4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

[Guest guest]

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.Has this occurred to

any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this? Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.:-)

[Guest guest]

Consider buying a very large trampoline and the surrounding net that keeps them safe. It's perfect for sensory kids plus all the other kids in the neighborhood come, so it's like a built-in peer buddy creator.

Best investment I ever made.

Hilda

-----Original Message-----From: sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf Of Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 6:14 PMTo: deniseslist Subject: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

[Guest guest]

There's always a reason for the head banging....GABA can help calm that head banging down, but some biomedical work needs to be done. Yeast could be high, pressure in the head, headaches, www.pHtestlab.com Cranialsacrio therapy also would be helpful to calm down the nervous system.

Consider buying a very large trampoline and the surrounding net that keeps them safe. It's perfect for sensory kids plus all the other kids in the neighborhood come, so it's like a built-in peer buddy creator.

Best investment I ever made.

Hilda

-----Original Message-----From: sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf Of Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 6:14 PMTo: deniseslist Subject: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

[Guest guest]

Hi e,

My son used to do something similar when he was young. He was

verbal so we taught him to ask for " pressure " and he quickly learned

to get the pressure for his head from our hands. You can try to teach him a

sign for it and see if you can teach him an alternative to banging like

pressing his head against your hands. It would be better if you could

understand what he achieves for himself by banging his head. Kids can do that

for different reasons. If you know why he is doing it, it is easier to find an

alternative to it. This kind of behavior needs to be addressed in the right way

because you might be reinforcing it with your reactions without intending to. You

can e mail me off line if you want and I can try to help you a little more and

maybe refer you to the right person.

Shirly

Shirly Gilad BCBA,RN, FNP, MS

Behavioral Therapy and then some.

Work:

Fax:

shirly@...

www.shirlygilad.com

From:

sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf

Of

Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 6:14 PM

To: deniseslist

Subject: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started

intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me,

whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very

sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it.

It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming

at me and I can see his tense " I need a hit " look. He even hit

the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height).

He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but

it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school.

And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do

himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there

something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

[Guest guest]

Please seek a behaviorist who is trained in handling self injurious behaviors. Medical intervention by your pediatrician or a dan doctor is needed to rule out anything medical cause for this behavior.

To: deniseslist Sent: Thursday, October 8, 2009 6:13:30 PMSubject: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

[Guest guest]

Big trampolines are great if you have the budget and the space. My son is 23 now, when he was young he didnt head butt but he always swayed or bounced. I bought the mini trampoline at Service Merchandise at the time and it was used by all for years. I had my son read his vocabulary lists while bouncing picking an alternate word from each group and then going from top of list to bottom of list alternately, I did this because I read it in a book of eye exercises called 20/20 and his eyes deffinetely improved a lot. But my point is its calming, a good learning tool (mostly for my daughter who couldn't sit still, great exercise and fun. So if you can go all out with the big one I would because it will pull in a peer group of friends as well. It will be a good investment.

4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

[Guest guest]

Hi

My son also would do head banging but it was intermittent not something that

happened allot. Then it went away; I had no idea why. Well one year after going

GFCF we were at a Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you. Usually I

would ask the chef to cook our son's portion off to the side with out the

humongous glob of butter. This time as I watched the glob go on I realized I had

forgotten to ask. I thought well some butter won't kill him. My son got his

butter coated rice and veggies and started to gobble it up. My 6 year old son

with in 5 minutes of eating the food started to bang his head!!!! I took him

home and called a friend who has an allergy to milk. She told me the instant she

consumes a milk product she will get a sever SINUS HEADACHE. Well put kiddo in a

steamy room held him down to irrigate his sinuses and by the next day he wasn't

head butting. That night I sat down and figured out that the head banging in my

son's case was caused by sinus headaches. I was never a big fan of milk and we

were quasi vegetarians when our son was first head banging. So in the beginning

the head banging was intermittent because it only happened when we would

occasionally eat milk products. Then I realized the disappearance of the head

banging was when we had gone GFCF.

Now when my 13 year old Aspie son accidentally eats a milk product he will

complain the front of his head hurts and feels like its going to pop. We give

him a hot wet wash cloath to put on his face and send him to go sit in a steamy

shower.

