Glen hitting his head

[JeanneA]

So you can see what Glen is doing to himself is this similar to what your child has done at sometime?

 

http://2passforum.co.uk/video/glen1.wmv

[lisac]

Jeanne , im as baffled as you . He seems very precise in the way he eats and appears very sensory . Maybe he just does it as some kind of ritual . I dont think anyone could tell you why he is doing it . If you ever get any clues or suggestions please let me know , x

p.s Have his teeth been checked , can you be sure he doesnt need a filling, that could be causing him discomfort?

Edited March 20, 2010 by lisac

[baddad]

Hi jeanne -

similarly baffled here, but it does appear to be a 'stim' rather than an emotional/stress thing - there are no other outward signs that he appears distressed or uncomfortable (but of course that doesn't rule out the possibility).

Like Lisa, I wondered about possible mouth pain - whether the head smacking was diverting him from something like a sensitive tooth or lost filling(?) Worth looking to see if there is a pattern - i.e. does it always happen when he has a mouthful of food (as in the two episodes shown in the clip) or does it also happen while he's waiting to be served etc?

I wondered also about the radio - in the first case a voice has just said 'hurry up - you have five minutes left' or something, and in the second he appears to look round as if listening. Could just be coincidence, but again worth looking for any pattern or maybe try having a CD with some 'soft' instrumental music and see if that makes a difference.

One thing I would say is that, though distressing for the viewer, he doesn't seem to be 'self harming' as such. There's no indication that he hurts himself physically in a personally distressing way and he appears emotionally 'detatched' so it wouldn't seem to be a sign of emotional distress.

Having worked with several adults who hit themselves round the head as a symptom of stress/anger this appears very different. The adults I knew were also non-verbal like Glen, but did show distress vocally when enacting these kinds of behaviours for stress/anger reasons.

Hope that's helpful.

 

L&P

 

BD

[jaffacakes]

Is he only doing this while eating?

 

If he had ice cream I'd think he had an ice headache, could it be something similar? He is putting a lot of food in his mouth at a time so perhaps heat?

 

Does he do the same with something cold - ice cream? What about other textures of food like crisps or soft fruit. Also what about hot or cold drinks?

 

What if you gave him a smaller fork or tea spoon, is he having problems swallowing?

 

 

It must be difficult watching him do this, I do feel for you.

[lisac]

Jeanne, my son gets very anxious when he is in discomfort/pain. At the moment he's anxious /pacing up and down (with force ) and kind of moving his right arm about , i suspect its because hes been leaning /propped up on his side in bed , which now aches, i might be wrong though. My guess, which is all it is, is that Glen is in some physical discomfort somewhere which may be intermittent. Thank god for the internet, seems you are doing all you can, x

[JeanneA]

Hi Glen hits himself at any time and not just whilst eating. It seems more like an obsession, i.e. he has to do it like a ritual, (as you said Lisa), the psychiatrist also made this comment.

[lisac]

It could be . My son gets into negative rituals/patterns of behaviour. For all we know, it could be something that triggers it off and then they wont leave it alone . They 'have' to do it . Or it is a reaction to something internal . If only it was the positive behaviours that they wanted to keep repeating !

[Sally44]

These are just my thoughts as another parent.

 

Firstly he appears to be using peripheral vision alot ie. looking out the side of his eyes. Some verbal autistic adults have posted on the internet about peripheral vision. Might be worth reading. Some glasses can help some people with visual perceptual problems.

 

He is also very slow and deliberate with his movements. Is Glen always like this? Is he on any medication.

 

He also looks like he smells his food before he puts it in his mouth, and then leaves it on the spoon in his mouth for some time. Again all sensory behaviours. Does he see an OT for sensory integration? Have you ever tried Auditory Integration Therapy with Glen. And what are his other senses like?

 

Could the hitting be something like tourettes? Does he have any other movements or noises he does often?

[lisac]

Just to add, could it be something like acid reflux ? This can affect people throughout the day . You could try something like Gaviscon , it wont harm him , and at least rules that out ?

[JeanneA]

Glen has always been very slow in his movements. The psychiatrist has put him on respiridone to help calm him down. Glen does take medication for sleeping purposes: melatonin & phenergan.

We've realised that Glen's hitting himself seems like a ritual but as well as this he does appear very depressed, he looks miserable and has lost interest in all the things he used to enjoy.

 

[jb1964]

Hi Jeanne,

 

My daughter hits her head a lot but it's not like your Glen - she is usually very distressed and frustrated and she punches her head and face with extreme force - whereas Glen is quite calm. My daughter also looks out sideways when she's anxious/confused or upset.

 

I also noticed his reactions are extremely precise - even down to the way he seems to rub down his nose after each time as if it is a way of dealing with some sensation - I wondered about the swallowing as he is eating an extremely large amount with each swallow - my daughter has problems with her swallowing - the feeling and texture of food etc - perhaps it could be connected i.e. the feeling of when he swallows causes his reaction to cope with that feeling.

