reuby2 Report post Posted December 17, 2005 (edited) My son has been running up and down the house over and over.At first I tried to stop him as he didn't say anything just ran to the same place and back again.When i tried to talk to him as it was happening he got annoyed that I was interrupting him. I have figured out from him that when he is doing this, he is using his imagination and thinking things in his head, he doesn't say a word as he is running, but now I leave him to it .He says he is going to imagine and then runs in the same way repeatedly. He does this at school in the playground too. Is this part of his ASD ? If I try to stop him he gets annoyed so I do let him. Edited December 17, 2005 by reuby2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ceecee Report post Posted December 17, 2005 My daughter used to do this when she was ill with autistic encephalitus.It can be quite unnerving and kind of distressing.She lost all her speech so was unable to tell me why.i doubt she was even aware she was doing it. It wears out your carpet as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiley Report post Posted December 17, 2005 Hi Reuby, Just a suggestion - But i may be totally wrong! My son sometimes does this when he's sensorally overloaded - it help him to 'drown out' the noise, lights etc so he can think more clearly... Don't know if it will help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reuby2 Report post Posted December 17, 2005 thanks for your replies, I used to think he did it because he was bored but he seems to enjoy it even though to look at his face he looks very serious . It's good to know that it's not just him that does it though, thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Helen Report post Posted December 17, 2005 My son used to run up and down the length of our front room for up to two hours at a time, looking back on his running behaviour I would now interpret this as perhaps a type of stim(?) I used to think that it was his way of unwinding after a long, stressful day. If he was interupted during the stim he would get so annoyed. Whenever he used to run I would leave him to it, he wasn't causing any harm to himself although my settee took a battering - I caught him a few times actually jumping on/off it during his stimming. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reuby2 Report post Posted December 17, 2005 Hi helen, What is "stimming"? I have seen it mentioned a few times but haven't got a clue what it is. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Helen Report post Posted December 17, 2005 As taken from the Jargon Buster: Stim: Stimming: - short for self-stimulation, like rocking or tapping. My son now takes comfort from swivelling on the computer's swivel chair. He doesn't feel that this form of stim is a private and personal matter as compared to the running, he feels comfortable enough to swivel in company - the running had to be carried out in private. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reuby2 Report post Posted December 17, 2005 thanks for that, Does it happen when they are bored? It seems when my son is awake that he wants us to play his make believe games all the time and he tells us what to do, but if we wont play then he looks bored!! WE feel shattered!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Helen Report post Posted December 17, 2005 (edited) Reuby, I wouldn't say that my son stims out of boredom, he stims at certain times because he has a need to do it. Edited December 18, 2005 by Helen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted December 18, 2005 My daughter used to do this running up and down when she was younger (she is now 16 and seems to have stopped it now) . She would run from one end of the lounge to the other give three stamps with her feet, run back again, three stamps. We got so used to hearing it as a background noise. I agree with Helen: I think it is a stim. She seemed to do it when she was excited or thinking creatively eg when she was in the middle of writing a story. I don't think it was a response to stress. My younger son, 8 who is NT in all other respects, also does this now and it is accompanied by loud humming. He also does it in moments of excitement or anticipation. We have a very small house and sometimes it gets a bit much. There is a grubby patch on the wall where he puts out his hands to stop himself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reuby2 Report post Posted December 18, 2005 Thanks everyone, He does say he is imagining when he does it, so in a way I treat it in the same way as if he said he was going to read or play on the computer etc. It is important to him so it's okay. take care, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted December 18, 2005 running and pacing are very common forms of stim stims have more than one use and are usually done from necessity - stopping them can cause anxiety and often a transfer to other stims which may not be so positive they may be used to relieve stress, Com stims a lot more under stress, but also to block distraction/environmental overload, concentrate or to relax/ for pleasure - there are probably other reasons too and it is very much an individual thing Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ksasnic Report post Posted December 18, 2005 Nick does the running thing back and forth around and around.... he'd say he is so full of energy that if he doesn't run or use it up it is very uncomfortable and he can't concentrate.. so much so that his teacher has now given him a little table that he can go to if he feels the need to get up and use some energy up... and that his consultant is now going to assess him for ADD.. even though I would say he's more on the hyperactive side... he also gets very stressy if you ask him to stop.. unless he's on one of those moods where he says ok mum stops instantly forgets totally what he was doing goes out of the room spins around counts aloud then starts again but faster !!! and even more determined.. its like he has to do it x amount of times before he can do something else and if someone interupts him he loses count and has to start again so this then takes longer and he gets very cross... its like he wants to stop doing it but can't until he has done it in the right order... Interesting though to see that other kids are doing this also and those kids also have aspergers makes me even more convinced that Nick was dx wrongly... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainbow queen Report post Posted December 18, 2005 my son also will do this,he runs and opens doors then runs back and shuts them,drives me nutts. he seems to get great enjoyment from it too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klou Report post Posted December 20, 2005 Hi My son does this at home and at nursery. He is very difficult to stop and if we have friends round they think it is a game and it drives me nuts and makes me worry they will crash into somthing. Ds goes round and round in circles too. DH and I have different ideas about this. I tend to let DS get on with it. Dh doesn't like him doing it. Nursery are supposed to distract him out of it! Fed up of people telling me to manage his behaviour by distracting him. It doesn't work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reuby2 Report post Posted December 22, 2005 OKay I feel near to tears as son is just walking round and round in circles and has been doing for the last hour or so. He says nothing but is slowly walking up and down , perhaps adding a jump every so often .I know I said I treated it as important, But it's starting to frighten me a bit as I have tried to talk to him but he just keeps saying that I am "annoying him", I feel like i am losing him when he's doing this and I find myself getting negative in case it keeps getting worse. I'm sorry to post like this but I am getting pretty upset right now and he is just completely in his own world, I'm not part of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mossgrove Report post Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) Reuby This thread started with why, but your sons perspective will be 'Why not?'. When I was 11 years old my parents moved to a bigger house that had a longish corridor upstairs. I would spend ages running upstairs to my bedroom and back downstairs again, sometimes I would time how long I took on my watch, sometimes I would carry things with me. This went on for a few months, then it stopped. Before then I used to spend hours at a time upside down leaning against a wall. I think I liked doing it because it wa something I could lose myself in, this was the appeal as much as the running or being upside was. I think your son is retreating from the outside world into doing this activity. Because the whole point of the activity is retreating from the world, he is naturally upset when you interrupt him. I suspect you may not get anywhere by tackling the issue head on. Are there any external factors in his life that are causing significant stress (e.g. school) or arether any other interests/obsessions he has that you can try and engage him in? Simon Edited December 22, 2005 by mossgrove Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reuby2 Report post Posted December 22, 2005 Thanks Mossgrove for replying, He hates school, so no change there. I am wondering whether it is because i have just moved his toys into another room so I can put the table in the conservatory ready for christmas. He was fine about it when i asked him but this is the longest that he has done these repetative things constantly. He has just changed what he is doing to sitting on the floor and then jiggling himself up and down every so often. He has just finished and has come to play !! It has taken about an hour and a half. I just find it really hard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mossgrove Report post Posted December 22, 2005 (edited) He has just finished and has come to play !! It has taken about an hour and a half. I just find it really hard. Makes perfect sense to me! Now he has processed whatever it was he needed to process he is ready to face the world. As a parent I can understand how it can be unsettling, but I was a child who behaved similarly when I was younger, so his behaviour doesn't seem wacky to me! Have a good time playing with him! Simon Edited December 22, 2005 by mossgrove Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
