Head banging

Thanks for both of your replies.

Yes, she constantly seems to want to squeeze things - balloons, toys, people....

Will book GP appointment to discuss a helmet tomorrow, and chase up her multi-professional assessment.

Thamks again, will post when I have an update :-)

hi, the headbanging thing is really a worry isnt it. I approached my GP to be referred to the hospital to have a helmet made for my son, its more for how clumsy he is but it does also protect the front of his head, which is extremley usefull for situations like this. Im sure if you spoke to your gp about the situation they could possibly refer you for some head protection made up. My son used to bang his head when there were new situations, even small things in the home changing would set him off it would overwhelm him and i guess this was his release. Is there anthing new or changed to your daughter? My son would get more stressed if you tryed to stop him so i guess its finding a way to let you daughter release the anxiety safely without really hurting herself.   Or reducing the source of anxiety in the first place ( easier said than done i know)

My daughter also asd briefly went through a stage of headbanging, she didnt communicate very well verbally at the time, turns out she had an ear infection when the pain stopped the headbanging stopped.

BW

hi again - your daughter reminds me off my son with her reactions.  He had an assessment by an OT who specialised in autism.  There should be info on this site about things which might help.  She recognised him as someone who needed to squeeze to get the pressure/tension out.   She made some recommendations such as weighted blankets etc, other things to squeeze when not in a high state of distress,  a punch bag (to squeeze, not punch).  The pressure of a situation would build up in his head so he would be so desperate he'd bang to get rid of it.  Others may respond soon to help

It could be a sensory thing?

About protective helemets - I wonder if the type rugby players wear would be suitable?

Hi Crystal,

We just don't know why she does it - sometimes I know it's out of frustration, but other times she simply walks up to something and 'butts' it.  When I try to stop her she starts to do it to me, or just presses her head down on me really hard and grits her teeth, shaking.  Hard to describe really.  Yesterday she was doing it on the shopping trolley in Morrissons, and me trying to stop her seemed to make it worse. Can't work out why she's doing it as she does it anywhere at any time.  Hopefully it will calm down on its own soon!  Definitely getting worse as she gets older though - she always did it a little, but it seems almost incessant now.  Just worried about her really hurting herself :-(

hi - head banging is very distressing.  Especially if your daughter is non-verbal it's so difficult to work out what's causing it.  My son used to do it and it distressed me greatly. Because he was verbal I was able to prevent it happening most of the time. We went through a period of time when his forehead was always bruised.  He really did suffer and so did I.   I don't know what you've tried so far to prevent it - maybe lots of things.  I found with my son there were certain triggers.  Also his environment wasn't what it needed to be.  When all this had been rectified the head banging stopped.  We were able to achieve that because he could communicate his needs, altho not entirely and not always.   I'm no expert of helmets, but I understand there are protective helmets which are sometimes used for people with epilepsy.  If they have a fit and fall the helmet protects them. It isn't a full helmet like a biker's helmet, but does provide protection.   Your gp, consultant,  or other professional should be able to point you in the right direction.  In the end it will only be effective if your daughter is willing to wear it.  Maybe your consultant can advise on a variety of other things that may help.  bw