Under responsive to pain...

[Guest guest]

Please do not punish him this is a typical response to a child who has

sensory integration dysfunction. They are either hyper or hypo sensitive to

pain.

Please make an appointment with an occupational therapist and have him

thoroughly assessed for sensory intergration dyfunction. If he is in school

the

school can do an assessment.

Connie Ajay

[Guest guest]

Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's 11,

and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently he

touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch " is

almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it repeatedly,

as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is angry

with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs himself

on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but the

best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of punishing

him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow. I've

talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue in

the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or suggestions

for coping with this type of behavior?

[Guest guest]

I always wondered what the connection, if there was one, to a high pain

tolerance and AS...but of course, that makes a lot of sense.

>

> Please do not punish him this is a typical response to a child who

has

> sensory integration dysfunction. They are either hyper or hypo

sensitive to pain.

> Please make an appointment with an occupational therapist and have

him

> thoroughly assessed for sensory intergration dyfunction. If he is

in school the

> school can do an assessment.

>

> Connie Ajay

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, only a moment now. But first thoughts are to redirect him

whenever he starts an inappropriate behavior like the banging or

touching the cactus repeatedly. Now, what to redirect him " to " I

can't think of an example right now, LOL. Or when you redirect with

the banging, you might have an " alternative " for him to do instead

(and no idea at the moment for that either!). I imagine it will

take time to replace/redirect for this strategy to begin working

until it becomes routine/habit, etc.

Quick thoughts this a.m.!

>

> Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's

11,

> and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

> compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently

he

> touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch "

is

> almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

> Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it

repeatedly,

> as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is

angry

> with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs

himself

> on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

> knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but

the

> best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

> undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of

punishing

> him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

> punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow.

I've

> talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue

in

> the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or

suggestions

> for coping with this type of behavior?

>

[Guest guest]

my boy is turning 4 and we first reported this to his doctor at 18

months- it was an important piece of his Sensory Integration diagnosis.

No tips except to say don't punish him because his brain didn't process

something!

tushanna_m wrote

[Guest guest]

I have read about kids who do this type of thing in the Sensory Processing

Disorder group I belong to. Some report that OT that gives deep sensory input

(it sounds like your son is a sensory seeker) can diminish the behavior. Then

the child/parent is taught how to do deep pressure therapy at home to help too.

Good luck. This must be hard as his mother to watch.

<@...> wrote:

Hi, only a moment now. But first thoughts are to redirect him

whenever he starts an inappropriate behavior like the banging or

touching the cactus repeatedly. Now, what to redirect him " to " I

can't think of an example right now, LOL. Or when you redirect with

the banging, you might have an " alternative " for him to do instead

(and no idea at the moment for that either!). I imagine it will

take time to replace/redirect for this strategy to begin working

until it becomes routine/habit, etc.

Quick thoughts this a.m.!

>

> Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's

11,

> and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

> compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently

he

> touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch "

is

> almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

> Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it

repeatedly,

> as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is

angry

> with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs

himself

> on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

> knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but

the

> best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

> undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of

punishing

> him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

> punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow.

I've

> talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue

in

> the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or

suggestions

> for coping with this type of behavior?

>

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

This got better for us after about a year of biomedical treatment.

All the best,

Jill

" And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. " Matt

21:22

[Guest guest]

Just wanted to thank everyone who replied to this for your insight.

The psychologist who diagnosed DID recommend SI with an OT, but I had

no clue what it was at the time. I also enjoyed this morning's

ongoing discussions of SI v/s ABA/VB. Seems we have a bit of an

internal family battle on that issue as well, so the pros and cons

were very helpful to me, and I suppose I've landed somewhere in the

middle.

Since the initail AS diag EONov, we've had him evaluated by an OT

(because insurance does pay for that), who says the only issues she

can find are a few mild handwriting issues with letter formation and

speed (news to me since I thought they were severe issues, but his

sample for her was close to perfect) and some pretty severe sensory

disfunctions.

