sensory therapy for head banging?

Question

I am interested in learning about people's experience with using sensory therapy as a way to stop or at least reduce head banging for autistic children. If you have an autistic child who bangs his/her head, and you have tried sensory therapy to deal with the issue, can you please share your experience? Please tell whether it helped if at all, how MUCH it helped, and how long it took. Also, how much sensory therapy did your child get? Was it every day? Did you have to do sensory activities at home in addition to what the child got with the therapist? Thank you.

I am not talking about vision therapy or Auditory Intergration Therapy. I mean the kind of sensory therapy one would get from an Occupational Therapist. I'm not exactly sure what kind of sensory therapy they do, but i think they use things like therapy balls, exposure to different sensations, and so forth.

thanks everyone for the helpful answers so far. I thought i would add more details. He bangs his head for every which reason. Sometimes for attention, sometimes when he's stressed, and stress can be something as simple as boredom, and or sensory reasons. He's very verbal and he describes it as 'feeling itchy and hot.' I'm not sure what he means by that, but that is the best way he can explain it. banging his head makes this feeling better.

Answer 1

The first thing I would do is determine for sure if this is a sensory issue (e.g. if the headbanging increases when the child is denied something he wants, or wants to escape from a situation or work task, the headbanging will more likely respond to behaviour strategies than sensory therapy). If this is a sensory issue, I have found that techniques such as deep pressure can be effective in meeting the child's sensory needs and decreasing self-injury. While a therapist can be useful in determining the child's individual needs and reccomending strategies, you will need to implement the strategies throughout the day in order for them to be effective. Since the child is constantly experiencing the sensory problems, the solution cannot be compartmentalized into a block of time a few days a week. Have you tried some simple strategies such as putting on a tight-fitting winter hat for short (10-15 min.) periods of time? This may provide the neccessary proprioceptive feedback and over time the child can learn to ask for this through speech or picture symbol when they recognize they need sensory sitmulation. As for how long it takes and how much it helps, you may need to search for a while to find a sensory strategy that works for the individual child, but when you find something that works you may see effects almost instantly...but having said that, some strategies may work wonders for a while and then lose their effect, leaving you to tweak the approach or find a new strategy. Overall, the strategies a therapist is reccomending should start to show positive results or you should try other strategies (or perhaps other therapists). Unlike other kinds of training which may take longer to produce results, if sensory strategies are working, you'll KNOW.


After reading your additional information I thought I'd add...
If you can distinguish what is causing the behaviour, I'd try using different strategies accordingly (i.e. if he's headbanging because he's bored you can redirect him to another activity, for attention use behaviour strategies, and for sensory use sensory strategies). For sensory stimulation I'd definitely try the tight fitting hat I mentioned above, It's really worked for many of my students. Or, if it is an "itchy and hot" feeling, you could try something like one of those migrane-headband-icepack things that you cool in the freezer. A weighted item to hold on or against his head may help if it is proprioceptive feedback he is seeking. One of my favourites are the Yuk-E-Medicine Balls, which are heavy squishy balls containing several smaller balls inside. They come in different weights and are great for a variety of uses. Some of my kids liked sitting on the big ones, and some with headbanging issues liked pressing their heads against the smaller ones and feeling the little balls move inside, or putting them on their heads because the weight and pressure calmed them. If you're interested you can get them here https://www.schoolspecialtyonline.net/ECommerce?pagePrefix=ec-&action=search-results-action&searchType=Pagination&page=0&destinationJsp=main-search-results-page&queryState=c0%3Ds%253A9%253BStore%2BID%253B%253Aeq%253B8%26c1%3De%253A9%252F%252FCatalog%2BID%252F%252F%253Ain%252F%252F40002042%252C40002082%252C40002091%252C40002092%26c2%3Di%253A1%253B256%253BDescription%252CName%252CManfacturer%2BPart%2BNumber%252CStore%2BCategory%252CStore%2BCategory%2BTaxonomy%252CVendor%2BName%252CWeb%2BHeading%252CWeb%2BSub%2BHeading%2B1%252CWeb%2BSub%2BHeading%2B2%252CBrand%253BYuk%252CE%252CMedicine%252CBall%253B%253Ayuk%252C%253Ae%252C%253Amedicin%252C%253Aball%253B1%252C1%252C2%252C1%252C3%252C1%252C4%252C1%253B%252B0%2B%252B1%2B%252B2%2B%252B3%26as%3D1%26t%3D0%26s1%3Diphrase%2Brelevance%252F%252F0%26i%3DCatalog%2BProduct%2BID%26s%3DNone%26s0%3Diphrase%2Brelevance%252F%252F0%26q%3D5%26p%3D1&imageFlag=true or ask an OT for something similar. Just try a variety of things, even if they seem bizzare, and see what works. Only, remember, most strategies involving pressure or weight must be used in an on again/off again pattern (i.e. 15 min. on, 15 min. off) because otherwise the child's system will become accustomed to the weight/pressure and it will no longer be effective. Since your son is verbal, he'll be able to tell you if a particular strategy is working or if you're on the right track, which is a big plus. And he can also use his verbal ability to begin to ask for sensory input when he learns to recognize the early signs of becoming agitated, before it escalates to headbanging. Good luck!

