Violent special needs/autism teenager help!

daska

I'm actually thinking more along the lines of sensory insensitivities LOL. The unnecessarily strong grip, headbutting type of problems are usually due to hyposensitivity.

OP - does she like impact type sports e.g. trampolining? Demand that she be referred to the sensory occupational therapist.

shegirl

daska wrote: »

I'm actually thinking more along the lines of sensory insensitivities LOL. The unnecessarily strong grip, headbutting type of problems are usually due to hyposensitivity.

OP - does she like impact type sports e.g. trampolining? Demand that she be referred to the sensory occupational therapist.

Not necessarily.They are also present with some sensory sensitivities.And remember sense can give reverse 'feelings' ie firm touch can be liked while light touch feels horrible and they don't like it.

Ds has sensitivities but he's also a headbutter and doesn't know his own strength.His OT did ask if he appears to seek things to headbutt when stressed due to a sensory sensitivity (his biggest sensitivity is sound),basically is he choosing what to headbutt.He also mentioned something about 'pushing' releasing something.There's something in the choosing also (ds chooses cold and hard).So the sensory sensitivity/overload can cause then to do these things to release whatever which helps to distract or something or other:rotfl:


So,it could actually be either and it can be both.

eskimo26

daska wrote: »

I'm actually thinking more along the lines of sensory insensitivities LOL. The unnecessarily strong grip, headbutting type of problems are usually due to hyposensitivity.

OP - does she like impact type sports e.g. trampolining? Demand that she be referred to the sensory occupational therapist.

Hi,
She loves trampolining but i think its been a while. She also loves horse riding which i think she accessed on a programme via her old school but again they stopped it years ago.

With trampolining it would probably trigger an episode as she won't want to leave.

Majority of her episodes are triggered by this, if she goes to someone house she will not want to leave and she has become obsessed with staying over.

But equally if someone goes to her house she doesn't want them to leave and wants them to stay over, so its not like she is trying to escape the house.

She wants people to come with her no matter where she meets them or where they are going, she won't let anyone go, she thinks they should be with her 24/7.

Same idea with things she likes, going to the funfair, trampolining, playing wii, indian TV [she is obsessed with Bollywood influenced by her Mothers side we can't stand it personally P:].

Also anything she doesn't like will be 'later' or 'tomorrow', these are things like going to school, showering and going to bed. [all triggers].

She's got no concept of time and things starting and ending, she thinks every day should be 24 hours and every one of those hours should be fun fun time. :j

But its not easy when your getting no sleep, no one will take her anymore and she is violent.

I was speaking to a family friend who was surprised she's like this. She use to see before the change and said she was receptive, like she would apologise when challenged about gripping hard. Now she's is not receptive at all just very programmed like a looping record.

This never wanting to leave anything or anyone was a trait from before but now its all encompassing.

A few years ago i took her to the local funfair and when i told her it was home time [i introduce the idea gradually to reinforce it] she ran away from me and wouldn't let me get within 3 metres of her, running around a stall to the opposite way i approached, asking strangers for money.

That was fairly rare but now it's the rule rather then the exception.

shegirl

Any updates from today?Any progress made?

If she has trouble ending things,does she have a timetable and/or a sandtimer or clock you can use to monitor the time (giving her a visual clue also) and show a clear finishing time?

None of the work that can be done with her will be easy and a fast fix,sadly.The important thing though is for the parents to not give in and make sure they stick to things,as hard as it may be.

I hope something is being sorted for them.

eskimo26

shegirl wrote: »

Any updates from today?Any progress made?

If she has trouble ending things,does she have a timetable and/or a sandtimer or clock you can use to monitor the time (giving her a visual clue also) and show a clear finishing time?

None of the work that can be done with her will be easy and a fast fix,sadly.The important thing though is for the parents to not give in and make sure they stick to things,as hard as it may be.

I hope something is being sorted for them.

Hi,
I sent an extremely long e-mail outlining the following:

that as of last weekend having personally witnessing how hard she slammed the door with her fists that we now consider there to be a very real threat to her physical well-being as she may hurt herself.

I outlined the serious risk to my uncles health, and the detrimental effect on her sisters studies and her sister and mothers mental health.

I went through the reasons why there offer of only 2 nights of respite a week left we with serious concerns.

That we very much appreciate the need to introduce her gently to the new respite centre and in appreciation of this I recommended as a compromise we would benefit from a carer to come to the house each morning and afternoon [her main trigger times]. However I maintained her presence in the home is still a serious risk to my uncles health.

I went over the Core Assessment and how some of the recommendations had been ignored or poorly implemented.

How the family was in crisis and social services needed to act as a matter of urgency and how at this point if either her or my uncles health deteriorates there seems to be very few options beyond voluntary care. [i didn't say we would do this only that there were no other viable options.]

Anyway upshot is that they spoke to my uncle today and said they are 'trying' to organise morning and afternoon care as we asked, i will now e-mail them for a time frame.

I think they will introduce her to her new respite centre this week, she enjoyed the time away at the last one.

So all in all a positive agreement based on what i asked for, though i don't think the social worker likes me any more as i didn't get a response to my e-mail and she rang my uncle even though i said i have spoken to him and his preference is for me to deal with all correspondence and update him because of his health.

I'd imagine she's peeved of so ignored me but hey can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

We'll try a sand timer but i'd imagine she takes notice of it but ignores it at her convenience. If we force the issue it would probably end up flung across the room.