Of course the sensory disfunctions were based entirely on a history

she took from me. Never the less, she started SI with him yesterday

and she taught me the brushing technique in hopes it would help him.

However, she made the mistake of telling me, in front of him, that if

it worked, it could permanently lower his pain threshold. He freaked

out about this, and doesn't understand why I would make him do

something that will make him feel pain more readily. My explainations

were just inadequate for him, so now he's resistant to the brushing,

though he tolerated it fine for her in the office initially.

Another issue is that his Dad and I are divorced with split custody.

He's with his Dad for Christmas break until the 27th, and his Dad

says there is no way he is going to follow the technique every 2 hrs

as recommended. He feels the SI is " voodoo " , and that we'd " have

better luck shaking chicken bones at him and dancing around him " .

I've sent him many links where parents have found it successful, but

suspect he's pretty close minded to it. I plan to do the technique

she recommended with him starting on the 27th, and see if we get any

improvement before his next OT session on Jan 3. Dad feels that the

OT, because it's fun, is a positive behavioral reinforcement to " get

him to do what he's supposed to do anyway " .

While I can see his point, I don't feel the behaviors like refusing

to bath, refusing to get out of the tub, refusing to wash his face,

overstuffing his mouth, gagging and vomiting at some smells others

don't find offensive, having a public meltdown and ripping his

clothes because a tag is scrathing him,etc are things he can control

or are behavioral in nature. I can physically see his anxiety, so

believe it is very real to him. Yes, I think he can be TAUGHT to

behave differently when his senses " lie " to him, but I also am hoping

we can use the SI to get them to stop lying to him so frequently.

Now the issue is that Dad (who has done no research and attended only

2 meeting at the psychologist) thinks not only will the SI not be

effective in the long run, but that the child does not even have AS

and need ST/OT at all. (Our son is very mild, almost

indistinguishable from peers at school, so his teachers do not want

to believe the diagnosis either) Dad has convinced himself that for

some reason I WANT something to be wrong with our son, and that I've

brainwashed a psychologist, a ST, and an OT that our son has

something he does not. Personally, I think the problem is that the

more info I get and pass on from the professionals, the more Dad sees

himself and does not want to think there is anything " wrong " with

himself. But, that's my opinion. Meanwhile, all I can do is continue

to work it, and hope that somewhere along the lines we stumble onto

the right answers to help our son be more successful in life.

Again, thanks to everyone in the group for for advice and shared

insight. It really has been enlightening.

Tushanna

>

> Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's

11,

> and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

> compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently he

> touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch " is

> almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

> Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it

repeatedly,

> as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is angry

> with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs

himself

> on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

> knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but

the

> best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

> undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of

punishing

> him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

> punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow.

I've

> talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue

in

> the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or

suggestions

> for coping with this type of behavior?

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks. That is my gut feeling as well. I first reported this to the

doctor when he was 18 mos too. I was told not to worry about it, that

it was behavioral- " premature terrible 2's " and he would " outgrow it " .

But then that was before much was known about AS, and " autism " was

a " bad word " . Glad we are progressing, and so thankful for those with

shared experiences like yourself.

>

> my boy is turning 4 and we first reported this to his doctor at 18

> months- it was an important piece of his Sensory Integration

diagnosis.

> No tips except to say don't punish him because his brain didn't

process

> something!

>

>

>

> tushanna_m wrote

>

[Guest guest]

My AS son was under-responsive to pain until age 4. He would scrape both knees

and blood would pour out of them and he did not notice he was hurt. He had ear

infections where his drums would rupture & bleed and he wasn't bothered. Then

he started school & saw other kids cry when they were hurt. He figured he

should be upset when he saw blood on himself too. So now he has the opposite

problem........when he barely bumps his arm on the wall or something minor, he

FREAKS OUT!!! He cries the most dramatic cry, screams & forces tears out! It

is really getting out of hand now, he will be 8 in August.

tushanna_m <tushanna_m@...> wrote: Just wanted to thank everyone

who replied to this for your insight.

