I posted lil while ago about my son and his need for deep pressure applied on him using what else, me. I gave him a massage before bed thinking it would help him tone down on using me as an object so urgently and im not sure if it helped alot. He was doing alot of eye rolling and rapid blinking at the same time. He usually does this when hes overstimulated and stressed and trying to block things out so I wasnt sure if I was helping him.
I tried to imitate how my elbow felt on his back, hands, feet, hips with my finger tips and he tolerated me doing that but not sure if he really liked it even tho he said he did, I cant always count on what he tells me especially when hes doing the eye rolling/blinking thing. Also while im massaging ihs feet hes rubbing his other foot on my nuckles. Then I started massaging his calves with pressure and he started rocking his head which is a comfort stim he does as well and he hasnt done it in a whole week. I asked and he smiled and said he liked it so ??? I dont know why he was acting overstimulated? Those signs in him havnt ever been associated with pleasure. Then he seemed to get hyper all of a sudden and jumped out of bed and wanted to find the alien outside. Dont ask!
Also afterwards when we were laying down he was rubbing my elbow everywhere even tried under his arm and forehead. It seemed worse. Im confused it seemed like he enjoyed it but it was too overstimulating for him at the same time. Anyone have any advice or personal stories of thier children who have similar problems/behaviors? Also the eye rolling/blinking, does anyones child do that too? It was really bad tonight where it looked like he could be having little seizures but I know him and so knew what he was doing since hes done it for ages along with the head rocking usually.
Anyway ill try it again tomorrow night but any input and opinions would be appreciated since im not sure what to think. Thanks
With a little time and creativity, massaging may end up working well. You might want to invest in a massage device that he can use himself or develop a routine that makes the input more predictable for him. I don't have any experience with this, but here's what I would try:
- Have him point to where he wants pressure/touch.
- Steady pressure on one spot while counting to 10 out loud.
- To provide pressure/touch in a larger area, do so methodically by "walking" while counting, with one step per number. It might take some time for him to familiarize himself with the routine.
- Give pressure with a pillow in between. We do "pillow sandwiches" sometimes where I push on my son with a pillow while he's lying on the bed.
You do a great job paying attention to your son's signals. I've heard of a severely affected child whose only pre-meltdown signal was increased pupil size, and have also heard of eye blinking as a stim. My son doesn't do eye blinking, but he has other stims that come out during stress/overstimulation, so it seems perfectly normal that your son does eyeblinking during the massage. It sounds like you don't think they're tics.
Good luck with everything.
Thanks Norway mom, I will try the tips you gave. That makes sense about him being in control and the predictability of it all since while the massage he was still rubbing my hand with his feet! Since hes tactile defensive I thought he wanted the pressure but couldnt handle it well but thought that didnt make much sense! So was completely confused last night
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