strange habbit?!

[loupin]

Hi all!

My son has started licking my husband! The penny finally dropped after seeing this behaviour for a while that he does it when he is stressed. We took him to a rugby match 2weeks ago and he didn't enjoy it at all. My husband looked after him whilst i had the other two. After the match husband said oh yeah he was fine but the licking was a bit much!!! We kind of laughed it off and thought no more of it. Tonight after a day of visitors my son was fed up and i was watching for the usual signs of stress which were all evident! and then he started trying to lick his dad in a kind of aggressive way. Its really odd. I dont know what to do about it. My husband obviously tells him its not nice and asks him to stop it but he takes no notice of course!!

Any ideas would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance. xxxx

[Stephanie]

How old is he?

 

Is it just happening with your husband? How long has it gone on for? Does he understand that it isn't acceptable? Is it a stim or is he doing it to gain a reaction?

 

I think most kids go through this phase including NT ones but I imagine it is quite annoying. Can you moderate his behaviour or is he unable to understand?

[loupin]

Hes 6 nearly 7.He does it to me sometimes and yes we have told him that it really isn't acceptable behaviour but he has semmantic pragmmatic speech disorder and his understanding of language is quite poor especially when stressed. He appears to be able to understand you but he doesn't.

What is a stim?

Loupin x

[krystaltps]

Hi Loupin, we've never had that one!? and C has gone through various stages of odd habit. We've recently got him out of growling - he would growl like a dog when frustrated or angry or upset (which is nearly all the time ). We told him it didn't look good or sound nice, and asked him if he could "do it in his head" - his phrase for thinking something and not saying/doing it. After a few weeks he gradually stopped and reverted back to his old favourite stim - the spin (which is much preferable ). Stimming is spinning, hand/arm flapping, etc. - all the little anxiety behaviours they do when stressed.... although C spins even when relaxed. It may be worth a try to get him to "do it in his head", although I don't know if he'd understand what you mean by that - C's nearly 8, and has only recently got the hang of it. Alternatively you could try diverting him onto a more suitable stim, or giving him something good to fidget with. Hope this is of some help.....

[loupin]

Thanks. Giving him something to fidget with is something my husband ansd i discussed this morning actually! Our Ot said that he fidgets a lot and can't keep still as its a way of keeping the brain alert/awake. She thinks that if he is still he isn't so responsive. She is going to look into a thing to fidget with that is appropriate for school etc. she mentioned blue tac in his pocket. I will try the 'do it in your head approach' but i'm not sure he will get the idea yet. The difficulty is that he appears so (hate the word! ) normal but the reality is he just doesn't get language, maybe i'll do some picture work with him today. I think we are going to cancel visitors today and let him chill before the odd old man comes down our chimney!!!!

Thanks again!xx

[cmuir]

Hi

 

My son does the growling thing and the licking thing. I'll be watching this post like a hawk!

 

Caroline.

[tighna]

Now, this might not be what you want to hear, but...

 

1. The licking thing, could be indicative of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or , perhaps, if it is a tic, as we would call it, i.e. something that has to be done, then this may suggest Tourette Syndrome (TS). If it is TS, then saying dont do it, or could you do it in your head, will not work (trust me, I have TS).

 

2. The growling thing could be many things, one of which, again, is TS, and my suggestion is that you check this out with the neurologist/specialist. There is no "cure" for TS, but there are treatments that can help.

 

Now I know that my post might not be what you expected, or anywhere close to what you expected, but you have to forgive me here, but there is a strong correlation between what you describe and what many of the parents of kids with TS mention. I mean only to help, and if I appear to be anything other than helpful, then please forgive me (I am an Aspie, after all ) .

 

I can, with the mods permission???. provide details of a forum where many parents of children with TS air their views (there are some members of this forum who are also members of the TS forum).

[loupin]

Thank you I will do a bit more research into the tourettes thing. The OCD angle hadn't occured to me as it isn't a constant thing however he does have another ritual when we get in the car that he must clean the windows at least once each trip. I have mentioned this to his psychologist who said to keep an eye on it. I think i may start to keep a diary. Thanks once again that is certainly food for thought.