Guest guest Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 > > ITA i feel the same with my son who is 11. but is former behavior specialist said to me for every self stim habit i try to break he will find another way to self stim the next way may not be better but worse, decide which behaviors are really inapproppiate or he will get hurt or someone else may, back off of the less serious behaviors. If it will make you guys feel any better--this really does get better as your child gets older. If you can take care of the anxiety, either through meds, environment shaping, or both, the stimming will take care of itself. My son really doesn't do any stimming any more; he is 14 and Asperger. I know some kids continue past that age, but the older they get, you can also direct the stimming some. Like the one parent said, push them to just do it at home. I don't think you can do this with the young ones, but once they get into elementary school you may be able to. If it is like with my son, it will be gradual, i.e., take him a while to get to where he can control it like that. But, I think learning to control it may have been what ultimately helped my son stop totally. But I also agree with the behavior specialist--you need to pick your battles if you don't want to make your child's life miserable (and maybe yours). They more you nag and upset them, the more they are going to stay anxious and stimming anyway. It is a fine line you have to walk, like everything with autism, it seems. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Light bulb moment for me. I never realized the behaviors Dylan exhibits are called "stims". Sure sounds like what he does. We were leaning towards tics for awhile but that never really seemed to fit and it comes and goes and changes over time. I agree with Ruth that you should do everything you can to ignore it at home if it's not destructive. The problems I've had w/ Dylan (12, Aspergers) is some of the behaviors are hard for me to watch. Like chewing the hairs out of the topsides of his fingers with his teeth. Hello, gross. When he was younger, it was nose picking though so makes the hairs on his hands not seem that bad! He's also had vocal stims and stomping and things. I also agree with Ruth that these things will more than likely improve as they get older. I know for Dylan he seems to have much better control about where he does it. When he was younger, he had no control. But socially he's learned (if painfully and slower than your typical NT kid) when and where it's appropriate to do these things. "Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out." From: r_woman2 <me2ruth@...> Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 2:04:08 PMSubject: Re: ( ) Stimming >> ITA i feel the same with my son who is 11. but is former behavior specialist said to me for every self stim habit i try to break he will find another way to self stim the next way may not be better but worse, decide which behaviors are really inapproppiate or he will get hurt or someone else may, back off of the less serious behaviors.If it will make you guys feel any better--this really does get better as your child gets older. If you can take care of the anxiety, either through meds, environment shaping, or both, the stimming will take care of itself. My son really doesn't do any stimming any more; he is 14 and Asperger. I know some kids continue past that age, but the older they get, you can also direct the stimming some. Like the one parent said, push them to just do it at home. I don't think you can do this with the young ones, but once they get into elementary school you may be able to. If it is like with my son, it will be gradual, i.e., take him a while to get to where he can control it like that. But, I think learning to control it may have been what ultimately helped my son stop totally. But I also agree with the behavior specialist-- you need to pick your battles if you don't want to make your child's life miserable (and maybe yours). They more you nag and upset them, the more they are going to stay anxious and stimming anyway. It is a fine line you have to walk, like everything with autism, it seems.Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Really informative, Roxanna. I'd like to know the difference between stimming behaviors, Tourette's syndrome, and OCD behaviors like trichtotillomania. It seems they all can have similar symtoms/behavior manifestations. Who do you think would be the best person (professional-wise) to figure this out? Psychiatrist? Behavior psychologist? Pediatrician? "Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out." From: Roxanna <madideas@...> Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 9:40:31 AMSubject: Re: ( ) Stimming I disagree with the "leave it alone" theory. stims can happen for two reasons - to tune out of the regular world via stimming or a way to calm down when overly excited. Stimming can greatly interfere with attention and participation in real life activities. You know, while all the kids are gathered around a toy, learning play and social skills, cause and effect relationships, interpersonal communication (the list can go on and on), Autistic boy is where? Standing against the wall doing visual stims. Not only does it mark him as being odd to other kids (which does not help his social skills any) but it prevents him from being in situations where he can learn so many skills. So when it is used to tune out of the regular world, I would want to learn ways to redirect him so that he will participate in appropriate activities. Someone remarked that trying to fix one stim means you will create another stim. And that is true, which is why getting someone with a background in behavior therapy is a great idea. You want to create an alternate stim which is more acceptable. You also want to learn ways to redirect the stim behavior so that he can participate in activities instead of tuning out. And if he is doing it to calm down, there are many other ways you can teach him to learn to calm down that would be more socially acceptable and still achieve the same goals. You could put together a sensory diet or teach him an alternate stim that works but doesn't ID him as someone who is "odd", which could help his social life and ability to fit in long term. Stimming is reinforcing so it can just get worse as time goes on. I worked with a little guy who is a master at stimming. He has gone through several good ones and kind of cycles around - , flipping objects in front of his eyes, major handflapping, running back and forth with no goal in mind, crossing his eyes and then finally, the worst was when it all turned into hand biting. So it did not get better in time, it just got worse. The more he stimmed, the more he wanted to stim, the more he escalated the type of stims. Finally, he had to wear a hand brace to protect his skin, which he was chewing off his hand. He really hates that! Then sometimes he wears a weight to prevent the hand flapping. It is past the "oh gee, he might be autistic stimming phase." But it is a great example of why you want to intervene. Someone also suggested giving him specific times to stim, and that often can work as well. You can give him times to stim and then shorten those times a lot. But it would be more helpful to work with someone who can help you figure out why he's doing it and to design alternate ways to meet his needs. If you look into ABA, you should find someone who can do that. Here are a few links to articles about stimming that you might like. ----> http://www.geocitie s.com/AutismPage s1/aba/stim2. htm http://www.autism- help.org/ behavior- stimming- autism.htm When my own 12 yo gets bored or anxious, he will take his hands, put them together and flap the palms together in front of his eyes. I didn't know he was doing that until I met with his teacher and he mentioned "that stim" and I said, "What stim?" lol. Seems they helped create a doosy. He seldom does it now that he is e-schooled. My older ds used to stim by spinning objects and/or spinning himself. He has let go of it over time - maybe up until age 13 or so. But he went through a lot of hard times prior to that. I wish we had gotten him help for it sooner. He probably needed a sensory diet or alternate stim release but he just got yelled at in school instead. So I think waiting for him to notice it isn't socially acceptable might me years of him getting treated badly for stimming. He may not even notice until a later age, in which case, many kids will be avoiding him. AND, the longer he does it, the more ingrained it becomes. It would be easier to change/alter or eliminate stims early on than wait until they are huge big problems to deal with. Roxanna The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.And if it stops moving, subsidize it. Reagan ( ) Stimming> > > What do you all do about your child(ren)'s stimming behaivors? Since my son is just 3 1/2 he really doesn't understand yet (or care) why others might view it as odd and not want to play with him as a result.> My DH has started telling him to stop or 'you'll hurt your eyes'. I am not comfortable with that, and it doesn't make a differnce anyways...> TJ> > > > > > ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -> > > > No virus found in this incoming message.> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.24/2018 - Release Date: 03/23/09 06:52:00> No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.28/2022 - Release Date: 03/25/09 07:16:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2009 Report Share Posted March 28, 2009  If each person had experience with these issues, then they all could be good at untangling what is what. I guess they each go at it from a different angle. For OCD and TS, I would probably want to talk to the doctor who specializes in autism issues. (We don't talk to the pediatrician about autism issues as it is a waste of energy. We have a doc who deals with the autism and see him a few times a year. So that is who I would talk to first to decide what he is doing and why.) This is because meds might be one huge piece of the way of handling things in those areas. For stims, I would want to be with the behavior expert because that person could help design a plan to change behaviors and find other ways of meeting the needs of the child. If it's OCD, the psychiatrist could do a good job if they are (again) someone who understands autism issues. That is probably the order I would go at it. I like the behavior approach a lot because they will look at the reason why he's doing what he's doing. Sometimes, with kids who have so many neurological glitches going on, the answer could be that several things are going on at once. This is done so that we do not get bored as parents. <g> Roxanna The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.And if it stops moving, subsidize it. Reagan ( ) Stimming> > > What do you all do about your child(ren)'s stimming behaivors? Since my son is just 3 1/2 he really doesn't understand yet (or care) why others might view it as odd and not want to play with him as a result.