Special needs children...hitting themselves

[freeindeed]

This is a recurrent problem with my youngest. She is visually impaired and developmentally delayed. Without giving too much background (want to protect her privacy), we have had her for two years. Prior to the day we got her, she was in an overcrowded orphanage and was pretty much isolated from the world. She was like a newborn when we got her, but now she is on an 18-24 month old level; which, of course makes sense, since that is the amount of time she has been with us and received lots of love, teaching, and stimulation. She is in therapy, but no one has been able to diagnose what caused her to hit herself in the head...hard, so hard, in fact, that she cries because it hurts. She started this about a year ago when she had three rounds of severe tonsillitis. Her tonsils and adenoids were then removed and tubes were put in her ears (last July.) Since that time, she hits herself when she is sick, or at least that's the only reason I can think of that she is doing it. I don't think it's behavioral since she only does it when she is sick. She had a throat infection a couple of weeks ago, which led to her hitting herself. I took her to the doctor. He gave her antiobiotics, she got well, & the hitting stopped. But now she has started hitting herself again today. I am taking her back to the doctor tomorrow. Also, she has been seen by her pediatric optholmologist recently & he ruled out any pain caused by vision problems. Do any of you have any thoughts about this? I am at my wit's end here. I want to help my baby girl, but I don't know how.

Edited March 14, 2012 by freeindeed
Also posted in Special Needs board

[freeindeed]

Is it possible that this is her way of communicating to you that she is in pain? If she's not good at age-appropriate communication, this could be what's going on.

 

That is what I think. She does communicate with us about some things, but she hasn't yet reached a developmental level to say, "My throat/ears hurt." I just worry that there is something else going on. She has had a CT scan of her brain and an MRI, both of which turned out normal.

[Slipper]

When my daughter is deeply distressed, she self-injures. It can become so bad that if she's restrained at all (usually I am holding her arms), she'll suck her cheeks in so she can bite them or will bite her lips.

 

Usually we see this when she is in pain.

 

I'll be honest (and hope I'm not flamed, but we have had bad times with her and we love her so much). When we cannot stop the self-injury, we have medication that we use to calm her down and sometimes completely put her to sleep. We don't need it often, but when we need it, we need it.

 

I'm glad you're looking for patterns. I'm not sure if you've looked into migraines, but for a while, we suspected my daughter would have them during times of stress (usually in the spring for a few weeks). Considering the vision problems, maybe it's headaches?

[jallison25]

seems like a response to pain to me. Can you try giving motrin or tylenol when she does it and see if it helps?:grouphug:

[freeindeed]

When my daughter is deeply distressed, she self-injures. It can become so bad that if she's restrained at all (usually I am holding her arms), she'll suck her cheeks in so she can bite them or will bite her lips.

 

Usually we see this when she is in pain.

 

I'll be honest (and hope I'm not flamed, but we have had bad times with her and we love her so much). When we cannot stop the self-injury, we have medication that we use to calm her down and sometimes completely put her to sleep. We don't need it often, but when we need it, we need it.

 

I'm glad you're looking for patterns. I'm not sure if you've looked into migraines, but for a while, we suspected my daughter would have them during times of stress (usually in the spring for a few weeks). Considering the vision problems, maybe it's headaches?

 

I hope you won't be flamed, either. Sometimes medication is the best answer. It is certainly better than letting a child harm him/herself.

She saw her optholmologist a couple of months ago & he ruled out pain caused by vision problems; however, I am taking her back to him again soon so he can recheck. It is so hard when she doesn't communicate at a level to tell us what's wrong.

[freeindeed]

I hesitate to post this because I don't want to alarm you, but my 8yo son used to rock and hit his head HARD. He would do it to the point of leaving bruises and welts. It was so alarming to me. He did this for YEARS. He started as soon as he was able to get on his hands and knees, about 4 months or so. He only recently stopped doing it. I tried SO MANY TIMES to tell the pediatricians that it was beyond "normal", but they always just poo-poo'ed it away. (Military doctors. Nuff said.)

 

Last fall we learned that he is intellectually disabled with an IQ of only 60. I don't know if one thing caused the other, or if they are completely independent events. However, I have always wondered. If these things are related, then perhaps something like this is what's going on with your DD. Again, I don't mean to raise the alarm, but just throwing it out there as a possibility.

 

:grouphug: You didn't alarm me. We know that our little one is developmentally delayed, but we don't know how significantly yet. And, having a son in the military, I totally know what you mean about the doctors.

[freeindeed]

seems like a response to pain to me. Can you try giving motrin or tylenol when she does it and see if it helps?:grouphug:

 

Yes, I think it is pain, too. We alternate Motrin and Tylenol when she does this, and sometimes it helps. Thank you for your thoughts and hugs.:grouphug:

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Have her tubes been checked?

 

Mine only last 12-18 months and it's painful when the ear drum starts pushing them out. I can tell that the tube is on its way out before the ENT can tell. Once it starts to hurt, it lasts about a month or 2 more.

[freeindeed]

Have her tubes been checked?

 

Mine only last 12-18 months and it's painful when the ear drum starts pushing them out. I can tell that the tube is on its way out before the ENT can tell. Once it starts to hurt, it lasts about a month or 2 more.

 

I will definitely mention that to the pediatrician tomorrow. She has an appointment in the morning. Thank you.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

If the ped says they look fine, ask him/her to doube check and see if they've shifted AT ALL! They may not be coming out, but a shift hurts. Oh, and look for wax around the tube, between tube and ear drum.

[Whereneverever]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I hope you get some answers to help your little one.

[cin]

OK. I have a child from Vietnam, adopted at 12 mos, who was abused physically and emotionally. She does that too.

