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Mild self harm - 12 yrs old Aspergers child

Mum on a mission :)

My 12 year old daughter is in the process of a diagnosis.  All I have read and researched is telling me she’s an Aspergers child. She is a wonderful beautiful and amazing girl.  She’s struggling a lot.  Her meltdowns are becoming worse and she’s is punching herself, I haven’t seen her doing this but I have heard it and she’s told me.  I am worried about the progression of this as worse self harm.  

Can anyone help with techniques to NOT punch herself? To do something else that isn’t self harm.  I don’t think I can stop her melting down or having the emotional surges but I really need to stop her hurting herself.

I need to stop her wanting to hurt herself more.

All kind advice welcome ..... thank you in advance x

Parents

  • Hello, 

    I'm so sorry to hear about your beautiful girl. I'd recommend taking her to the GP again, and/ or calling social care in your area for some support and advice. Social services have a wealth of information and advice available, and may be able to direct you to exactly where you need to go for support. 

    In the meantime, what I see here is that punching obviously helps her to discharge her energy. That's okay! Just not to herself or others, as you know. So, how about installing a punch bag for her, or even providing her a 'punching' pillow? I always think it's easier to redirect behaviours, rather than try to prevent them completely. If she still needs some stimulation on herself, see if a tight squeeze on her body helps once she's done punching. I'd just try to look at the core practices and redirect them into something healthier which she can take into adulthood (nothing wrong with having a punch bag), as trying to prevent her from these things could just lead to more frustration. 

    I do hope this helps!

Reply

  • Hello, 

    I'm so sorry to hear about your beautiful girl. I'd recommend taking her to the GP again, and/ or calling social care in your area for some support and advice. Social services have a wealth of information and advice available, and may be able to direct you to exactly where you need to go for support. 

    In the meantime, what I see here is that punching obviously helps her to discharge her energy. That's okay! Just not to herself or others, as you know. So, how about installing a punch bag for her, or even providing her a 'punching' pillow? I always think it's easier to redirect behaviours, rather than try to prevent them completely. If she still needs some stimulation on herself, see if a tight squeeze on her body helps once she's done punching. I'd just try to look at the core practices and redirect them into something healthier which she can take into adulthood (nothing wrong with having a punch bag), as trying to prevent her from these things could just lead to more frustration. 

    I do hope this helps!

Children