 

Take care,

Jb x

[JeanneA]

Hi jb Glen has always swallowed large amounts whilst eating I've noticed that. The hitting though is only a recent thing the last few weeks although he has done it before to a lesser extent. Like you say he does appear very calm whilst doing it and carries on as normal afterwards, it is increasing though which is extremely worrying.

[lisac]

Glen's behaviour is almost identical to how my son's has been before. No warning, nothing. All of a sudden he'd hit his head on the wall or bite his arms then carry on as normal too. When he was at school , for a short time, they somehow got him to bite a pencil clean in half instead of attacking himself ! The psych team came with us one Saturday and caught the behaviour on video and apparently spent hours and hours discussing it and couldnt come up with why! and these were a very experienced adult team. My only guess was , a pain or discomfort somewhere triggered it off and as my son is overly sensitive , ( a bit of a drama queen) if he thought or felt he was going to have pain or discomfort again , he'd just attack himself. The right dose of Risperdal eventually stopped the severity of attacks and then the frequency . I remember once him starting to do it , then giving up half way through. Is the Risperdal making any difference yet or is it making him worse ?

[JeanneA]

Hi Lisa, to be honest Glen is on a higher dose now of risperidone: 2mg twice a day but I don't think it has made any difference he's only been on the higher dose around a week so do you think it is too soon to notice any difference?

[lisac]

I found that it took around a week of taking the increased dose to notice any difference . Maybe everyones different and some are more sensitive to that medication than others .

[JeanneA]

Yes I guess you are right, Glen has been very sensitive to medication when he was younger, most that was tried didn't work for him, just hope this will as he is now older.

[Sally44]

Glen has always been very slow in his movements. The psychiatrist has put him on respiridone to help calm him down. Glen does take medication for sleeping purposes: melatonin & phenergan.

We've realised that Glen's hitting himself seems like a ritual but as well as this he does appear very depressed, he looks miserable and has lost interest in all the things he used to enjoy.

 

You know your child best. If you feel he is depressed and has lot interest in things he used to enjoy then that is probably what it is. What is causing it is another matter. Could it be a side effect of medication he already takes? How is Glen once he is at school. Is it the transition that causes the upset, and he's okay when he's there. Does he like particular lessons and dislike others.

 

Are his slow movements due to the medication, or was he always slow.

 

From a sensory point of view is Glen more over or more under sensitive?

 

I would talk to the doctor about medication. It can be very difficult to get it right. I know many members of my family have problems with side effects from medication. I would also ask about whether the doctor thinks he is in control of his hitting himself, or whether it is more like tourettes where it is a build up and he cannot stop himself.

 

Has Glen always hit himself. If so is it happening much more often now.

[Kathryn]

It struck me how he hits his head and then pushes up the sleeve with the other hand and grasps his wrist before doing it again- all very controlled and deliberate which makes it seem like a ritual.

 

I don' know what's going on here either. My daughter used to bang her forehead on furniture and occasionally smack herself but it was linked to very obvious frustration and she doesn't do it any more, although she does slap her hand on her thigh repeatedlywhen she's working at the computer and getting intense about something.

 

Whatever's causing Glen's behaviour, it must be disconcerting to watch and I hope you get to the bottom of it - and also the depression which may or may not be linked.

 

K x

[Stella63]

Hi

 

Having watched the clip and read other peoples thoughts, I would agree that it is a more ritualistic thing. Infact the whole meal eating is a ritual, the way he turns his head to the side before putting anything in his mouth.

From my own experience OJ has Tourettes and OCD (closely interlinked). He has rituals for loads of things, but especially meals, going to bed, putting socks on and going to school in the car. They do change, increase or decrease but the same procedure has to happen. He is not upset or angry, he may be worried, particularly the school one and the ritual is his way of making order and taking some control. But the meal time ones are true ritual - at the moment he knocks however many times (and it is always a specific number) on the window, taps his tray however many times with his teeth and so on (I won't bore you with the whole thing!!!)

 

If he has only been doing this for a few weeks it would be useful to see if it changes and how it changes. He may add new rituals on to the existing ones or he may stop one and replace it with another. I have got so used to OJ and although it does my head in when I have to respond 'yes' twenty times before I can start driving to school, that is him and I just wait for an annoying one to change for the better!! Eternal optimist me!!!!

 

Stella xx

[cmuir]

Hi

 

I'm afraid I don't have any advice to offer, but just wanted to say that I know first-hand how upsetting it is to watch your child doing this. I know that Tourettes has been mentioned. My uncle has tourettes and I've noticed that he is very aware of what he's doing (both, before, during and afterwards in terms of his actions/movements/tics), though he can't stop himself. I noticed that Glen takes hold of his wrist and hits himself and his movements are slow and controlled. I'm not sure it's anything to do with Tourettes, but I appreciate, as with ASDs, there is variation. I wonder if Glen is experiencing some kind of pain or discomfort though. Really hope that you get some help in getting to the bottom of this soon.

 

Best wishes.

 

Caroline.