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BethK

The 'autistic Rock'

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My son does the famous 'rain man' rock, usually when he becomes excited or when something is too much to take in. I have managed to limit the amount of times he does this in the general public, so he mainly does it in the house. I've done this for his benefit, I don't want other kids sectioning him out, as he gets older, if that makes sense. Although, he does a lot of 'bouncing' on the spot, if he can't rock, which I suppose is more 'accepted' in the general public.

 

Last year, I brought a big round netted trampoline for the garden, when he has his bouncing episodes, he'll usually go outside onto the trampoline. Thing is, once the rocking/bouncing starts, you just have to let him ride it out. I did try a couple of times to break the cycle but he ends up smacking himself on the head!

 

Does anyone else with an ASD child or adults with ASD, have this bouncing or rocking 'tick' (is it a tick?)

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It's a 'tic' - well, the word you want is 'tic' - don't know if the movement is or not.

 

This could be due to a compulsive movement - or it could be a way of regulating balance. Ds's speech therapist advised us to allow ds to move around, rather than sit still, when he was having stories read to him, because the balance system is part of the ear and activating it the part of the brain that processes balance can also activate auditory processing. Don't know whether or not her theory is right, but it certainly dramatically improved his ability to concentrate on what was being read to him.

 

Ds moves up and down (as you say, bouncing), rather than to and fro, but he still rolls his head from side to side when he's tired - has done since he was a baby. My guess is that the best way to deal with it is to channel the movement into something socially acceptable - pacing up and down, for example.

 

cb

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Yes my son does this too , usually the bouncing on the spot and leaping in the air accompanied by loud yells ( it sometimes looks like he is trying to head butt an invisible football). At 23 you can imagine the stares he gets :o

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23! bless him x

 

I'll mention that to my son's nursery, coolblue, see if it makes a difference with them. Unfortunately, my son doesn't do 'story time' at home, he's just not interested but he has started to come round to it in nursery. It's all trial and error i suppose :)

 

When he rocks back n forth, he has a habit of shaking his hands/wrists. I know he is too young to get him to understand things, I mean my local village knows him and they take no notice, if he has a tic moment in public but imagine as he gets older and he's not in his home town, it could cause him undue stress :(

 

I suppose I over think things!

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Hello

 

I tend to rock when im in pain or upset or trying to get proprioceptive input into me. For the later I find using my weighted blanket helps.

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23! bless him x

 

I'll mention that to my son's nursery, coolblue, see if it makes a difference with them. Unfortunately, my son doesn't do 'story time' at home, he's just not interested but he has started to come round to it in nursery. It's all trial and error i suppose :)

 

When he rocks back n forth, he has a habit of shaking his hands/wrists. I know he is too young to get him to understand things, I mean my local village knows him and they take no notice, if he has a tic moment in public but imagine as he gets older and he's not in his home town, it could cause him undue stress :(

 

I suppose I over think things!

 

Ah, that will be the age difference. Ds was nine when we tried the moving-around-while-listening strategy. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about the rocking. When I was an infant teacher (mainstream), almost all the children used to have some sort of 'tic' or other. As their sensory skills develop the need to move about diminishes. I'd try as much physical activity as you can manage with your lad at his age.

 

cb

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We have a swing seat in the garden (on our third one) which gets used for very gentle rocking early in the morning and when my son comes home from school, even in the snow.

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I don't think my son ever runs out of energy :lol: he's a houdini too, the amount of times he's been up and over our neighbour's garden wall (4ft high), I can't count on my hands of feet :huh:

 

So, at his age (3 and a half), is it best just to let him get on with it?

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mine at 11 when excited jumps up and down,particularly when watching a tv program. He also walks on the balls of his feet

 

 

yeah, my son does the tiptoe walk, all the time!

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I don't think my son ever runs out of energy :lol: he's a houdini too, the amount of times he's been up and over our neighbour's garden wall (4ft high), I can't count on my hands of feet :huh:

 

So, at his age (3 and a half), is it best just to let him get on with it?

 

I built in opportunities for sensory input throughout the day. So a chance to bounce, some rolling up in duvets, a visit to softplay, and the thing he likes best, joint compressions, which make him melt. Best to have a bit of structure round it so that he's aware his needs will be met and he will, over time, be able to wait.

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He's currently using his bed as a trampoline, sometimes i wonder if he'd fall right through that ceiling :unsure:

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