It wasn't till our yakka kid was the age of 8 that he could verbalize and

identified what part of him was hurting. Always amazes me these gaps in speech

that aspies do seem to have. So eventhough our son has been amazingly verable

since 2 he did not have the abilty to identfy where in his body there was pain

and to verablise he was feeling pain. I would asume a child who is autistic or

High Functioning autistic would have an even harder time with verablising they

are feeling pain. I would suggest that you take a look at your son's environment

and see if there is any NEW thing in it. Not just things that could be allergens

but also stresses. I myself when stressed get tension headaches. Just an idea

based off our experience.

Good Luck and I hope a solution to your problem comes soon.

>

> About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his

head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be

increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to

do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it

coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense " I need a hit " look.

He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right

height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything,

but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I

certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some

harm.

>

> Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give

him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

>

> Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

>

> :-)

>

[Guest guest]

Hi e, I agree the milk might have something to do with it. I never put it together before, but my son does always put pressure on the top of his forehead after drinking milk. Happens to this day. He never gave milk up and he only had allergies to pennecillin so I don't know if it means anything but it is interesting.

4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

[Guest guest]

I want to do this in the worst way but our home owners ins wont cover

it and we could lose ins coverage if they find out we have it. Is there a

way around this??

Cohane, LCSW

creating connections and strengthening families by providing

developmental-behavioral interventions and psychotherapy services

Cohane@...

From: sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf Of Hilda S. Mitrani

Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009

9:43 PM

To: sList

Subject: RE: 4 yr

old banging his head! What's up!???

Consider buying a very large trampoline and the surrounding

net that keeps them safe. It's perfect for sensory kids plus all the other kids

in the neighborhood come, so it's like a built-in peer buddy creator.

Best investment I ever made.

Hilda

4 yr old

banging his head! What's up!???

About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently

banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever.

It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory

seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very

alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can

see his tense " I need a hit " look. He even hit the edge of the

granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it

so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I

don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want

this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can

do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

:-)

No virus found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 8.5.421 / Virus Database: 270.14.7/2422 - Release Date: 10/08/09 06:39:00

[Guest guest]

,

I didn't know you had to get special coverage for that or even let the insurance

company know you have one. We used to have one for years ago when Ben was

little. We never said anything to our ins. company.

>

> I want to do this in the worst way but our home owners ins wont cover it and

> we could lose ins coverage if they find out we have it. Is there a way

> around this??

>

>

>

> Cohane, LCSW

>

> creating connections and strengthening families by providing

>

> developmental-behavioral interventions and psychotherapy services

>

>

>

> Cohane@...

>

> _____

>

> From: sList [mailto:sList ] On

> Behalf Of Hilda S. Mitrani

> Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 9:43 PM

> To: sList

> Subject: RE: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

>

>

>

>

>

> Consider buying a very large trampoline and the surrounding net that keeps

> them safe. It's perfect for sensory kids plus all the other kids in the

> neighborhood come, so it's like a built-in peer buddy creator.

>

>

>

> Best investment I ever made.

>

>

>

>

>

> Hilda

>

>

>

> 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

>

>

>

> About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging

> his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems

> to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't

> know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't

> normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense " I

> need a hit " look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today

> (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused

> any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt

> anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he

> may actually do himself some harm.

>

>

>

> Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give

> him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

>

>

>

> Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

>

>

>

> :-)

>

>

>

>

>

> No virus found in this incoming message.

> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

> Version: 8.5.421 / Virus Database: 270.14.7/2422 - Release Date: 10/08/09

> 06:39:00

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know anything about insurance and trampolines. I am vigilant about who I allow to use it and we always closely supervised the kids.

Hilda

4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???> > > > About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging> his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems> to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't> know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't> normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I> need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today> (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused> any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt> anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he> may actually do himself some harm.> > > > Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give> him feedback that may reduce his need to do this? > > > > Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.> > > > :-) > > > > > > No virus found in this incoming message.> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com> Version: 8.5.421 / Virus Database: 270.14.7/2422 - Release Date: 10/08/09> 06:39:00>

[Guest guest]

> There's always a reason for the head banging....GABA can help calm

> that head banging down, but some biomedical work needs to be done.

> Yeast could be high, pressure in the head,

> headaches,www.pHtestlab.com Cranialsacrio therapy also would be

> helpful to calm down the nervous system.