Answer 2

i am only suggesting some things. doesn't neccessarily mean it'll work with your child. You may have to try some of the suggestions on this site and it may work for a while and you'll have to try something new.

My experience has been using sensory therapy, it to try and giving input through a variety of senses. Taste, touch, visual, and smell.

I have worked with individual with Autism in a group home setting and school setting for 15 + years.

Here's some ideas that we've used:

A bin of bird seed, beans, or polished rocks. the individual likes to rake their hands through it. It seemed to calm them down. (the rocks also have a temprature feel to them, cool feeling at the begining, and get warmer the more the play with them)

Pressure vest, swing or mat. one individual banged his head terribly. We tried giving him pressure through out the day (schedule and consistancy is the key). This brought his behaviors down drastically. He was also taught that if at any time he felt he needed that pressure to ask and he would get it immediately. You can also hug the individual and give a squeeze.

The other sensory therapy have already been listed by other so I won't repeat them. :)

The important thing to remeber with this type of therapy. It needs to be done a regular basis and not only when they tantrum. whether it's two/three times a day or once every hour. Research has shown that if this is done on with a consistant routine the individual will do much better.

Just continue to try new forms of sensory input, as the individuals preferences will change.

hope this helped

Answer 3

Children Head Banging

Answer 4

Great question. My brother has severe Autism and is now 13 years of age. We have been trying to work against the head banging ourselves. While he has seen therapists and continues to do so on occasion, we have found that it takes time to find what works. I'm not sure if our methods are the typical sensory therapy ones, but they have been effective.

One method we use, is to slowly teach him to come to us when he's upset, and ask for "squeeze" which is just that. We give him a big hug with a slight squeeze. It seems to calm him down quite a bit. Sometimes he wants us to interlock fingers with him and squeeze. Although he has also replaced head banging with screeching at the top of his lungs, and we are still working on that one. Another thing that somewhat helped with head banging, was to give him a tiny pinch on the arm or hand. Not enough to inflict any pain, just to catch his attention and take the focus away from what was upsetting him.

We have been working on his behavioral issues from day one, and I'm happy to say that he has definitely come a long way. School, family, and medication have really helped him. The next big issue we have to tackle, is puberty. And that one is proving to be tough!

Anyhow, different methods will work for different families. Not all parents are on the same page with techniques. So please be sure to keep trying until you find what works for you.

Answer 5

Any child on the autism spectrum, should have a sensory diet profile done by an occupational therapist. This should include at home activities to do with the child, as well as school activities.

Usually head banging (make sure the child does not have an ear infection, vision problems or is teething), means the child is seeking proprieceptive input (deep pressure). Firmly squeezing arms and feet often help this. You did not state the age of the child, but head massaging helps as well. Having your child push their head into a pillow or bean bag also is helpful.

Best wishes!

Answer 6

I've had some children in my class who will bang their heads for proprioceptive input. For those children, we have used a tight baseball cap or swim cap to give them the input they crave. Then I've had kids who will bang their heads in frustration or anger. We use social stories and behavior modeling for those kids. It also depends on the child's level of understanding. My friend's son demonstrated many self injurious behaviors and nothing seemed to help him. She had to pad everything (tables, corners of countertops, etc. He had to wear a helmet and protective gear. He was rather an extreme case, but most of the kids I've used sensory / OT therapy with have changed their behavior. The amount of time it takes varies per child, and depends on their cognitive ability and sensory issues. We would work on it daily, and I always get the parents on board so everyone is on the same page. Best wishes.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Our O.T used smells as the child was also Deaf. She had containers of calming and alerting smells- alternating them. The girl had definite preferences and we used that for teaching choice making using pictures of the flavors. all were available at the spice section of the grocery- liquid flavors on a cotton ball in a small container found in the craft.
Lemon "alerting" Cinnamon relaxing.

Also used brushing/compression for sensory integration see below:
http://autism.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/f/sitherapydoes.htm

As always consistency and variety of thearapy worked. Try to determine cause: sensory, frustration, attention, communication

Answer 9

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Answer 10

What kind of sensory therapy are you talking about? Visual or auditory?