I'm also asking now how we can access more medical things like medicine.

She only goes berserk with family and friends, with strangers she is either shy or really wants them to like her so tones it right down, same thing with teens. Although even then her behaviour has been a lot more hyper in general.

Ideally we want enough support to keep her at home, give enough breathing space to the others and give them time to go on some courses they have been offered. This in turn will help them manage her behaviour.

Her independence skills are good and the parents have achieved that side of things well but not always consistent with regimented responses to her behaviour.

Will keep you all updated

Thank you Shegirl for asking.

eskimo26

daska wrote: »

The not knowing their own strength can be an indication of sensory processing disorder. DS2 is like this and incredibly strong, he just doesn't 'get it'.

Why is the consultant not involved here? She obviously has been under the care of one if she has a diagnosis of autism. I think I'd be bypassing the GP and demanding an urgent appointment with someone who might be prepared to help.

Hi,
I'm not sure on a consultant she was diagnosed at birth, they were actually triplets, one was sadly stillborn, her sister is healthy but i believe she herself may not have got enough oxygen/nutrients in the womb?

I just looked at a check list for sensory processing disorder, she hands down ticked many of the boxes so i will ask her parents to look at it.

What does this mean if anything for treatment? A lot of these things listed in the checklist probably do lead to some of her and her families frustration.

It is so obvious from what i read that i'm surprised it wasn't picked up i'm very much expecting the parents will say tomorrow, oh yeah that was diagnosed a long time ago, because she has been showing signs since birth. There is no doubt in my mind, we always wondered where these strange problems came from.

[one very obvious one was terrible co-ordination, can't catch a ball, can't follow dance moves, is uncoordinated on her feet.]

When young she needed a specialist exercise ball to correct her posture and help her walk though so we always thought it was physical.

Food for thought.

Wow i just read a ton more. weighted blanket. bites and suck fingers. I'm sure its been diagnosed. What are the treatment options if any?

shegirl

Thought there would be some sensory issues there somewhere!

Whether a sandtimer/clock etc would get chucked across the room is neither here nor there tbh it's not uncommon Persistance is key lol It gets better eventually!

With regard to sensory problems you can work on them and use things to get the sensory input they need.Ocupational therapists take an age to see,unfortunately.

Don't worry too much about her banging her fists on doors,at least she's not headbutting or putting herself in greater danger.Ds is a headbutter with a preference for glass.He's put his head through a few door windows in his time (with absolutely no injury to him,I may add!!!!) and it doesn't send people,including professionals into panic.

Take a look at sites such as spacekraft for sensory bits,callers and you can get some 'games' and cards there to help work on understanding facial expressions and emotions.You can timers etc there too!

daska

The social worker won't be able to deal with you on just your say so. Your Uncle needs to tell them to contact you. He can do this in writing if it's easier, you could even write the letter and get him to sign it.

Have ParentPartnership been involved? They are employed by the local council but are 'independent' and are there to help parent of children with special needs with education/school issues. The advantage is that they generally know exactly who to contact. I suggest asking them for help.

The GP, or any other health professional involved can probably refer to paediatric occ therapy - DS2 was referred by his S&L therapist. It can be a long waiting time but, at the same time, if finding coping strategies will help SS to keep her at home you may find them surprisingly helpful at pressing for her to be seen urgently. I can't remember if you said what their financial situation is but a formal private assessment and report will probably be much faster. It would cost about £500 and give them practical suggestions on how she can satisfy her sensory needs.

Will she stand for being touched if she's in the right mood. You could try joint compressions.

Shegirl - if he's a headbutter it might be that his head is a trigger point, do you try squeezing his head or wearing a tight hat/headband. But headbutting can be as much about vestibular (balance/ movement) needs as proprioceptive (knowing where your limbs are) ones. A rocking chair/swing/hammock can help with the former and a trampette can help with both. DS2's party trick is 'falling', he goes up the climbing frame and gives the visitors heart failure LOL DS2 had a visit from his new OT this morning, we'd been struggling with a poor lass who is only just out of training so it was brilliant that an NHS OT with experience has now seen him. The understanding of his needs is very different and she is the second OT to confirm that his problems are primarily vestibular - which is very unusual - and that he needs more than the std proprioceptive techniques. We have loads of different things around the house to try to help satisfy his sensory needs: trampette, crash mats, huge bean bag (gives more of an all over impact to the body), space hopper, spinning chair, peanut ball, exercise horse - but what he really needs is a swing and we just haven't been able to work out how to do that one LOL.

Nicki

How old is DS2 daska?

DD also needed lots of the above, and when she was younger we used to put her in a blanket and OH and I would hold each end and swing her that way. Was possible up until she was about 7 or 8, when I was pregnant and she was too heavy

daska

He's only 5 Nicki, probably autistic/ADHD, severe language difficulties etc. By the time he gets to teenagerdom I sincerely hope it will be better managed through a more 'normal' environment LOL - send him down to the gym etc. I think it will help if he can develop enough coordination. It's not helped by my being disabled as well, I used to wrap him in a blanket and pull it out quickly to roll him (he loved that) but he's way to big and heavy for me to do that now. But even the OT admits his movement needs are severe - our first task is to work on getting the school to understand that he needs pro-active stimulation to get him able to learn rather than reactive 'treatment' when it's getting too much.