>

>

Good observation about the milk--it was probably indeed sinus pain

caused by a milk sensitivity. Cranial does more than calm down the

nervous system. Every time I have examined a kid who was head

banging, they were stuck exactly where they bang their head (ever

notice they bang only one spot repeatedly? Not just generically bang

the head?) It usually meant the kid was hurting there, and the child

was trying the only way they know to unstick it, like when your neck

gets stuck and you grab it and " work " it around to unstick it.

Cranial can unstick the stuck spot, including opening up sinuses that

are congested (incidentally, inflammation and congestion of the

sphenoidal sinus refers to the temples and the top of the head).

Everytime I see a kid banging his head, I see it as the child flashing

a neon sign saying " look right here " .

[Guest guest]

Yes, your home owners ins must cover it and many wont insure you if you

have one. This is the case with mine. Others will insure you but it increases

your ins a good amount. I imagine that most ins companies wont come to your

house to find out if you have it but you take a risk. I fought with my husband

but he walks the straight and narrow and wouldn’t budge on this. And,

having the screen around it makes no difference (well maybe in ins cost –

not sure). I am soooo sad because it is exactly what Ella has needed. Max would

benefit greatly from it as well. And, I never even thought about the social benefit

– double bummer!

Cohane, LCSW

creating connections and strengthening families by providing

developmental-behavioral interventions and psychotherapy services

Cohane@...

From: sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf Of mysonben2003

Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009

5:06 PM

To: sList

Subject: Re: 4 yr

old banging his head! What's up!???

,

I didn't know you had to get special coverage for that or even let the

insurance company know you have one. We used to have one for years ago

when Ben was little. We never said anything to our ins. company.

>

> I want to do this in the worst way but our home owners ins wont cover it

and

> we could lose ins coverage if they find out we have it. Is there a way

> around this??

>

>

>

> Cohane, LCSW

>

> creating connections and strengthening families by providing

>

> developmental-behavioral interventions and psychotherapy services

>

>

>

> Cohane@...

>

> _____

>

> From: sList

[mailto:sList ]

On

> Behalf Of Hilda S. Mitrani

> Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2009 9:43 PM

> To: sList

> Subject: RE: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

>

>

>

>

>

> Consider buying a very large trampoline and the surrounding net that keeps

> them safe. It's perfect for sensory kids plus all the other kids in the

> neighborhood come, so it's like a built-in peer buddy creator.

>

>

>

> Best investment I ever made.

>

>

>

>

>

> Hilda

>

>

>

> 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

>

>

>

> About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging

> his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems

> to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't

> know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't

> normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense

" I

> need a hit " look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops

today

> (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused

> any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to

head-butt

> anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he

> may actually do himself some harm.

>

>

>

> Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give

> him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

>

>

>

> Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

>

>

>

> :-)

>

>

>

>

>

> No virus found in this incoming message.

> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

> Version: 8.5.421 / Virus Database: 270.14.7/2422 - Release Date: 10/08/09

> 06:39:00

>

No virus found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 8.5.421 / Virus Database: 270.14.7/2422 - Release Date: 10/09/09 08:10:00

[Guest guest]

I rarely post unless I feel I have something different to contribute to a

conversation, and, while this may be a little " far-fetched " , it certainly is a

possibility.

My son (now age 8.5) started banging his head around the same time. He too, was

nonverbal. We tried everything- biomedical, sensory, behavior therapy, incresed

the S/L therapy, diets, supplements, etc, etc. Nothing seemed to be helping, and

in fact, things were only getting worse.

At the time I thought I was crazy, but I had always felt that my son had

headache-like behaviors, even as early as 22 months (I only remember that

because of the doctor's notes I have on file now). At one point things had

gotten so bad, that we were starting to consider Risperdal. I told the doctor

that we would do that one one condition- I wanted an MRI. I NEEDED to know that

there was nothing causing this behavbior from a medical standpoint. I had to

know that we'd done everything we could.

Thank God for those instincts- it turns out my son has a rare condition called

Arnold-Chiari Malformation (type 1). In laymen's terms, his cerebellum, instead

of being nice & rounded, was actually not only coming down into a point, but was

also protruding past his C1 vertebrae, and cutting off the flow of spinal fluid

to his brain. The #1 symptom- severe, debilitating headaches. We ended up

finding out about a few other conditions as well, after further MRI studies. And

yes, this was a condition he was born with.

