Animal/bug Phobias? | Autism PDD
I liked all animals, including bugs, for the most part. However I had a TERRIBLE phobia of wasps and bees. I would go absolutely ballistic if I saw one, or even heard a buzzing that sounded like one. Any other bug was fine, but no stingers allowed!
And Fred, it is very common for my fears to become obsessions. In fact other people's fears can become obsessions as well (Snakes were a big one here). It has to do with my tendency to psycho-analyze. If something is so scary, I have to figure out why, and that usually leads to perseveration on my part.
Like someone else mentioned - you may find the fear turning into an obsession in time. My ds was TERRIFIED of the sound of the vacuum cleaner - then he gradually worked out of it and then became obsessed with vacuum cleaners. We did the same thing - just comforted him and took him away from the vacuum. My dh would take ds out of the house if I was to vacuum. Eventually, we started just bringing the vacuum out and not turning it on. Soon after, ds would come over to look at it. Then we would turn it on while he was two floors above and would warn him of this and we taught him to cover his ears. Then we tried one floor above. Then we tried across the room. Then we let HIM turn it on (with intense supervision of course!). Now, he will vacuum the whole house if asked (again with supervision - but much less so as he is very good at it now!).
I think the more you make of it, the more scared they get and it becomes entrenched. Can he look at PICTURES of animals? That might be a way to start. Then maybe get one of those touch and feel books that have fur on the dogs so he can "pet" them. Maybe then try a pet shop where he can just look at the animals behind glass. But back off immediately if he starts exhibiting terror.
This is a hard one but take a deep breath and repeat to yourself about a zillion times "This too shall pass!"
Does anyone else's kid have this? AJ (3 yrs old) is TERRIFIED of animals, bugs, birds, etc. i mean, it's getting to the point where we can't even play outside. he screams no and runs to me, crying and screaming and clinging. i try to tell him it's ok, or sing "shoo-fly, don't bother me". he is INCONSOLABLE with this phobia. if we go for a walk and see a dog or cat or bunny, it's OVER. . .i don't know what to do!Hopefully it is a phase!
My dd used to freak out at about that age, over asphalt patches on the road, over dirt clods on the yard, over sweet gum seed pods on the yard ... she would start yelping and I would have to pick her up! I kept telling her it was okay, but was accepting of her reactions, and it faded in a few months.
The girls had a phobia about ants when they were younger (OWEE ANTS!) but they've outgrown it. It was bad with Evie for short period - she would freak out and refuse to move if she saw an ant on the sidewalk or something. Now they have bug obsessions, meaning, that they'll spend an hour or more digging around in the dirt or rolling over logs looking for creepy crawlies - sometimes it seems like things that were formerly feared turn into obsessions - like, maybe their way of dealing with their fears is to learn everything they can about the subject of their fears.
Anyway, just to let you know, yes, the girls had a problem with this but the outgrew it on their own, in time.
That's a tough one. It's hard to desensitize a child when they are so scared. If you brought a cute little puppy to pet, he would probably scream, and be too anxious to calm down. It might be easier with the bugs. Maybe catch an ant or inchworm and put it in a jar so he could look at it and you could talk to him about it. If he is so terrified, you could just put it back outside. Maybe it will help a little.Have you mentioned it to his therapists?nakama
Acceptance is important for sure. My son is 8 and still petrified of flying insects. BUT he has out grown some other phobias, and when he is ready, if ever, he will outgrow this one too. However, you may want to create a social story to see if this helps at all. It may not be helpful at his young age, but when he is ready to be more accepting this may just help him get over it.
Just a thought :)
Just remembering, too, T "picks up" others' phobias ... her latest is to shriek, "It's a BEE!" whenever we are outside, bees about or no. DEfinitely trying to stir up exictement, and obviously witnessed from someone on the playground. I just ignore, if no bees are imminent ... and it is decreasing.Jasper has outgrown his fear of bugs as well--I even forgot about it untilthis post! He used to freeze up if he saw ants on the ground. Also, sadly, he
really hated our dog. I had her since she was a puppy, and at first he was
upset by her, then annoyed, that grew into indifference, and now it seems he
kind of likes her, intellectually, as a member of the family--but has no
interest in getting close to her. Poor lil doggie......
One of T's earliest symptoms was that she treated my dear, possessive cat as an inanimate object. Shoved him out of the way ... I thought it odd but not SO odd at the time ... then got my two younger kids and realized they recognized Cat's right to be on my lap! He definitely was a sentient being to them ... she did NOT treat people that way, ever ...
Sarah naturally desensitize herself to things by becoming obsessed with them till they went away..she did this for Chuck e cheese, puppets, parrots, monkey bars.. ect..she would google their image and tell me to print it so her fear would go away:) She did it for favorable obsessions too and it helped her to move on to others things...she would carry the photo around and talk about it and get over it... Good luck:)Norwaymom -- as a dyed-in-the-wool arachnophobe, I found that one HILARIOUS ...I took a closer look and there is a funny line. Why would anyone decide to keep a spider in the house? A fly swatter is much more effective.
I actually KNOW people who do that. My in-laws kept a spider in their dining room chandelier for years ... <<<CRINGE>>>
My son was afraid to touch flowers when he was 1-2 years old! He outgrew it.
If you'd like to try the social story technique, here's a sample one about spiders. It even has visuals.
http://www.adders.org/socialstories1.htm
Good luck with everything.
We always allowed jumping spiders to hang around in our house because they are such effective bug hunters. And they are really interesting to watch. They look sort of like this:
They aren't very big and they have short stubby legs, so they don't really have that "creep-out" effect like wandering spiders and cobweb weavers. Plus they are harmless -- they can't really bite. Their jaws wouldn't be big enough to penetrate your skin, even if they wanted to bite you.
ACK!
We had those in my last house -- lots. I let them be despite my phobia ... until one had the nerve to rear up and menace me!
Bad karma to off them, I know. I really try not to.
Flying bugs, that's what my son has a phobia of. It doesn't matter if it's a fly or a hornet, to him there's no difference. If it flys, it can kill you, end of discussion.They don't know what to expect next...will they jump and land on ME? Will they make a loud sound? Will they chase my mom around the yard? You know how rigidity with schedules or fixation on certain hobbies is one area common to autistic individuals? I'm guessing that unpredictable critters rub that trait the wrong way.
Although I've never heard of anyone who wouldn't touch flowers! Cute! I think that was just a little kid thing, maybe not an autism issue.
YES..YES..YES!! Ryan is totally afraid of anything flying. Just today we were walking and some kind of flying flew by him, he starting running so fast he lost his flip flopsCopyright Autism-PDD.net