Published on 12, July, 2020
Hey, im new to this forum. My little sister (who is 9) has autism and has behaved well until recently. She's always had this terrible habit of biting her hand but now she is taking it to the extremes by causing herself to bleed, slapping herself really hard etc... She has also began attacking other people by hitting, pinching and even biting them relentlessly. My parents have bruises all over their arms and legs, especially my mom. Just today my little sister also ripped my mom's ear off by pulling at her earring. It's getting worse everyday and I've done research but i don't know what to do and neither do my parents. Does anyone know what i could do or if there are any services to help with her aggressive behaviour?
Generally speaking aggressive behaviour is a sign of distress especially her self harm attacking others might be a way of trying to control a situation that is distressing her.
My daughter is 8 and can lash out violently but this is generally only when she gets emotionally overloaded.
If your sister has only recently started doing this what has changed? It could be something you considered trivial but to her it is everything. Have you tried asking her what is wrong?
She loves eating a lot and it has caused her to become a bit overweight so the only thing we've really changed is getting her to eat less. It could be why she is lashing out. I've always wondered if she has some sort of an eating disorder too since she eats as though she is always hungry.
Would it be possible to go back to old routine to see if it stopped the behaviours? And ask gp to refer to dietician?
Might be a good idea to call helpline and ask advice as kitsun suggested, I'm not sure if these pages may be of interest
https://www.autism.org.uk/about/behaviour/challenging-behaviour.aspx
https://www.autism.org.uk/about/health/eating.aspx
A few years back she had one but i'll get her another one to see if it helps.
It might not be that she is hungry, have you tried any chewable sensory toys? It could be feeling something in her mouth that she likes. Just an idea good luck!