My son has a repetitive stem that is extremely disruptive to our daily lives. He lays on his back, kicks his heels into the floor, thrusts his hips up and down, all while humming or yelling (ahhhh). We’ve seen many specialist, OT's, behavioral specials, and GI doctors who have never seen this behavior. I’ve talked with parents from the autism society of America’s local chapter in my area and no one has seen such a repetitive stem either.
We’ve tried a brushing program along with joint compressions. Lots of gross motor play like spinning, jumping, rough play. The flopping is not just a sensory issue but he also does it when he’s bored or wants to change activities or just for attention so we think. We spend our entire day trying to redirect this behavior and it just leaves us all exhaused both mentally and physically.
Nothing we have done in the past 2 years has made much of a difference in this behavior. It’s loud and obnoxious and my neighbors don’t understand and aren’t very nice about it. The humming can also work your last nerve. With all that said has anyone ever experienced such a behavior with their child? Does anyone else have a child with an odd, non typical, disruptive repetitive stem? I know my son is autistic but I’m wondering if this behavior is related to something else all together and that's why it can't be redirected. It’s now 2:37 AM and I’m tired meanwhile my son woke up an hour ago and won’t stop yelling and flopping. Any suggestions on what else may be wrong??? ↓
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| Name: Lisa | Date: Jan 17th, 2006 3:49 AM |
Hi worried ,
my son does not do the flopping that you are specifing but he does have a habit of waving his hands or toys back and forth very fast while humming or talking to himself very loudly. He also does this quite often mostly when he gets bored with whats going on or to ignore what is going on..I'm kind of new at austism so I am not to sure if it is something related to autism or something else. ↑ |
| Name: Kady | Date: Jan 21st, 2006 2:41 PM |
I have 2 boys both autistic and the older one does a lot more of the repetitive things
The youngest will just play with some sort of stick and bounce it up and down - pretty harmless
At one time, both boys would scream (alternating) - I think they were stemming off of each other if possible
My oldest son would flap his arms a little and then started just a scream - I never thought of it as being bored but now I think back and everytime it is really quite or if I'm doing something else (not with him) he may start
Now he is into slapping his face - it's so sad to see and I don't know how to stop or redirect him - he can knock the wind out of someone and I'm really afraid that the school will call children's aide or something (it's weird to say but luckily they have seen it first hand) - any ideas? ↑ |
| Name: shauntae | Date: Feb 1st, 2006 2:38 AM |
| Hi my name is Shauntae as I read what you are saying Im watching my son stem I get headaches also get frustrated with him. he flips his hand over and over and says ahh over and over so I understand i'ts really hard I'm so angry with the Dr for giving him shots that harmed him but anyway you can try the diet supplements or the best option is to do alot of praying thats what I do don't give up hope thanks Shauntae. ↑ |
| Name: Wendy | Date: Feb 18th, 2006 5:30 PM |
| I have a 6 year old that is just starting to get diagnosed with aspergers. My son had a stim of singing loudly and humming, then it changed at school to something else. (was still singing at home) Well, it's changed again to licking his hand. Now he has wonderful chapped hands. I've tried A&D to help with the chapped but he freaks about it being on his hand. I've noticed with my son when his stim's get out of control it's due to a change that he can't handle. Things need to be very routine for him. Also if he gets over stimulated. ↑ |
| Name: sylvia0366 | Date: Sep 6th, 2006 3:53 AM |
The stemming my son does is half jumping half running in the same place while yelling ahhhh very loud may I add and also even though he is slim, he has a very heavy foot. I know my neighbors are not very happy ( I live in an apartment complex with upstairs and next door on both sides neighbors). Before he use to flap his hands, but this has gone away (for awhile). I learned that if I say "Jake, stop" really loud he will stop, but it does get frustrating especially if he does it after 12:00 am. My daughter's stemming seems to start after 8:00 pm, running from one side of the room to the other and banging on my next door neighbors wall and when I try to stop her she just gets a giggle attack and very loud. I don't know how old your son is but I personally don't let my children take naps in the afternoon after school, because if they do, they won't sleep at nite.
good luck
sylvia ↑ |
| Name: Kell | Date: Oct 19th, 2006 7:06 PM |
Hi- I also have an autistic son, his "spells" as we call them come in spurts off/on for about a week at a time, then for a few weeks he is very calm. It is a vicious cycle.