My son had brain surgery on March 25th of this year, and now has normal spinal

fluid flow. He is still non-verbal, and he still bangs his head every once in a

while. The pain that caused it is gone, but unfortunately, we have the " learned

behavior " that we still have to deal with when he's being denied access to

something he wants. But it's NOTHING like it once was.

My son's pediatrician was very much against us having the testing done when he

was a toddler, and I'm still furious about that to this day. I was told many

times that head-banging behaviors were common in children with autism. What

upsets me most, though, is that I almost listened to him instead of my gut, and

my son would have continued to suffer.

As I said, Chiari malformations are somewhat rare, but in my opinion there's no

harm in just making sure there's no medical reason for the behaviors. At least

then, you've been able to rule one avenue out.

Best of luck to you & your family. I understand the pain of seeing your child in

pain, and hurting themselves, and there's nothing worse.

Take care,

>

> About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his

head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be

increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to

do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it

coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense " I need a hit " look.

He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right

height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything,

but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I

certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some

harm.

>

> Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give

him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

>

> Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

>

> :-)

>

[Guest guest]

WOW!! Thanks to everyone who has responded! I will definitely review his diet to see if we have a pattern.The very first time we saw this was during a behavioral evaluation at NIH. We had just flown up there and I think my son picked up a cold or something during our travels (gotta love airplanes!). And as soon as I saw him do it more than once (I thought perhaps the first was a fluke) - I thought maybe he had sinus pain. That is still a definite possibility as he still hasn't shaken this bug 100% - still has a cough and some yuck from his nose from time to time.About an MRI - as luck would have it, we're already scheduled for one in November. The NIH study is covering an MRI, daytime EEG, overnight

EEG and lumbar puncture (to test CSF) - as well as genetic testing. Who knows what we might learn.In the meantime though, I will try to limit/eliminate all dairy, work behaviorally to reduce this and maybe some cranio-sacral work.Thank you all again! I'll let you know how this works out.Best, To: sList Sent: Fri, October 9, 2009 9:47:37 PMSubject: Re: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

I rarely post unless I feel I have something different to contribute to a conversation, and, while this may be a little "far-fetched" , it certainly is a possibility.

My son (now age 8.5) started banging his head around the same time. He too, was nonverbal. We tried everything- biomedical, sensory, behavior therapy, incresed the S/L therapy, diets, supplements, etc, etc. Nothing seemed to be helping, and in fact, things were only getting worse.

At the time I thought I was crazy, but I had always felt that my son had headache-like behaviors, even as early as 22 months (I only remember that because of the doctor's notes I have on file now). At one point things had gotten so bad, that we were starting to consider Risperdal. I told the doctor that we would do that one one condition- I wanted an MRI. I NEEDED to know that there was nothing causing this behavbior from a medical standpoint. I had to know that we'd done everything we could.

Thank God for those instincts- it turns out my son has a rare condition called Arnold-Chiari Malformation (type 1). In laymen's terms, his cerebellum, instead of being nice & rounded, was actually not only coming down into a point, but was also protruding past his C1 vertebrae, and cutting off the flow of spinal fluid to his brain. The #1 symptom- severe, debilitating headaches. We ended up finding out about a few other conditions as well, after further MRI studies. And yes, this was a condition he was born with.

My son had brain surgery on March 25th of this year, and now has normal spinal fluid flow. He is still non-verbal, and he still bangs his head every once in a while. The pain that caused it is gone, but unfortunately, we have the "learned behavior" that we still have to deal with when he's being denied access to something he wants. But it's NOTHING like it once was.

My son's pediatrician was very much against us having the testing done when he was a toddler, and I'm still furious about that to this day. I was told many times that head-banging behaviors were common in children with autism. What upsets me most, though, is that I almost listened to him instead of my gut, and my son would have continued to suffer.

As I said, Chiari malformations are somewhat rare, but in my opinion there's no harm in just making sure there's no medical reason for the behaviors. At least then, you've been able to rule one avenue out.

Best of luck to you & your family. I understand the pain of seeing your child in pain, and hurting themselves, and there's nothing worse.

