Are these stims?
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Jack has begun some behaviors over the Christmas Holidays, and I'm not sure if they are stims or not. First of all, can stims begin anytime? Up until this point he has not had any stim-like behaviors. He has been sticking his fingers in his ears for a few weeks (he puts his fingers in and leaves them there from 5 seconds to 2 minutes, he does not move his fingers in and out of his ears...........just keeps them in his ears), whether he is in a loud or quiet room. Usually when he TV is turned on. He has also begun to flap his hands when he is excited (wants you to hand him his cup or pick him up) or in a new situation (going back to daycare after 2 weeks). Usually for 5 seconds or so. I'm pretty sure that this is a common stim? But I was confused because the duration is so short. He has begun squinting his eyes, only when he walks by the TV. Again, he squints once and keeps hs face squinted for a few seconds. He does not do it over and over again. He has also began to hold up his hands and make movements with his fingers directly in front of his face (thumbs up, fingers splayed, etc.). Usually 2-3 movements, then he stops. For evey movement, he likes to really check out the position his hand is in....so probably a few seconds between each movement. I guess I'm unsure because the squinting, fingers in ears, and finger movements are not repetitive, and the hand flapping is so short in duration, although they look like stims to me. Please educate me!! They sound like common stims amoung children with autism..I found this link..but maybe others that have had the same sx with their kids can help you. I do know that redirecting and finding more appropriate "stims" will keep it from setting in..also write down what provokes these behaviors so when he gets ABA therapy (hopefully) they will know how to deal with them. http://www.autism.org/stim.html
My son stims when he's overstimulated, but others stim when bored. Do you notice a connection? I wouldn't worry about 5 seconds of hand flapping while excited -- this is actually common in kids who don't have autism. I wouldn't worry about the rest either, actually, but it seems like he's doing some sensory exploring, especially visual exploring. You can try and re-direct sometimes -- interest him in visually stimulating activities/toys and interact with him. I hope he doesn't have an ear infection. Maybe he's just exploring how different the world sounds (and his own voice sounds) when he plugs his ears. My son did not start to stim until he was three, and then it was only when he was watching a funny, exciting movie scene. He'd be standing there laughing and bend over to pat his thighs a few times quickly, while slightly hopping. Like, leg-slapping funny? The thigh pat moved to just his hands together at waist level, like he was clapping. This was about a year and a half later. Another year or so, and it has moved up to a chin level or chest level patting of his finger tips. Often, he picks up a small toy...like a tiny wooden block or a soft ball...and pats it up near his chin or chest level. Fingers in the ear mean overstimulation - turn the TV off! I think he is stimming, and it might be when he is overwhelmed sensory wise. Cole stims when bored, and therefore daydreaming...when he is really angry or frustrated...or really tired. Hope this helps. Billy's been doing it. And I have assumed they are visual stims. The few ppl I mentioned them to (OT evaluator, DAN Dr and "Autism Specialist" from EI) thought they were visual stims as well. The DAN seemed to think it was typical toddler behavior... And he mentioned "spinning" as well.... (Billy doesn't spin, but the DAN said that, to a degree, it can be NT). So I don't know. It was the first red flag I noticed in Billy though. I am just wondering about the TV. Does he squint or put his fingers in his ears when a certain show is on? Or certain sounds (e.g. high pitched voice like Elmo, baby crying, singing, etc)? Maybe this is some kind of coping mechanism for him? He probably is overstimulated in some way (either visual and/or auditory). My ds reacted to certain frequencies or sounds; did not necessarily need to be loud. It was hard to figure out because he could not express it (he was 2 at the time). Sometimes it was also in anticipation of something coming that he didn't like. I don't know if this is the case with your child. But it was something that took me a long time to figure out. Good luck ____________________ mom to 8 year old boy/girl twins (Asperger's/PDD-NOS) Thank you everyone! "Fingers in the ear mean overstimulation - turn the TV off!" I am definitely trying to do this (have been for weeks). However, with my stepdaughters in the home for the last 3 weeks, the living room TV seems to magically turn on and stay on constantly! MBMOM- I have seen more of these behaviors when he is passing the TV when it is turned on, especially the ears and the squinting. I'm thinking visual/auditory overstimulation as well. He also does a lot of fingers in the ears at daycare....of course the room is always pretty loud in there....I practically have sensory overload when I walk in....... Libby squints quite a bit, and tugs at her one eye (I'm afraid she's going to rub her beautiful long eyelashes bare). I had no idea that these were anything to do with the ASD until reading about stims here on this forum. It's starting to make sense that these quirky things she does are typical for ASD kids. They don't really affect our lives negatively, so I try to just not really worry about them yet. Now when she gets older, her stims may make her seem odd, so we'll cross that bridge when get there. N started stimming soon after birth. He rocked and head banged a lot, but I didn't know what it was at the time. He has developed new stims just in the last couple of years, and some have went away, mostly. A couple of years ago he started blinking constantly. He also has spun in circles at times. Now he lunges aand jumps around the house a lot. He still rocks sometimes too. I was just thinking about something. He LOVES for us to rub or scratch his head, he will come up and lay his head on my lap and ask me to scratch it. I guess this is a way of having me do his stim? LOL. Never thought of it that way before. I do think they can come and go. Especially considering your son grows and changes in his abilities. My son does the fingers in the ears for as short as a few seconds or alot longer but its because hes sensitive to noises so he plugs his ears when they bother or hurt them. Maybe he has sensitivities to sounds too? Or maybe he likes the feeling of his finger in his ear like a comfort thing? If he does it briefly could be, i know my son likes to stim on my elbow for comfort and sometimes hel come thru out the day to me just to rub it for a few seconds then hel continue whatevr hes doing, sounds kind of similar to me anyway. My son flaps for very short periods of time when hes really excited about something altho hes had a few times where hes done it for alot longer when in a new overstimulating enviornment. Also Haydens sensitive to lights but its not all the time it comes out of the blue sometimes so maybe hes recently become sensitive to the tv light? Hope you can figure things out! It sounds like between the tv and stepdaughters he may be overstimulated. Whenever we have additional ppl in the house, whether short term or long term, my ds is always more likely to get overstimulated. I've learned that if the ppl have to be there I find a way to seperate him from the situation for a while or change the routine a little to give him some quiet play. If he doesn't want to play quietly by himself, maybe if you add two activities to his schedule. One of maybe sitting with mommy reading a book or singing to him. Another quiet activity together I have found is fingerpainting. I like the special ones that only show up on the page. That seems to calm him a great deal, but I have to make sure that it's just him and me or it doesn't work. I have to take him to a different room. The great thing about the color wonder paint is that it doesn't stain the carpet or anything, so you can sit on the floor in a bedroom.I think I remember reading on another post that your son did not qualify for OT for fine motor skills. Was he evaluated for sensory integration also? If not, I would suggest that it be done. A qualified OT should be able to help with his possible sensory issues. My children definitely benefit from sensory integration therapy and a sensory diet. Best wishes. ______________ mom to 8 year old boy/girl twins (Asperger's/PDD-NOS) Just since I posted yesterday, I realized that my 8 year old has started a new Stim in the last week or so. He has started saying "uh, uh, uh" over and over (he is verbal). At first I thought it was just something he was saying to his computer game he was playing. Then I noticed he was saying it other times too, regularly. So at 8 he is still starting new stims, and stopping some too. |
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