Guest guest Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 I will include my caveat that I am an AS adult, so I may have a different perspective on stimming than others here. > > Hi everyone, > > My 4-year-old son has a REALLY bad problem with stimming-mostly toe walking, This can be a sign of fecal impaction, is your son constipated or conversely has runny diarrhea with dark specks in it? > some arm flapping, This can be because of stress, frustration, and/or excitement. I would not worry about this one too much, perhaps give him something to hold so his hands have something to do. If you try to suppress a stim which is a stress reducer, then he might develop another stress reducer that is more problematic, such as sib. Or you can try to find the source of his stress and remove it. Here is one link you can consider http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/stimclas.htm > constant vocal stimming This one can be to allow focus in an over-stimulatory environment, see my link above. > and some nail biting/putting fingers in mouth. One of my kids does this when he eats a bad food. Here are my ideas on this. http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/handlick.htm > These behaviors have gotten so bad that they are really interefering with his ABA program. Might be something about his program that is stressful to him, have you observed it? Has it changed recently? Also see my classroom link above, and this link http://www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/archive/mannerism.html > > I would really appreciate it if someone could share their experiences with me regarding interventions that you have tried that have controlled/eliminated stimming. You need to eliminate the CAUSE of the stimming, if you just work to eliminate the stimming, it will probably backfire on you. If it is a food issue, then remove the food or consider enzymes. Otherwise, either remove the cause of the stress, or if you cannot do that, redirect into a more socially appropriate and less distracting stim, or allow stims only in a certain place/time, like after drills he can go to his room and stim for a while, etc. > > He was on Prozac for 2 months last spring and I really did not see any improvements from it. He has been on tryptophan as well and I also did not see any real improvements from it. I think of stimming as an OCD behavior-am I wrong? Stimming is a release of stress, or it can be a " feel good " . I do not see it as an OCD thing, altho some AS children can do it because of OCD issues I suppose. > If it is OCD then is there an SSRI or some other medication that is especially effective for OCD? I am really desperate and willing to try anything at this point. If the stims are injurious, you can consider this information. http://www.autism.org/sib.html Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 My boys used to have a very bad bouncing " stim. " Just rocking back and forth, not jumping up and down. They would bounce on the furniture, in the car, on the bed, everywhere. The older one head banged for 8 straight years. And I mean straight round the clock...all night long. This was usually accompanies with humming or droning. He also rocked from foot to foot when standing. Another stim was chewing his clothes, his hands, his toys, or anything that was near his mouth. But he rarely does any of this anymore. Zoloft decreased this about 15%. Amitriptiline decreased this about 55%. Peptizyde enzymes decreased this the remaining 30%. We didn't make much headway trying to treat it as a behavioral problem. Only when we treated it as a PAIN problem did we make ground. He bounced and head banged to relieve the constant migraine pain in his head. So I agree in that they and I stim to keep focus and release tension, but also the possibility of real pain. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 My boys used to have a very bad bouncing " stim. " Just rocking back and forth, not jumping up and down. They would bounce on the furniture, in the car, on the bed, everywhere. The older one head banged for 8 straight years. And I mean straight round the clock...all night long. This was usually accompanies with humming or droning. He also rocked from foot to foot when standing. Another stim was chewing his clothes, his hands, his toys, or anything that was near his mouth. But he rarely does any of this anymore. Zoloft decreased this about 15%. Amitriptiline decreased this about 55%. Peptizyde enzymes decreased this the remaining 30%. We didn't make much headway trying to treat it as a behavioral problem. Only when we treated it as a PAIN problem did we make ground. He bounced and head banged to relieve the constant migraine pain in his head. So I agree in that they and I stim to keep focus and release tension, but also the possibility of real pain. