Is there any solution to this autism problem?

Question

My fiance's sister in-law has a 21 yo autistic son. He lives at home with them and attends a day program (when his behaviour is OK). The problem is quite an embarrasing one for them. It seems that their son has quite a few issues with going to the bathroom. He seems to have a certain facination with feces, sometimes playing with them as if he was a toddler or something...which obviously is not socially acceptable.

Is this unusual? Could there be something lacking in his diet causing this, or is it a symptom of stress or sexual inactivity?
If this continues they will consider placing him in a group home.

Any ideas for this? They are really at wits end and obviously this isn't a common problem (I think?)

Answer 1

This problem is more common than you may think. Autism comes in many forms. I worked with autistic kids in a day program center for 4 years. Some of the kids although diagnosed with autism had a mild form, rocking, did not like to be held or touched, obsession with an object i.e. holding it in their hands all day, banging it off their teeth, flipping it over and over. Some kids would pick up any small thing they could find and put it in their mouth (pica) some would lash out and scream all day, some had to have chair restraints to avoid injury to themselves or others. Even had one that every day during lunch would crawl around on the floor and try to eat food droppings like a dog. Autism is very difficult for the parents or caregivers as well as for the autistic children themselves if their forms are mild, it is as if they know something is wrong, but can not communicate and they become frustrated to the point of violence. There is nothing lacking in you future sister in laws sons diet, this is a neurological disorder for which there is no cure, only meds to calm the person down. Again , it is sad and frustrating as these kids often can not be reached. I hate to scare you, but I would suggest genetic testing should you plan to have children.