routine. He receives OT therapy, she gave me a brush to brush him every 2 hours to help center him. He will not sit down long enough for me to do it properly, he doesnt like to be held down and touched. He screamed like I Was hurting him, was the sensory input too much for him? Not sure what to do to help him and correct the behavior. He is not on meds and the only diagnoses he has are Autism , speech impairment and sensory issues.

[Guest guest]

So sorry you guys are going through this!

We have never seen new behaviors with our daughter but every now and then she will regress with sleep, potty issues, compliance / self control and stimming behaviors. Usually this means that she is having a developmental spurt in another area (particularly language), is getting sick or is constipated. She had a serious bout of screaming / crying tantrums last spring and it turned out to be her way of responding to the way seasonal allergies were making her feel. She started it again a week or so ago. We hit her full force with allergy meds (zyrtec, eye drops, nasonex) and she's back on track now...

maybe if you step back and look at medical, general health or other issues you may see something that has changed that you wouldn't expect to cause him these types of problems...

i hate it for him and for you! it's so hard when our kids are suffering and can't tell us how to help.

Good luck!

Andi

Subject: Need help with new bizarre behaviorsTo: autism-georgia , "Robin " , sensoryintegrationdysfunction , ga-childrensnetwork Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012, 10:38 PM

My son is in Kindergarten and I got this letter today.He rolls on the floor, stands on his head, and makes noises. He has a hard time listening to me (teacher). Yesterday he pulled up his pants leg and licked his leg. Today he was sitting on the carpet and he turned around and licked the leg of the table. I am moving him so that he does not sit by any object that he can lick and I am keeping a close eye on him in hopes of catching him before he licks him,self. He also has started biting on his clothes again.The only big issue we had with him was breaking his habit of sucking on his shirt, which had stopped. I have seen an increase in bizarre behavior at home too lately. It seems his impulses on on overdrive and he cannot resist an impulse he has. Ex- we were at the DFCS office and they have a thing where

you pull a ticket for a number. He was very hard to control because he had fixated on pulling numbers. The lady at the front started shouting at him and me for him to stop. She didnt get that it was an impulse, she thought he was just being bad. Usually when I correct him he stops even though he may stand there looking at the object thinking about it. It is like he feels he HAS to, and this behavior is extremely repetitive. He will flick a light switch on and off over and over, same thing with opening/shutting doors. It almost seems like a form of OCD. WHy is this suddenly happening? There hasnt been any changes in routine. He receives OT therapy, she gave me a brush to brush him every 2 hours to help center him. He will not sit down long enough for me to do it properly, he doesnt like to be held down and touched. He screamed like I Was hurting him, was the sensory input too much

for him? Not sure what to do to help him and correct the behavior. He is not on meds and the only diagnoses he has are Autism , speech impairment and sensory issues.

[Guest guest]

Hi. I have noticed when I get a lot of changes with my boys, there is usually

SOMETHING different. Many of the people I work with act out when they are

sick.... anything from ear infections to pneumonia, etc.

My older son has mild ASD, and his hygiene deteriorates when he is stressed.

(He is reluctant to bathe, use TP, deoderant, wash his face, etc. when things at

school get to be too much). I have noticed this pattern over the years. He is

in 8th grade. His original stim was eye blinking. (age 2) That evolved into

rocking from the waist up and humming. He did that until recently, and still

does from time to time. The " stim " I see most often now, is that IF he can

twirl something, he will. This is NOT usually done at school, because he has

learned that there are " safer " places to do things.

Your son's teacher sounds like she needs education about autism. A rocking

chair in a classroom for Kindergartners can be very helpful, along with a

weighted lap pad or blanket. My older son got 2 sensory breaks during the day

in the resource room where he went through a routine of activities set to music

(obstacle course/train of children. hopping, skipping, jumping, maneuvering in

out and around things, etc.) that was designed by an autism expert. These

helped immensely. You can find nice sensory items at www.sensoryuniveristy.com.

Just look at their top 100 sellers. I work with a lot of kids on the spectrum,

and I buy a lot of things there. The teacher could have your son carry a crate

or box of books from her room to the principal or office (across the school so

he gets " deep input " from the load)- she will need to arrange this ahead of

time. Some of our kids do better sitting on yoga balls vs. chairs. I know one

teacher who had all her students in K/1st sitting on balls - because they need

to move. I have a proprioception disk that my older son sat on for a while,

that allowed for wiggling. A good book for you and your son's teacher would be

" The Out of Sync Child " and " The Out of Sync Child Has Fun " by C. Kranowitz.