The psychologist who diagnosed DID recommend SI with an OT, but I had

no clue what it was at the time. I also enjoyed this morning's

ongoing discussions of SI v/s ABA/VB. Seems we have a bit of an

internal family battle on that issue as well, so the pros and cons

were very helpful to me, and I suppose I've landed somewhere in the

middle.

Since the initail AS diag EONov, we've had him evaluated by an OT

(because insurance does pay for that), who says the only issues she

can find are a few mild handwriting issues with letter formation and

speed (news to me since I thought they were severe issues, but his

sample for her was close to perfect) and some pretty severe sensory

disfunctions.

Of course the sensory disfunctions were based entirely on a history

she took from me. Never the less, she started SI with him yesterday

and she taught me the brushing technique in hopes it would help him.

However, she made the mistake of telling me, in front of him, that if

it worked, it could permanently lower his pain threshold. He freaked

out about this, and doesn't understand why I would make him do

something that will make him feel pain more readily. My explainations

were just inadequate for him, so now he's resistant to the brushing,

though he tolerated it fine for her in the office initially.

Another issue is that his Dad and I are divorced with split custody.

He's with his Dad for Christmas break until the 27th, and his Dad

says there is no way he is going to follow the technique every 2 hrs

as recommended. He feels the SI is " voodoo " , and that we'd " have

better luck shaking chicken bones at him and dancing around him " .

I've sent him many links where parents have found it successful, but

suspect he's pretty close minded to it. I plan to do the technique

she recommended with him starting on the 27th, and see if we get any

improvement before his next OT session on Jan 3. Dad feels that the

OT, because it's fun, is a positive behavioral reinforcement to " get

him to do what he's supposed to do anyway " .

While I can see his point, I don't feel the behaviors like refusing

to bath, refusing to get out of the tub, refusing to wash his face,

overstuffing his mouth, gagging and vomiting at some smells others

don't find offensive, having a public meltdown and ripping his

clothes because a tag is scrathing him,etc are things he can control

or are behavioral in nature. I can physically see his anxiety, so

believe it is very real to him. Yes, I think he can be TAUGHT to

behave differently when his senses " lie " to him, but I also am hoping

we can use the SI to get them to stop lying to him so frequently.

Now the issue is that Dad (who has done no research and attended only

2 meeting at the psychologist) thinks not only will the SI not be

effective in the long run, but that the child does not even have AS

and need ST/OT at all. (Our son is very mild, almost

indistinguishable from peers at school, so his teachers do not want

to believe the diagnosis either) Dad has convinced himself that for

some reason I WANT something to be wrong with our son, and that I've

brainwashed a psychologist, a ST, and an OT that our son has

something he does not. Personally, I think the problem is that the

more info I get and pass on from the professionals, the more Dad sees

himself and does not want to think there is anything " wrong " with

himself. But, that's my opinion. Meanwhile, all I can do is continue

to work it, and hope that somewhere along the lines we stumble onto

the right answers to help our son be more successful in life.

Again, thanks to everyone in the group for for advice and shared

insight. It really has been enlightening.

Tushanna

>

> Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's

11,

> and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

> compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently he

> touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch " is

> almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

> Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it

repeatedly,

> as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is angry

> with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs

himself

> on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

> knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but

the

> best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

> undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of

punishing

> him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

> punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow.

I've

> talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue

in

> the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or

suggestions

> for coping with this type of behavior?

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

My almost 18 yo is under-responsive to pain. He had the same ear problems - he

wouldn't cry until it was ready to burst. I started to learn when he " might "

have an ear infection and took him in many times just to check his ears. A few

doc's thought I was a nut. But out regular doctor knew why we did it that way.