 

First thing we did was remove red 40 and yellow from her diet. It calmed her rages down so that she's not as prone to do it.

 

Second thing, omega oils. they helped balance her moods out a bit more.

 

Third thing. Counseling with an adoption specialist. DD has anxiety and depression. So we are working on those. She literally feels unworthy. It might classify as MILD RAD. She is also diagnosed with PDD-NOS.

 

Fourth thing. Prozac. I don't want to start a debate, but for us, it was the best thing we've ever done.

 

Now, a little insight. I think what you are seeing is perfectly normal for a child who was adopted from a not-so-great situation. The reason I say that is *I* was in 7 foster homes before I was permanently placed at 18 mos. And I'm the same way. I've been on anti depres/anxiety since prozac came out, pretty much. I've tried to go off of them when times are really good, but I still have the dep/anxiety.

 

Feel free to PM me. I'm typing with 2 kids in the room, and I don't want them to suspect/read anything, so that's why this is bare bones. Or email me: cin131 at cinci dot rr dot com.

[freeindeed]

OK. I have a child from Vietnam, adopted at 12 mos, who was abused physically and emotionally. She does that too.

 

First thing we did was remove red 40 and yellow from her diet. It calmed her rages down so that she's not as prone to do it.

 

Second thing, omega oils. they helped balance her moods out a bit more.

 

Third thing. Counseling with an adoption specialist. DD has anxiety and depression. So we are working on those. She literally feels unworthy. It might classify as MILD RAD. She is also diagnosed with PDD-NOS.

 

Fourth thing. Prozac. I don't want to start a debate, but for us, it was the best thing we've ever done.

 

Now, a little insight. I think what you are seeing is perfectly normal for a child who was adopted from a not-so-great situation. The reason I say that is *I* was in 7 foster homes before I was permanently placed at 18 mos. And I'm the same way. I've been on anti depres/anxiety since prozac came out, pretty much. I've tried to go off of them when times are really good, but I still have the dep/anxiety.

 

Feel free to PM me. I'm typing with 2 kids in the room, and I don't want them to suspect/read anything, so that's why this is bare bones. Or email me: cin131 at cinci dot rr dot com.

 

PMing you very soon. Thank you.

[cin]

In a second reading (and the kids went outside for a few). I see that you are from a small town. Do you have a good Children's Hospital near by. We are blessed in that we live in Cincinnati, and it is one of the best in the country.

 

have you read about troubled adopted kids? While it's not common behavior for them, to bang, it is not UNcommon either. Read a bit about RAD, (but don't scare yourself; they aren't ALL bad kids, there are MILD cases). Could she be punishing herself for being sick? Do you have someone in your area who specialized in adoption problems? Could you talk to your adoption agency to get some referrals?

 

All this is, of course, assuming that it is NOT a reaction to the pain. Hopefully that is all that it is. I'm praying that's all that it is!

 

All that said, I want to also say that despite the problems with my daughter, she is a GREAT kid. She only acts out at home; everyone thinks she's a FABULOUS kid, and if they are told about her SN, they are shocked.

 

In addition, our dd had some what we thought were devel. delays, but she is fine now. We just had to pinpoint what the problems were. She didn't talk until she was well past 3 yr old. And she walked at 18 mos. Unfortunately, our pediatrician put all this to the 'adoption' (which, in the end, it WAS due to that) and didn't really take my worries seriously. After all, I was a 1st time mom. Add to that that I had a hard time articulating the problems.

 

One other thought. With all the tonsil/adenoid problems, is her hearing ok? If she's not hearing well, then she's not learning to speak well, and that too, could be VERY frustrating.

 

:grouphug:

[T'smom]

When my daughter is deeply distressed, she self-injures. It can become so bad that if she's restrained at all (usually I am holding her arms), she'll suck her cheeks in so she can bite them or will bite her lips.

 

Usually we see this when she is in pain.

 

I'll be honest (and hope I'm not flamed, but we have had bad times with her and we love her so much). When we cannot stop the self-injury, we have medication that we use to calm her down and sometimes completely put her to sleep. We don't need it often, but when we need it, we need it.

 

I'm glad you're looking for patterns. I'm not sure if you've looked into migraines, but for a while, we suspected my daughter would have them during times of stress (usually in the spring for a few weeks). Considering the vision problems, maybe it's headaches?

 

:grouphug: I'm so sorry that people would give you a reason to think you would be flamed for that. I'm so glad that your daughter is in your hands where she is obviously being well cared for. (My kids haven't needed medications for anything yet- but as a young adult, meds saved my life.)

[AmyontheFarm]

That is what I think. She does communicate with us about some things, but she hasn't yet reached a developmental level to say, "My throat/ears hurt." I just worry that there is something else going on. She has had a CT scan of her brain and an MRI, both of which turned out normal.

 

I was going to ask about a CT scan and MRI, glad to see those are done. My nephew is autistic and he developed what we thought was a stym (sp?) he would flap his hands close to his ears, for hours at a time. Very frustrating, you could sort of redirect but as soon as possible he'd start up again. One day my sister asked him why he did that and he told her his ears were hot :001_huh:. She took him to the dr. Sure enough he had an ear infection and apparently has had many of them and no one caught it because there is no fever, no change in appetite, nothing that you would be looking for in a kid starting an ear infection.

 

So, now when he starts, she immediately takes him into the pediatrician and they start looking for an ear infection.

[freeindeed]

I took dd4 to the doctor today. She has another throat infection. That is frustrating b/c she's had her tonsils removed, which we thought would take care of this problem. But at the same time I am also relieved to know that it is pain related. Now, here's another question I have for you all: how do I get her to stop putting her hands in her mouth? She does this constantly, which of course causes her to pick up germs that make her sick. Thanks!