Hello all,
I am wondering if anyone has any experience of a child/adult repeatedly exhibiting self injurious behaviour, that appears to have become a habit movement? This used to be out of frustration and sometimes still is, but is also now constant, and has been for several months, unless an adult is holding their hand. It is very difficult to manage as it is not a behaviour that can be ignored.
Hi,
I've worked with a now 16year old who would test their pain threshold regularly by shutting fingers in doors, poking pins in their hand etc. This came from a saying their Grandad used to say when they were little. It took a while to work through this but we found something that they were really interested in and when they'd started showing signs of injuring themselves, we'd move towards doing the activity they enjoyed. In this case, the student loves drawing and is a talented artist with the work they produce.
Could it be worth exploring what's happening at home? It potentially could be something someone has said and it's on repeat in the child's head?
Hope this helps.
Hello,
Thank you for replying it is interesting to hear of your experience. Unfortunately I don't think this is the case for this child as their level of understanding is of a lower level. The behaviour is to hit the sides of their head with their own hands, so it is very difficult e.g. to distract from an object as they do not use an object for the behaviour. We do have good communications with home too.
Thank you again and I'm glad you were able to help the child you support with their behaviours.