He didn't feel a lot with his hands either. He also would come home with blood

dripping down his legs and no idea he was hurt. Just last week, he cut his hand

and didn't even flinch. He said it did not hurt at all but it did make a sound

when the glass went in his hand. ewwwww. It took forever to stop bleeding. He

is more interested in seeing the wound than anything else.

Roxanna

Re: ( ) Re: Under responsive to pain...

My AS son was under-responsive to pain until age 4. He would scrape both knees

and blood would pour out of them and he did not notice he was hurt. He had ear

infections where his drums would rupture & bleed and he wasn't bothered. Then he

started school & saw other kids cry when they were hurt. He figured he should be

upset when he saw blood on himself too. So now he has the opposite

problem........when he barely bumps his arm on the wall or something minor, he

FREAKS OUT!!! He cries the most dramatic cry, screams & forces tears out! It is

really getting out of hand now, he will be 8 in August.

tushanna_m <tushanna_m@...> wrote: Just wanted to thank everyone who

replied to this for your insight.

The psychologist who diagnosed DID recommend SI with an OT, but I had

no clue what it was at the time. I also enjoyed this morning's

ongoing discussions of SI v/s ABA/VB. Seems we have a bit of an

internal family battle on that issue as well, so the pros and cons

were very helpful to me, and I suppose I've landed somewhere in the

middle.

Since the initail AS diag EONov, we've had him evaluated by an OT

(because insurance does pay for that), who says the only issues she

can find are a few mild handwriting issues with letter formation and

speed (news to me since I thought they were severe issues, but his

sample for her was close to perfect) and some pretty severe sensory

disfunctions.

Of course the sensory disfunctions were based entirely on a history

she took from me. Never the less, she started SI with him yesterday

and she taught me the brushing technique in hopes it would help him.

However, she made the mistake of telling me, in front of him, that if

it worked, it could permanently lower his pain threshold. He freaked

out about this, and doesn't understand why I would make him do

something that will make him feel pain more readily. My explainations

were just inadequate for him, so now he's resistant to the brushing,

though he tolerated it fine for her in the office initially.

Another issue is that his Dad and I are divorced with split custody.

He's with his Dad for Christmas break until the 27th, and his Dad

says there is no way he is going to follow the technique every 2 hrs

as recommended. He feels the SI is " voodoo " , and that we'd " have

better luck shaking chicken bones at him and dancing around him " .

I've sent him many links where parents have found it successful, but

suspect he's pretty close minded to it. I plan to do the technique

she recommended with him starting on the 27th, and see if we get any

improvement before his next OT session on Jan 3. Dad feels that the

OT, because it's fun, is a positive behavioral reinforcement to " get

him to do what he's supposed to do anyway " .

While I can see his point, I don't feel the behaviors like refusing

to bath, refusing to get out of the tub, refusing to wash his face,

overstuffing his mouth, gagging and vomiting at some smells others

don't find offensive, having a public meltdown and ripping his

clothes because a tag is scrathing him,etc are things he can control

or are behavioral in nature. I can physically see his anxiety, so

believe it is very real to him. Yes, I think he can be TAUGHT to

behave differently when his senses " lie " to him, but I also am hoping

we can use the SI to get them to stop lying to him so frequently.

Now the issue is that Dad (who has done no research and attended only

2 meeting at the psychologist) thinks not only will the SI not be

effective in the long run, but that the child does not even have AS

and need ST/OT at all. (Our son is very mild, almost

indistinguishable from peers at school, so his teachers do not want

to believe the diagnosis either) Dad has convinced himself that for

some reason I WANT something to be wrong with our son, and that I've

brainwashed a psychologist, a ST, and an OT that our son has

something he does not. Personally, I think the problem is that the

more info I get and pass on from the professionals, the more Dad sees

himself and does not want to think there is anything " wrong " with

himself. But, that's my opinion. Meanwhile, all I can do is continue

to work it, and hope that somewhere along the lines we stumble onto

the right answers to help our son be more successful in life.

Again, thanks to everyone in the group for for advice and shared

insight. It really has been enlightening.