> My DH has started telling him to stop or 'you'll hurt your eyes'. I am not comfortable with that, and it doesn't make a differnce anyways...> TJ> > > > > > ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -> > > > No virus found in this incoming message.> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.24/2018 - Release Date: 03/23/09 06:52:00> No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.28/2022 - Release Date: 03/25/09 07:16:00 No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.30/2026 - Release Date: 03/27/09 07:13:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thank you Roxanna, You answered with so much more than I had asked for, yet it was exactly what I was looking for I am worried about it getting worse/harder to stop as he gets older. I will follow the links, and read up more on it in general. I am still looking for behavior therapists who have autism experience within 40 miles of home. > > > > What stim is he doing? > > > > Roxanna > > > > The government's view of the economy > > could be summed up in a few short phrases: > > If it moves, tax it. > > If it keeps moving, regulate it. > > And if it stops moving, subsidize it. > > Reagan > > ( ) Stimming > > > > > > What do you all do about your child(ren)'s stimming behaivors? Since my son is just 3 1/2 he really doesn't understand yet (or care) why others might view it as odd and not want to play with him as a result. > > My DH has started telling him to stop or 'you'll hurt your eyes'. I am not comfortable with that, and it doesn't make a differnce anyways... > > TJ > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.24/2018 - Release Date: 03/23/09 06:52:00 > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.28/2022 - Release Date: 03/25/09 07:16:00 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 You can sometimes join an ABA list and ask for names of people in your area. There is a place where they used to post people - here are two. http://www.abaconnections.com/ http://www.abadirectory.com/ Roxanna The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.And if it stops moving, subsidize it. Reagan ( ) Stimming> > > > > > What do you all do about your child(ren)'s stimming behaivors? Since my son is just 3 1/2 he really doesn't understand yet (or care) why others might view it as odd and not want to play with him as a result.> > My DH has started telling him to stop or 'you'll hurt your eyes'. I am not comfortable with that, and it doesn't make a differnce anyways...> > TJ> > > > > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------> > > > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message.> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.24/2018 - Release Date: 03/23/09 06:52:00> >> > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------> > > > No virus found in this incoming message.> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.28/2022 - Release Date: 03/25/09 07:16:00> No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.32/2030 - Release Date: 03/30/09 08:40:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Many things, but first you have to figure out why he's doing it. Many times it can be from yeast overgrowth. So usually treating yeast, supplements and chelation eventually eliminate it. Jan > > does anyone have in information on stimming my son does it alot with his hands. suggestions what can i try to help stop it. he is always putting his hand up to his face > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hello All! Has anyone done a SPECT scan that shows seizure activity and then initiated chelation or biomedical interventions and had it stop the stimming? Since my sons scan came back as having " seizure like activity " in a small area in the frontal lobe-s is there a point to doing the other interventions? Any advice would be great. DANdr wants to put him on Lamictal but I'm really nervous about it. He is currently on a tiny bit of Klonopin which in slightly higher dose dose stop the stimming but it makes him highly emotional. Cries and meltdowns- stuff we were used to seeing less frquently. Thanks again for any help! > > > > does anyone have in information on stimming my son does it alot with his hands. suggestions what can i try to help stop it. he is always putting his hand up to his face > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 > does anyone have in information on stimming my son does it alot with his hands. suggestions what can i try to help stop it. he is always putting his hand up to his face Is it mostly a visual stim? My son needed anti-fungals, anti-virals, and B12 to eliminate his visual stims. He did have one visual stim with his hands near his face. Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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