My three year old has some weird obsessions. One of the big ones right now is that all doors have to be closed. This is not limited to the doors in our house. He has to close the doors to his school bus, automatic doors freak him out and even the dishwasher is not safe. I normaly don't mind, but today when I was trying to get the laundry out of the dryer, he slammed it shut on my upper body. I now have bruises on my shoulders. How do I discourage him from doing this all the time? I have a 5 month old and I don't want him hurting her
2007-03-09 17:46:31 · 7 answers · asked by lilly j 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
My son is speech delayed, this is why he rides a bus, he goes to speech therapy. One therapist said something about autisim, but she said it would be hard to detect because the symptoms on him could be other things
2007-03-09 18:02:02 · update #1
He does not have hearing problems. A hearing test was the first thing we did when we found out he was speech delayed. He passed perfectly.
2007-03-09 18:50:04 · update #2
Little kids develop obssessions that come and go as part of their natural aging. This sounds like it could be a phase but is also very indicative of autism. There is little you can do to stop the open doors from bothering him, but teach him to shut them very slowly and to check for people and things in the way. If you son has some signs of autism, it is best that you keep a close eye on the baby when they are together. Children with autism have a lot of trouble seeing others as people and sometimes hurt them without meaning to, this is especially true of younger siblings. I worked with autistic children for years, I even wrote programs for them, we always had trouble when they had little siblings because the little ones don't get it and get in the way or do something that annoys their older sibling and don't know it. Your baby is starting to move and will soon be into things so you will have to be extra vigilant. Best wishes, and talk with the doctor about a screening.
http://www.autismspeaks.org
2007-03-09 18:43:52 · answer #1 · answered by Huggles-the-wise 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many 3 year olds - go through phases. Try explaining to him how you got hurt. He may get the idea. If not, try getting pinch guards from a Babies R Us or another store.
These will prevent him from shutting the door - he might just get tired and give up. All the best.
My almost five year old went through something similar - obsessive organization and delayed speech. Even when he did speak, he spoke only at home and never in school.
We thought that he may have Selective Muting syndrome but sending him to a new school where the teachers were very encouraging (and one of them speaks our language too - as he is bilingual) worked wonders.
You may want to check out www.selectivemutism.org especially if you are bilingual.
All the best.
2007-03-10 01:56:04 · answer #2 · answered by PM 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Make sure it is not a controll issue, instead of OCD. He may just want to be the one closing the doors.
Try to see if you can get him to let you close the door. Brib him with something, to see if that works. If it does then he may not have OCD.
If that does not work then he may need to see a doctor. I do believe that even a 3 year old can have OCD.
Good Luck.
2007-03-10 01:57:18 · answer #3 · answered by LadyCatherine 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please take him to his pediatrician and does this behavior with him- or call and they may just refer you to a specialist for evaluation- it does sound like he is exhibiting OCD and he will need to be tested---and I agree about your 5 month old- keep your 3 year old away from him at all times until you can get this settled-- call your doctor ASAP......good luck to you....and this could be just a temperment thing because of the new baby and he needs to be evaluated by trained counselors in this field.
Good luck to you and your family.
2007-03-10 01:54:44 · answer #4 · answered by mac 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
he HAS to close the doors?
what happens if he cannot close a door?
dose he really get upset and throw a tantrum?
see your doctor and ask him/her about autism or possible OCD
he is still young so it could just be a 3 year old thing but best to get checked
2007-03-10 07:41:27 · answer #5 · answered by Greeneyed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OCD is difficult to deal with. You cant necessarially change the behavior over night. Have you tried to take to him about why he does it? Maybe he thinks that monsters will come in. Also you should pick up some literature on it. I have a child in my class who is OCD and he gets very upset now if you try to correct his behavior...
2007-03-10 01:55:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
DEAR
PLEASE RETAKE HIM TO THE DOCTOR THEY MIGHT HAVE TO PUT TUBES IN HIS EARS FOR HIM TO HEAR OK PLEASE HAVE A HEARING TEST DONE TOO ON HIM TO SEE WHAT THE REAL PICTURE SHOWS OK
TAKE CARE
2007-03-10 02:24:36 · answer #7 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