OT Need Advice about ASD DS

[Brightsy]

My 3 1/2 yr. old DS has ASD. He's in a great pre-k program. His classroom is small, only 9 kids all told. They're all boys and are all high functioning. But we have a problem. My son has started scratching the other kids. He really did a number on a little boys face. At first it was reactionary. One of the kids took my son's favorite classroom toy away from him and he scratched. Now he seems to go out of way to scratch that particular child. The teachers (there are 3 of them in the classroom) separate them and it's helped a little. Thing is now my son is scratching the others as well. And it's not only as a reaction. He doesn't really do this at home. Not often at least. He has scratched his big brother now and then, but we've gotten pretty good at catching him before it gets out of hand.
We've tried time-outs and they don't work, I don't think he "gets" the concept.
I was wondering if any of you wonderful parents/caregivers out there have had a similar problem and how you've dealt with it.
My DSs teacher really wants to work this out but I'm so afraid if we can't figure out a solution the school will ask me to remove my child. I don't want to remove him, he's been thriving in all other ways! He knows his letters and numbers better than any of his classmates. There's even an indication that my little guy is trying to read...I know he recognizes many words, like cow and dog.
If any of you have any advice, please give me a clue!
I am so frustrated!

Sara

 

[Ambassador]

You might try the techniques described in '1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12' by Thomas W. Phelan Ph.D. You and the teachers can do this for consisitent reinforcement.

 

[mbb]

it was biting

Like you, we thought it was a reactionary thiing...but then realized that it was our boys way of interacting with the other kids.

They had no other way of expressing their interest in the other kids...

Some children bite, others scratch, some lick, some will play with hair, a particular item of clothing...etc. Once we realized that and explained to other parents, and provided picture resources/stories to use with the other children, ( and our boys) things started coming around

It took a month or so.

Our boys are "hyperlexic" as well...sounds like your little guy might be as well...? This skill has been such a blessing. Once the boys could relate the "picture" to the word, we didn't have to use pics anymore Of course, you have to relate the feeling, action etc to the picture first though

HTH!! Our guys are 7 now...and are just amazing

....not too proud, am I? LOL!

HTH! PM me if you'd like...always happy to share "what worked for us" stories

 

[Chalja]

I agree with the other posters and I also suggest writing a "Social Story" to model the proper response to the situation. I have a high-functioning 8y/o who is also hyperlexic and we took advantage of this ability and sometimes used Social Stories to teach certain social skills or behaviors (the written word is powerful for ASD hyperlexic kids). I'm sorry I do not have a website for you, but if you put in "Social Stories by Carol Gray" in your fav search engine, you should find more info. I hope this helps! Also, lots of positive reinforcement for when he doesn't scratch. He sounds a lot like my DS also. DS has been mainstreamed since Kindergarten and attends a school for the Gifted and Talented (another pround mom here). Keep up the good work and I'm sure he will shine!
Angie

 

[hilltopfamily]

Hi there. I'm a school-based OT and have to agree with the other posters here who've recommended the use of social stories. They have been very helpful, in my experience, w/students who have ASD as well as with kids w/other "disorders". Also, you might look at the use of sensory experiences or sensory diets if he appears to "need" the sensory that he is currently getting from the scratching. I've had experience w/an individual who has great difficulty w/scratching and I'm certain this person uses it as a means of communication. (This person is non-verbal, does not understand sign, and is JUST beginning to have a very basic understanding of PECs in relation to a class schedule.) So we always try to look at the antecedent~~~i.e. what happened JUST before the scratches. Maybe your school OT could be of assistance w/the teaching staff? (Or maybe this person is already involved in a consultative manner?) Anyway, best of luck!

 

[kdtwiss]

Great suggestions from everyone!


I feel for you! It is wonderful to have your son in a good program and scary when you are afraid he may be removed. I would say there has to be a bit more to what is going on than is obvious. Most likely your son is modeling after someone he saw doing this. Especially if this is primarily an at school behavior. This particular child may have a voice or even smell your child can not tolerate -our kidsare so sensitive!NOt saying the other child is smelly (lol) just that everyone smells different(soap,diet,laundry detergent) and there may be something about this particular childmay aggravate your ds. My suggestion would be just the opposite of what the teachers are doing. I think if your son's memory of experiences with this child are consistently - that is the boy I scratch, then I get a time out or whatever - chances are he will not get over this. I think the teachers need to sit down with the two of them together every day and very closely supervise, helping them play together, eat together read together, run together - whatever - but create some positive interaction and some memories that are fun instead of negative.
It may also be that whatever the teachers do as a "punishment" is something your child needs. If after scrathing they take your son to a quiet corner and speak calmly , maybe he knows the quickest , surest way to get this is to scratch. If the teachers started to try a bit of quiet time maybe he would not need to seek it out.
Also - in the meantime keep those fingernails as short as possible!! I am sure the other child does not enjoy being scratched. Good luck, I really hope you can turn this around - I think you can!!

 

[Talking Hands]

One suggestion if he is none verbal is a sign. I know sign language is not what you want for him but a single sign that tells people back off, I need my space now can help. We did this with some of our non-verbal autistic kids and it worked well. Stopped the scratching and biting almost completely after about a month. Everyone knew if that sign was used to back off and also we had a safe space the kids could go to and they would. No one was allowed to bother someone in the safe space. If they went there willingly themselves then they could come out when they were ready. Only exception was if we had an activity that everyone was leaving the room.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I've seen the teachers in my DS's class use sign language for another ASD student. This student speaks, but I think they used the sign language only during certain situations. Hang in there!

 

[Ali]

We've got a hitting situation going on at one of my DS4's schools - one child we know is ASD but waiting on diagnosis.

Anyways, we have physically laminated a large picture of a stop sign to give to the kids who are being hit on a continuous basis - the agressor sees the sign and does stop before the hitting takes place, in most cases. The teachers have not set up a safe place yet in the class, but we are working on it. We also keep telling the parens working that day (it's a parent co-op) to ignore the persn who hits, and lavish attention on the victims - that way the hitting isn't reinforced by 1 on 1 attention.

Just a suggstion.

When my son was the one doing the hitting we went on a two pronged approach - we drew a large black circle on his calendar for the day he hit someone - his perfectionistic tendencies were driven nuts because the white page had a big black mark on it, and we also took away TV and videos for the whole day whenever he hit. It worked for him because the TV regulates his brain somehow, and it was truly the worst thing we could do to him to improve his behavior, and to improve his reaction to other kids.

good luck