Tushanna

>

> Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's

11,

> and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

> compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently he

> touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch " is

> almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

> Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it

repeatedly,

> as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is angry

> with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs

himself

> on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

> knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but

the

> best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

> undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of

punishing

> him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

> punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow.

I've

> talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue

in

> the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or

suggestions

> for coping with this type of behavior?

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Roxanna,

Was he also under-responsive when potty training? My 10yo aspie is

hyposensitive to pain and was a major problem potty training - just flat

out didn't notice being wet.

Leah

Roxanna wrote:

>

> My almost 18 yo is under-responsive to pain. He had the same ear

> problems - he wouldn't cry until it was ready to burst. I started to

> learn when he " might " have an ear infection and took him in many times

> just to check his ears. A few doc's thought I was a nut. But out

> regular doctor knew why we did it that way. He didn't feel a lot with

> his hands either. He also would come home with blood dripping down his

> legs and no idea he was hurt. Just last week, he cut his hand and

> didn't even flinch. He said it did not hurt at all but it did make a

> sound when the glass went in his hand. ewwwww. It took forever to stop

> bleeding. He is more interested in seeing the wound than anything else.

>

> Roxanna

>

[Guest guest]

I know he didn't notice being wet but we just got those extra thick cotton

training pants and he learned a lot faster that way. He Still was probably 4

1/2 before he was trained. And then he was trained like magic - one day he just

got it and was never wet again after that. Veeerrrry strange kid. lol.

Roxanna

Re: ( ) Re: Under responsive to pain...

Roxanna,

Was he also under-responsive when potty training? My 10yo aspie is

hyposensitive to pain and was a major problem potty training - just flat

out didn't notice being wet.

Leah

Roxanna wrote:

>

> My almost 18 yo is under-responsive to pain. He had the same ear

> problems - he wouldn't cry until it was ready to burst. I started to

> learn when he " might " have an ear infection and took him in many times

> just to check his ears. A few doc's thought I was a nut. But out

> regular doctor knew why we did it that way. He didn't feel a lot with

> his hands either. He also would come home with blood dripping down his

> legs and no idea he was hurt. Just last week, he cut his hand and

> didn't even flinch. He said it did not hurt at all but it did make a

> sound when the glass went in his hand. ewwwww. It took forever to stop

> bleeding. He is more interested in seeing the wound than anything else.

>

> Roxanna

>

[Guest guest]

has anyone asked their OT about " brushing therapy "

Roxanna <madideas@...> wrote: My almost 18 yo is

under-responsive to pain. He had the same ear problems - he wouldn't cry until

it was ready to burst. I started to learn when he " might " have an ear infection

and took him in many times just to check his ears. A few doc's thought I was a

nut. But out regular doctor knew why we did it that way. He didn't feel a lot

with his hands either. He also would come home with blood dripping down his legs

and no idea he was hurt. Just last week, he cut his hand and didn't even flinch.

He said it did not hurt at all but it did make a sound when the glass went in

his hand. ewwwww. It took forever to stop bleeding. He is more interested in

seeing the wound than anything else.

Roxanna

Re: ( ) Re: Under responsive to pain...

My AS son was under-responsive to pain until age 4. He would scrape both knees

and blood would pour out of them and he did not notice he was hurt. He had ear

infections where his drums would rupture & bleed and he wasn't bothered. Then he

started school & saw other kids cry when they were hurt. He figured he should be

upset when he saw blood on himself too. So now he has the opposite

problem........when he barely bumps his arm on the wall or something minor, he

FREAKS OUT!!! He cries the most dramatic cry, screams & forces tears out! It is

really getting out of hand now, he will be 8 in August.

tushanna_m <tushanna_m@...> wrote: Just wanted to thank everyone who

replied to this for your insight.