These have been helpful to me. Your son would also benefit from PECS pictures

of desired behaviors. The teacher can put these on his desk and just tap them

to remind him what to do, rather than spending classroom time redirecting him

verbally and making him stand out to peers even more. As for the licking, you

need to find an acceptable alternative for your child. My friend Terry had a

son who kept a pencil can of straws on his desk, and he licked straws. You

might want to try a chewy from Sensory University. They come in flavors/scents.

It beats holes in shirts. (Kid #2 was a shirt ripper and chewer) Kids with

autism need to be shown what to do.

As far as moving him, I wish the teacher would reconsider, unless this is

something you desire. A lady " moved " my kid away from the entire band because

he " couldn't sit in his chair properly and kept bumping people. " All we had to

do was SHOW him visually what to do and where to keep his stuff (he was not

observing peers), and he was able to sit with his peers. A chalk line on the

floor for a few days helped him know where to be. Anything you implement needs

to be able to be taken away. When he was ready to sit properly, we rubbed the

chalkline out.

n Joiner of The Model Classroom and Skills for Life (a GA Native) has great

videos out for parents and teachers on how to successfully set up classrooms and

the home to help our kids achieve a high quality of life/education. Here is a

link to the videos.

http://www.amazon.com/Autism-TMC-Informational-DVD/dp/B000HUCQ4Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=U\

TF8 & qid=1331186903 & sr=8-1 They are being updated, but are still very timely.

You can find them on Amazon .com under TMC for Autism. Google her....

Do not stress over the DFCS ticket thing. That really made me laugh! That lady

needs to get a grip! I have a 2nd son with autism, and he likes to ring the

bell at the post-office to summon the postal workers - even now & he is 11,

tries to open all the post boxes, and used to do all those things you said your

son did. He outgrew a lot of it. Now he likes to gather ALL the carts at

Goodwill, and they appreciate it. We go there every Tuesday after school!

Please hang in there. As for the teacher and her notes... Um, I finally got to

the point where I told one of them, " Please do not write me a minute by minute

list of the things my child does. WE KNOW what he does and what he is like. If

you have something HELPFUL to contribute, or have learned a technique, then

write me. " I know this sounds harsh, but she was a special education teacher,

and was taking minutes/hours out of her day to write all this stuff down on my

younger son. Another special education teacher told me to write the note.

(personally, if she wanted to write the notes and keep them for herself, that

was fine with me! Just don't send them home. I don't need to feel additional

stress. I deal with enough at home!)

I hope some of this will help or at least give you some comfort. You are not

alone in your journey.

, mom of Ian & Marty

My younger son

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> Subject: Need help with new bizarre behaviors

> To: autism-georgia , " Robin " ,

sensoryintegrationdysfunction ,

ga-childrensnetwork

> Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012, 10:38 PM

>

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> My son is in Kindergarten and I got this letter today.

>

> He rolls on the floor, stands on his head, and makes noises.  He has a hard

time listening to me (teacher).  Yesterday he pulled up his pants leg and

licked his leg.  Today he was sitting on the carpet and he turned around and

licked the leg of the table.  I am moving him so that he does not sit by any

object that he can lick and I am keeping a close eye on him in hopes of catching

him before he licks him,self.  He also has started biting on his clothes again.

>

>

> The only big issue we had with him was breaking his habit of sucking on his

shirt, which had stopped.  I have seen an increase in bizarre behavior at home

too lately.  It seems his impulses on on overdrive and he cannot resist an

impulse he has.  Ex- we were at the DFCS office and they have a thing where you

pull a ticket for a number.  He was very hard to control because he had fixated

on pulling numbers.  The lady at the front started shouting at him and me for

him to stop.  She didnt get that it was an impulse, she thought he was just

being bad.  Usually when I correct him he stops even though he may stand there

looking at the object thinking about it.  It is like he feels he HAS to, and

this behavior is extremely repetitive.  He will flick a light switch on and off

over and over, same thing with opening/shutting doors.  It almost seems like a

form of OCD.  WHy is this suddenly happening?  There hasnt been any changes in

routine.  He

> receives OT therapy, she gave me a brush to brush him every 2 hours to help

center him.  He will not sit down long enough for me to do it properly, he

doesnt like to be held down and touched.  He screamed like I Was hurting him,

was the sensory input too much for him?  Not sure what to do to help him and

correct the behavior.

>  

> He is not on meds and the only diagnoses he has are Autism , speech impairment

and sensory issues.

>

>

>

>

>  

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