My son's disruptive behavior spell starts out by him becoming obsessive about wanting to eat, then consists of - very loud outburst, running through the house, and at the worst he sometimes tries to claw at himself out of frustration. It is so hard to watch, and not be able to help..
We had an independent lab do some test & found out he had an overgrowth of yeast in his stomach, he is on meds for this problem and I have seen some improvement. However the behavior cycles continue. I am beginning to lean toward possible allergies to food dyes. You might try to rule this out for your son if you haven't already. Hang in there - there will be better days. ↑ |
| Name: sylvia0366 | Date: Oct 26th, 2006 5:38 AM |
Hi Kell.
What kind of testing did they do on your son? Is it a specific test I should request or would it be blood and urine? If my Jake does not get his way, he will either bite, hit himself or bang his butt or hip against the wall, needless to say he has already made holes in the wall and has broken a couple of doors, or he will go directly to his brother or sister and hit them. I have started working with behavior therapist to see if we can reduce if not get rid of these behavior, the sam with my daughter's. How old is your son?
Sylvia
([email protected]) ↑ |
| Name: felicia | Date: Oct 28th, 2006 3:17 AM |
Hello Worried,
My son is on a progrm at the moment where I have seen changes across the board. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Kind thoughts,
Felicia ↑ |
| Name: auntsandy24c | Date: Nov 12th, 2006 8:56 PM |
i am not a parent but a teacher assistant. we have 6 kids in our 2nd grade class. they all seem to have different stem behaviors. 1 boy likes to jump down onto his hands and donkey kicks his feet up in the air, very dangerous if you happen to be near him. 1 boy that i tend to mainly is hitting me constantly. teacher thinks he is bored when he does this but doesnt know what to do for me or him. i am getting hurt alot.
i am sorry the people said they have never seen anything like your son. i doubt that made you feel good. do you have any one coming into the home working on behavior?? how about going to occupational therapy?? fony know what to say about the neighbors. our administrative staff dont know anything about our kids either. pretty sad. when the someone in authority looks at an autisitc child and says something stupid and expects the child to respond.
i hope you get some help soon. your family could use some understanding therapy sessions. ↑ |
| Name: angelena | Date: Nov 13th, 2006 7:06 PM |
| hi my 2 well going on 3 yr old son just started doing the same thing his o.t. said it my be seeking pressure trust me he kicks his heals and does the loud whine also ↑ |
| Name: jacksmom | Date: Jan 28th, 2007 4:14 AM |
Jack's story....
After the 12 mos. vaccines my son gradually slipped into autism. He was head-banging, hand-flapping, twirling, lost speech, lost eye contact and he just withdrew.
Now two years later.... no head-banging, no twirling, no flapping, has eye contact and is starting to verbalize again. And... he has Down Syndrome to boot. :) Yes... even kids with DS get autism. Actually they get it at a higher rate.
What helped him? First I give God praise.... our son wouldn't be here without Him and we prayed and I believe He guided us. Second... supplements. Especially cod liver oil. I recommend Green Pastures CLO with the X factor. Check out Dr. Mary Megson's work on the web. http://www.diet-studies.com/megson.html Our Jack healed gradually... but he is healing. I actually had to make myself GET USED TO him not twirling everything any more!
Also check out Dr. Amy Yasko's work. www.holistichealth.com
We give Jack alot of supps - cod liver oil, probiotic, magnesium citrate, tart cherry and recently we added cilantro. He takes some other things too but each child is unique. It helps to find a good naturopathic MD or chiropractor.
Don't give up. There is hope! And... I will be frank here.... many mainstream doctors know squat about how to heal autism. Don't let that throw you. There are people who do know how to help. God bless you! Love, Jack's Mom :) ↑ |
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