The psychologist who diagnosed DID recommend SI with an OT, but I had

no clue what it was at the time. I also enjoyed this morning's

ongoing discussions of SI v/s ABA/VB. Seems we have a bit of an

internal family battle on that issue as well, so the pros and cons

were very helpful to me, and I suppose I've landed somewhere in the

middle.

Since the initail AS diag EONov, we've had him evaluated by an OT

(because insurance does pay for that), who says the only issues she

can find are a few mild handwriting issues with letter formation and

speed (news to me since I thought they were severe issues, but his

sample for her was close to perfect) and some pretty severe sensory

disfunctions.

Of course the sensory disfunctions were based entirely on a history

she took from me. Never the less, she started SI with him yesterday

and she taught me the brushing technique in hopes it would help him.

However, she made the mistake of telling me, in front of him, that if

it worked, it could permanently lower his pain threshold. He freaked

out about this, and doesn't understand why I would make him do

something that will make him feel pain more readily. My explainations

were just inadequate for him, so now he's resistant to the brushing,

though he tolerated it fine for her in the office initially.

Another issue is that his Dad and I are divorced with split custody.

He's with his Dad for Christmas break until the 27th, and his Dad

says there is no way he is going to follow the technique every 2 hrs

as recommended. He feels the SI is " voodoo " , and that we'd " have

better luck shaking chicken bones at him and dancing around him " .

I've sent him many links where parents have found it successful, but

suspect he's pretty close minded to it. I plan to do the technique

she recommended with him starting on the 27th, and see if we get any

improvement before his next OT session on Jan 3. Dad feels that the

OT, because it's fun, is a positive behavioral reinforcement to " get

him to do what he's supposed to do anyway " .

While I can see his point, I don't feel the behaviors like refusing

to bath, refusing to get out of the tub, refusing to wash his face,

overstuffing his mouth, gagging and vomiting at some smells others

don't find offensive, having a public meltdown and ripping his

clothes because a tag is scrathing him,etc are things he can control

or are behavioral in nature. I can physically see his anxiety, so

believe it is very real to him. Yes, I think he can be TAUGHT to

behave differently when his senses " lie " to him, but I also am hoping

we can use the SI to get them to stop lying to him so frequently.

Now the issue is that Dad (who has done no research and attended only

2 meeting at the psychologist) thinks not only will the SI not be

effective in the long run, but that the child does not even have AS

and need ST/OT at all. (Our son is very mild, almost

indistinguishable from peers at school, so his teachers do not want

to believe the diagnosis either) Dad has convinced himself that for

some reason I WANT something to be wrong with our son, and that I've

brainwashed a psychologist, a ST, and an OT that our son has

something he does not. Personally, I think the problem is that the

more info I get and pass on from the professionals, the more Dad sees

himself and does not want to think there is anything " wrong " with

himself. But, that's my opinion. Meanwhile, all I can do is continue

to work it, and hope that somewhere along the lines we stumble onto

the right answers to help our son be more successful in life.

Again, thanks to everyone in the group for for advice and shared

insight. It really has been enlightening.

Tushanna

>

> Anyone have a child who is under responsive to pain? Mine is. He's

11,

> and on no meds. He frequently hurts himself, occassionally

> compulsively, but doesn't seem to feel it. For example, recently he

> touched the needles on my cactus, and say " Ouch " , but the " ouch " is

> almost surly a learned response, because he didn't flinch with it.

> Additionally, he continued to stick his finger back on it

repeatedly,

> as if trying to determine how much pain he can take. If he is angry

> with himself, like if he forgets something important, he bangs

himself

> on the head repeatedly with a hardback book, often leaving a

> knot/bruise. His doc said some meds may help for compulsions, but

the

> best route was to punish him for it. While the logic of punishing

> undesirable behavior makes complete sense to me, the idea of

punishing

> him for already hurting himself (especially if it's self inflicted

> punishment for a mistake) just feels counter-productive somehow.

I've

> talked/explained about it being inappropiate to him until I'm blue

in

> the face with no improvement. Anyone have any strategies or

suggestions

> for coping with this type of behavior?

>

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