Take care,

>

> About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

>

> Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

>

> Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

>

> :-)

>

[Guest guest]

What is stated below is what frustrates me about well meaning professionals not ruling out medical conditions first. Medical conditions should always always be explored first as a factor when our kids are identified. I cannot tell you how often I hear professionals state "it's the autism.". That is not the cause. Likely it is part of or all of in some cases the symptomology. Doesn't mean the autism still won't be there but at least the kiddos medical problems may improve.Sent from my iPhone

WOW!! Thanks to everyone who has responded! I will definitely review his diet to see if we have a pattern.The very first time we saw this was during a behavioral evaluation at NIH. We had just flown up there and I think my son picked up a cold or something during our travels (gotta love airplanes!). And as soon as I saw him do it more than once (I thought perhaps the first was a fluke) - I thought maybe he had sinus pain. That is still a definite possibility as he still hasn't shaken this bug 100% - still has a cough and some yuck from his nose from time to time.About an MRI - as luck would have it, we're already scheduled for one in November. The NIH study is covering an MRI, daytime EEG, overnight

EEG and lumbar puncture (to test CSF) - as well as genetic testing. Who knows what we might learn.In the meantime though, I will try to limit/eliminate all dairy, work behaviorally to reduce this and maybe some cranio-sacral work.Thank you all again! I'll let you know how this works out.Best, From: hernandoautism <LMFerkoaol>To: sList Sent: Fri, October 9, 2009 9:47:37 PMSubject: Re: 4 yr old banging his head! What's up!???

I rarely post unless I feel I have something different to contribute to a conversation, and, while this may be a little "far-fetched" , it certainly is a possibility.

My son (now age 8.5) started banging his head around the same time. He too, was nonverbal. We tried everything- biomedical, sensory, behavior therapy, incresed the S/L therapy, diets, supplements, etc, etc. Nothing seemed to be helping, and in fact, things were only getting worse.

At the time I thought I was crazy, but I had always felt that my son had headache-like behaviors, even as early as 22 months (I only remember that because of the doctor's notes I have on file now). At one point things had gotten so bad, that we were starting to consider Risperdal. I told the doctor that we would do that one one condition- I wanted an MRI. I NEEDED to know that there was nothing causing this behavbior from a medical standpoint. I had to know that we'd done everything we could.

Thank God for those instincts- it turns out my son has a rare condition called Arnold-Chiari Malformation (type 1). In laymen's terms, his cerebellum, instead of being nice & rounded, was actually not only coming down into a point, but was also protruding past his C1 vertebrae, and cutting off the flow of spinal fluid to his brain. The #1 symptom- severe, debilitating headaches. We ended up finding out about a few other conditions as well, after further MRI studies. And yes, this was a condition he was born with.

My son had brain surgery on March 25th of this year, and now has normal spinal fluid flow. He is still non-verbal, and he still bangs his head every once in a while. The pain that caused it is gone, but unfortunately, we have the "learned behavior" that we still have to deal with when he's being denied access to something he wants. But it's NOTHING like it once was.

My son's pediatrician was very much against us having the testing done when he was a toddler, and I'm still furious about that to this day. I was told many times that head-banging behaviors were common in children with autism. What upsets me most, though, is that I almost listened to him instead of my gut, and my son would have continued to suffer.

As I said, Chiari malformations are somewhat rare, but in my opinion there's no harm in just making sure there's no medical reason for the behaviors. At least then, you've been able to rule one avenue out.

Best of luck to you & your family. I understand the pain of seeing your child in pain, and hurting themselves, and there's nothing worse.

Take care,

>

> About a month ago my non-verbal 4 year old started intermittently banging his head (forehead, mostly) - on the floor, a wall, me, whatever. It seems to be increasing. He has always been very sensory seeking, but I don't know what to do to keep him from doing it. It's very alarming -- I don't normally see it coming - unless he's coming at me and I can see his tense "I need a hit" look. He even hit the edge of the granite countertops today (he's JUST the right height). He hasn't done it so hard that he's caused any bruising or anything, but it's scary. And I don't want him to head-butt anybody at school. And I certainly don't want this to progress to where he may actually do himself some harm.

>

> Has this occurred to any of your kids? Is there something I can do to give him feedback that may reduce his need to do this?

>

> Any thoughts, ideas or input would be greatly appreciated.

>

> :-)

>