How to Stop Autistic Children Self-Harming

Unfortunately autistic children carry out the painfully, distressing and dangerous practice of self-harming. This is often than not a regular occurrence with autistic children. There a normally only a couple of reasons for this and therefore this helps as you only need a few ways of reducing or stopping the practice.

One of the reasons for the self-harming is due to the fact that autistic sufferers cannot communicate like the majority and they tend to get very frustrated. This frustration then results in a level of anger and they then start to harm themselves, sometimes just purely to get attention. The most common and quickest way of getting attention is by them banging their heads against a wall, followed closely by the second method of biting themselves.

The way of curing the need to self harm has been looked at in two ways. The first and most difficult method is to ignore their actions. This means that the family or carers have to do something totally different when the child starts to hurt itself. On the other hand it has been suggested that communication therapy and drugs may help to reduce the problem. One drug theory is the use of nutritional drugs including B6 and Calcium as these have shown some success when tested.

It has been thought that an autistic child will self harm and not stop as they wait for a biochemical called endorphins, called happy hormones, to be released into the body. The endorphins provides a happy release for an autistic child. This helps them to temporarily forget about what has troubled them and caused them to self harm.

With the communication method it is very important that everybody who has a lot of contact with the child learns how to communicate in this different way. When adults talk to children that do not suffer with autism they tend to rely on abbreviations, signals, and body language. All this has been learnt from the basic methods of learning to talk. Autistic children do not have this building block to help them therefore it is far more difficult and as frustrating for the family member as the child.

Well it can be seen that autistic children suffer so much with the lack of understandable communication. It is obviously a major priority for all concerned to remove the need for self harming.

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Treating Autism Symptoms In Your Child - Self-Injurious Behavior

One of the hardest autism symptoms in your child to observe is that of self-injurious behavior. What is self-injurious behavior? Well, some kids with autism will bang their head, hit themselves, bite their hands, or otherwise engage in activities that hurt themselves.

Why does an autistic child deliberately hurt himself?

There are many theories to explain these autism symptoms in a child.

For some kids, it may block out other stimuli. They may be overwhelmed and over-stimulated from their environment, and they desperately need to focus on something internal or external. Causing pain to is a way to switch that focus of attention.

A child may have extreme sensory issues and need a lot of tactile feedback. Head banging and other similar behaviors may be ways of trying to get that tactile feedback, although not very good ones. If this is the case, sensory integration therapy should be undertaken, and the child with autism should be given other ways to get the tactile feedback they need.

There is a whole "sensory diet" that can be employed in this case to help these autism symptoms in the child.

For some children, hitting their ears could be evidence of a middle ear infection, and a comprehensive ear examination should be undertaken to rule out this possibility.

Additionally, it is also possible that self-injurious behavior could be caused by a certain type of seizures. The child with autism exhibiting these autistic symptoms should get an EEG done to rule out this possibility.

Frustration May Cause These Autism Symptoms in a Child

Finally, we know that poor communication skills are a common symptom of autism in a child. These self-injurious behaviors are often just the result of extreme frustration.

Here, the child with autism has no better way to communicate his or her frustration - it is both a release and a form of communication. In this case, if the child is not verbal, they should be taught alternative ways to communicate, such as using picture cards, sign language or facilitated communication; having the ability to communicate one's feelings and needs will greatly reduce frustration levels.

Also, if possible, any child with autism should be taught ways to handle and try to lessen their frustration levels, such as through a sensory diet, relaxation exercises, deep pressure and through exercise.

How do you treat self-injurious behavior in a child with autism?

When trying to figure out how to treat these behaviors, it is important to first try to figure out what the source is. Sometimes, there are other medical complaints that are causing pain, and this pain cause the child with autism to act out and exhibit this autism symptom. A careful medical evaluation should be done.

Some drugs, such as Risperdal, have been prescribed to help self-injurious behavior, but not for everyone. Doses should be carefully monitored by a doctor. Detoxification of heavy metals, if this is an issue, can also help. Behavior therapy such as ABA (applied behavior analysis) is a common treatment for these symptoms also.

In time, as you figure out your child's triggers, and find ways to help him function better in his environment, these behaviors should lessen. Self-injurious behavior is a hard autism symptom in your child to deal with, but it can be done.

Hopefully, the treatments and therapies mentioned above can make life a little easier especially for those with autism and the people who love them. For additional tips and suggestions that can help your loved one live a fulfilling and happy life visit the AmericanAutismSociety.org. There you can sign up for their FREE newsletter with tips and info on autism.

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