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 Hi , I personally don't have experience with the use of SSRI's yet but I have found an organization that I am very excited about at www.nids.net and the parents there sure seem to know a lot, I'm still on the waiting list to see the doctor. The veterans on the message board really don't seem too concerned about stims as they decrease as they children improve on the protocol. I would highly recommend taking a look at this site. > > Hi everyone, > > My 4-year-old son has a REALLY bad problem with stimming-mostly toe walking, some arm flapping, constant vocal stimming and some nail biting/putting fingers in mouth. These behaviors have gotten so bad that they are really interefering with his ABA program. > > I would really appreciate it if someone could share their experiences with me regarding interventions that you have tried that have controlled/eliminated stimming. > > He was on Prozac for 2 months last spring and I really did not see any improvements from it. He has been on tryptophan as well and I also did not see any real improvements from it. I think of stimming as an OCD behavior-am I wrong? If it is OCD then is there an SSRI or some other medication that is especially effective for OCD? I am really desperate and willing to try anything at this point. > > Thanks, > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 Hi , I personally don't have experience with the use of SSRI's yet but I have found an organization that I am very excited about at www.nids.net and the parents there sure seem to know a lot, I'm still on the waiting list to see the doctor. The veterans on the message board really don't seem too concerned about stims as they decrease as they children improve on the protocol. I would highly recommend taking a look at this site. > > Hi everyone, > > My 4-year-old son has a REALLY bad problem with stimming-mostly toe walking, some arm flapping, constant vocal stimming and some nail biting/putting fingers in mouth. These behaviors have gotten so bad that they are really interefering with his ABA program. > > I would really appreciate it if someone could share their experiences with me regarding interventions that you have tried that have controlled/eliminated stimming. > > He was on Prozac for 2 months last spring and I really did not see any improvements from it. He has been on tryptophan as well and I also did not see any real improvements from it. I think of stimming as an OCD behavior-am I wrong? If it is OCD then is there an SSRI or some other medication that is especially effective for OCD? I am really desperate and willing to try anything at this point. > > Thanks, > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 Dana, Any advice for excessive teeth grinding stimming ? I've tried asking him to stop which works for about 30 seconds, giving him something to bite on (aquarium line), deep pressure on his shoulders, and an electric toothbrush for vibration by his jaw-all have not helped. He's not quite 4yrs. but I worry later when he'll get adult teeth. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 In a message dated 11/6/01 9:46:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, dmccreary@... writes: > My OT suggests having crunchy snacks on hand like really hard chips, > carrots, rice crackers, gum(this one would not work in my house) > This is just a thought but what about on of those mouth guards that > If your child is old enough, gum makes a sweet treat and suffices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 Kathy, I don't know how it would work, as I am waiting for mine to be made, but I went to the dentist to get a " night guard " . The only bad thing is they put the clay in your mouth and you have to hold still til it sets. Can you see a 4yo doing that? But, yes, it is very hard on your teeth. I started grinding mine(STRESS!!!) day and night a few mos ago and I can already feel that my teeth align differently. YIKES! Apparently you can wear the guard 24 hours. Don't know how easy it would be for a 4 yo to take out, though.The dentist was telling me horror stories of patients who were teeth grinders and the damage he saw. I know this is not exactly what you were talking about, but maybe something helps. BTW, the guard costs $280 something and my insurance covered 80%-plus our deductable, oops, forgot about that! I know you can buy the kits at Walmart for about $15 and make it yourself, but don't know if it could be adapted for kid size. Hope something here helps. Good luck. Janelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 My OT suggests having crunchy snacks on hand like really hard chips, carrots, rice crackers, gum(this one would not work in my house) This is just a thought but what about on of those mouth guards that are used for hockey eh? in Canada > Dana, > Any advice for excessive teeth grinding stimming ? I've tried asking him to > stop which works for about 30 seconds, giving him something to bite on > (aquarium line), deep pressure on his shoulders, and an electric toothbrush > for vibration by his jaw-all have not helped. He's not quite 4yrs. but I > worry later when he'll get adult teeth. > Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 > Dana, > Any advice for excessive teeth grinding stimming ? This is generally for pressure or stress relief, altho I have heard it is a sign of mercury toxicity also. If pressure, consider ear/sinus/tooth infections, additional food issues causing head pain or oral regression, etc. Consider using enzymes. If stress, look at his environment, see if things are stressful for him, try to remove the stressors. If mercury toxicity, consider testing for metals and/or chelation. The mouth guard sounds okay, but I doubt you would be able to get him to wear it voluntarily at 4 years old. I will never personally recommend a " chew tube " but you can consider giving him something to chew on if you think it might help. Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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