My son is 25, autistic with a mild to moderate learning disability, verbal but with significant communication difficulties, and in good health. He is a lovely young man who leads a largely happy life but has severe meltdowns during which he bangs his head against walls or his knee, and bites his hand. These have gone on for years. He cannot reliably tell us what triggers them, though sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it seems to come from nowhere.
We have been through CAMHS among other avenues without success. He has been on sertraline 150mg since 2014.
Has anyone's adult child significantly reduced or stopped this kind of self-injurious behaviour? If so, what worked — was it a particular type of therapist, a specific approach, a medication change, or something else entirely?
Any experience gratefully received. We are hoping to hear from people who have actually been through something similar and found something that helped.
