Pookie has a bit of a habit of running full speed down a hallway and crashing into a wall with both hands raised in front of him. He’s been doing it off and on (mostly on) for a couple years. It normally last about 15 minutes or so. He loves it and there really is no way to tell him to stop it. He’s not really worried about breaking his wrists apparently.
I’ve been reading another book about autism called Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
We’ve always thought that Pookie was a bit hypersensitive because he definitely gets overwhelmed by noise situations that most kids would barely notice. We responded to that by letting him wear the noise reducing headphones when he wants them.
In general we treat Pookie as a kid with a little bit of hypersensitivity to noise and touch. But last night I was reading a section in the book about hyposensitivity (the opposite of hypersensitivity). That’s a fascinating thing. Hyposensitive kids often crave stronger impacts so that they can get enough physical contact. They often are very into things like swinging, spinning, falling, and crashing into stuff.
That’s Pookie in a nut shell.
I’m not sure if he enjoys those things because he’s a 6 year old boy that just likes to do those kinds of fun physical things or if he enjoys them because he really needs more of that kind of impact.
If Pookie were just crashing into the walls, I could (nervously – because of the risk of broken wrists) live with that but recently he’s been crashing into the windows. That’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax.
BAGM and I talked about trying to find a way to set up a Crash Zone in the house. I’m not really sure what that means right now but I want a spot where when he wants and/or needs to crash into stuff we can send him to a safe place where he can have fun with it.
I need to do a little research to see if there are known methods of handling this particular whatever it is but my first thought is to get one of those 2″ thick gym mats and hang them on the basement wall kind of like they do at the ends of basketball courts but those things cost a fair amount of money. If you have any ideas, or if you happen to have an old 2″ thick gym mat hanging around the house waiting for a trip to Good Will, let me know.
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I worked as an aide to a little boy who had autism for part of my course work, and he was REALLY into the strong physical contact. His favorite thing was to be picked up like you would an infant, held really tight, and swung back and forth. If I couldn’t do that (like at circle time, he was 4) I would sit with him between my legs and cross my legs over his and put my arms around him tightly. He really craved that sort of contact.
Maybe you could get a few cheap beanbags, old couch cushions, or an old mattress (craigslist!) for Pookie to crash land onto. It wouldn’t be like running into the wall, but I think it might give him the same sensation.
Who knows though, it may just be a 6 year old thing. I can remember being around that age and doing “belly flops” on my parents’ bed.
we had some one-inch-thick foam mats that fit together and you lay them out on the floor. (Example: http://www.amazon.com/Multi-Purpose-Reversible-Charcoal-Anti-fatigue-Childrens/dp/B000V9IB0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248899626&sr=8-1) If you got two or three sets of these and piled them up it might provide enough padding for him on a wall (although you’re still talking about $100).
Of course, Little E is 6 and he likes to do that stuff too sometimes (as does Little P, who is 4)…so it could just be a little boy thing.
Hi,
This year we discovered the Bounce Zone not sure if you have something like this locally. Its a huge gym open all year has 6 inflatable bounce houses for 1 hour and 6 dollars our kids go great activity especially this past winter as we live in Maine. Great for our 2 typical kids but particularly awesome for our son with autism who likes the input of crashing into couches. Hes 5 yrs old a crash input seeker and the the bounce house gives him the same input he runs crashes into sides or he’ll lay down and the kids jump he loves it , he will belly laugh for an hour we even bought a smaller wonderful little tikes version for home outside te kids love have used it on evey nice day after school this summer inflate deflate in 2 minutes its awesome and safe and fun while providing the input.
He also wears under armor Tshirts the althletes wear the can be found at sporting good stores for like $20 for kids they been awesome too it again provides the smoosh input like wearing a hug our Ot explained for sensory seeking kids and he loves to wear it its very helpful.
Would inflatable mattresses be cheaper and appropriate? Love MOM
They are redoing our gym at school this summer. I wonder if they are getting new pads for the basketball area? I will ask!!!! Maybe it could be your lucky day!…. I will keep you posted.
MOM, I thought about that. I just worry that they might be a little too springy for what he seems to be trying to do. He seems to like that firm collision. He loves bouncing, too, but this just seems a little different.
Aunt Kel, that would be awesome. We’ll hold off on doing anything until we hear from you.
Janine, we do have a place like that around here and all 3 of the kids LOVE it and would move there if we let them. We also have our own bounce house at my father-in-laws house that they play in when we go for visits. Pookie uses them a lot like you describe with your son.
A friend lent us her homemade crash pad for our son. She bought several yards of corduroy fabric and sewed up three sides to make a square. She used velcro on the fourth side so it can be opened as needed. Inside she stuffed old pillows, batting, foam pieces, etc. The crash pad is about 5′x5′x1.5′. You can run and throw yourself into it, jump or roll off the couch or bed onto it (I know, I know), etc. The inside isn’t solid so you land differently each time you crash into it. The spaces created by the loose contents can add to the sensory benefit by hugging him when he lands and the fabric is an added bonus. No broken bones here, yet!
The other plus is, while the crash pad is bulky, I can put it upstairs in the attic when he’s not using it.