Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I’m new on here and need advice for my daughter. My grandson is 6 years old and for the last 2 years has been throwing anything and everything over the garden fence and out of windows. Anything from his favourite toys to pint glasses, cups, food and anything he can get. Tried setting up things for him to throw, like basketball hoops etc but nothing works. We thought he’d grow out of it but hasn’t and cannot work out a solution. Please any advise would be great
Thank you so much Sarah, I will be passing this on to my daughter and hopefully it will be useful for her, I will have a read too. I really appreciate this.
Hi Sue, Sorry to hear you are having a tough time, individuals on the spectrum can often display behaviour that may be challenging. Generally there will be a trigger/reason for this and it is important to try and understand the trigger for the behaviour when developing strategies. You may like to have a look at the following link for more information on behaviour and strategies: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour
Another thing you might be interested in depending on the situation is seeking some professional support regarding the behaviour. You can search for professionals in your area we are aware of on the Autism Services Directory: https://www.autism.org.uk/directory
You might also like to take a look at The Challenging Behaviour Foundation website for further information and advice: https://www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk. They also have an information and support service which you can contact by phone or email – details can be found here: https://www.challengingbehaviour.org.uk/for-family-carers/family-support-service/
Hope that helps,
SarahMod
We have done that and he continues. The other problem is the neighbour gets really angry even though we have explained he has Autism.
He throws thugs even when no one is around. For example his toys out of his bedroom window, my son-in-laws wedding ring that was on The bedside table, we only knew when by chance it was found in the garden and my grandson told them he threw it out. He threw a glass out of their bedroom window when they were indoors (luckily) as it could of hit someone. I bought him a toy he chose and when we got in he went straight in the garden and threw it over the fence and just came back in.
So when your grandson throws that stuff over the fence and and out of windows, what kind of reactions does he get from his mother/your daughter? Sometimes when a child does something (they're not supposed to do), the distressful and frantic states of the parent amuses the child and makes them laugh, as if it's a funny game that produces funny gestures from the parent, so the child keeps doing it. If that's the case, then looking bored or uninterested, even turning away from the child when they're doing that bad thing (as if to say "I'm not interested in playing this game, I'm bored of it") will eventually make the child stop.