Aggression and restraining

I am a parent to 6 four have autism.I also have autismIt seems he knows that if he is aggresive he is left alone,it has gone beyond a behaviour .Restraints are uselss and will only serve to make him worse.he has sensory issues too which in itself will cause challanging behaviour,I suffer greatly with thesedivertion is often better and ignoring the behaviour(not the child) also hlps act has if the behaviour isnt happening,My youngest is also big and strong.we use lots of visuals .sometimes its best to dtart at the begining.Do you have a behaviour plan,you also do not say what diagnosis your child has.is he on any medicationhttp://autismandaspergersinthefamily.freeforums.org/behaviours-f11.html

Hi NickI am a support worker for challenging behaviours and am trained by Team Teach. Though I do not know if the training is accessable for parents. Querying may help you. Team Teach is used all over the UK in successfully managing and supporting challenging behaviours.As far as restraint, you get training in how to verbally de-escalate a situation and if necessary, how to restrain with minimal harm and force. It is great at giving you an understanding.http://www.team-teach.co.uk

A word of caution, if the person is willfully being i.e. on purpose being aggressive and understands why s/he is restrained during or after the outburst restraint may be appropriate.Remembering people with autism depending on degree do not like touch, people in their proximity, being shouted at corralled, and unpredictability.Things to consider, would restraint be meaningful to the person, would it exacerbate the problem, would it take into consideration the above, would it become part of a routine, do they learn by observation and or by what is done to them (can lead to them using the same procedure being used on you). Does the person suffer with epilepsy or other medical problem, depression, IBS, want or need something and unable to communicate, too much noise, movement and unpredictability around them, frustrated, pre bowl movement, is there a pattern pre outburst.If the person is of the type above, then restraint should not be used Seclusion should be the first option with observation until the person has calmed down.Minimal restraint may be required whilst escorting the person a seclusion area.Restraint should only be used when seclusion is not an option and not as a first option.

Hi NickI’m surprised there have not been more responses because this is quite a commonProblem. The anxiety, which in our kids, can be equated to extreme fear causes theNatural human response of ‘fight or flight’. Your son is trying to avoid the situations that cause anxiety/fear by staying in his room. his ‘safe’ zone. It is ‘safe’ because it is known. The ‘unknown’ causes the anxiety/fear.This is where schedules, predictability and routines serve their purpose they remove or we hope they help to remove some of the ‘unknown’. What’s happening next is hopefully resolved by seeing the picture or the object or hearing the words that describe as best it can what is happening next. All well and good. But first we need to find a way to entice your son out of his room or rather make him feel less anxious to venture out. This is where medication does play its role. You mention rectal diazepam ( quite intrusive delivery) firstly does it work? Is this used as and when needed, or daily dose? I suspect probably on a ‘when needed’ basis like when he’s having a ‘meltdown’, being aggressive. Probably suggested by professionals because they don’t like the idea of using drugs, especially with a six year old. I know it’s not the ideal using drugs but in some cases it’s often the only real option you have in order to address the anxiety quickly. Stress anxiety reducing drugs really need to be looked at more thoroughly by the medical profession as something that may well have to be used throughout the lifetime of a person with Autism. . Autism is a ‘stress filled’ entity I believe and sadly often remains throughout their lifetime. Other ways to help calm reduce anxiety can be ‘tried’ alone, but it’s not uncommon to do some or all of these in tandem with medication. Other ways like:Aromatherapy…lavender oil is good easily obtained, reasonably cheap to use. Less is best though. A drop or two on his clothes or bedclothes, if this can’t be tolerated place on cotton wool ball and put on radiator. These are the safer options leaving the room ‘burner’ or bowl of water usage only if it can be done safely. You can add other oils such as Bergamot and or Geranium. Caution against use in bath as our kids are often very susceptible to irritation of the skin. And massage which is ‘extremely’ helpful can only be introduced gradually our kids usually do not like ‘touch’. Starting at the feet is something to work towards. Test skin area for any reaction first.Rescue remedy: a homeopathic medicine to calm and relax. Easy to use a couple of drops on the tongue or rubbed into the wrist. It is harmless. Does it work? Well my son liked it, kept coming back for more, but then it is made up in Brandy! Seriously,It’s worth keeping an ‘open mind’.It certainly did not cause any adverse reactions in our son, but wasn’t used alone.Deep Breathing: Trying to teach your son to breathe deeply. You need to show this and hopefully he will eventually copy you. Show him by putting your hand on the tummy that it goes ‘in and out’. Exaggerated movements are needed here. He may not do it properly but it is introducing an activity that can be worked on and is ‘proven’ to help relax. I didn’t say for how long! (lol)Music: the relaxing kind ‘new age’ type of music. This helped our son. Later we moved to Mozart when he developed seizures because apparently a certain piece helped with this. Can’t say it worked with the seizures but relaxing it did. The only difficulty here is the mode of delivery. We worked on getting our son used to headphones and he had a little mobile set, a walkman type setup. Now we have progressed to wireless…but these headphones are much larger, so he can move around easier without having to ‘hold’ the little bag with the small unit in. we do still use the small one when we go out. You can still get the Mozart Effect book.Exercise/ Dance. We were fortunate our son loved to walk preferably at night he didn’t like daylight/sunlight. Simple exercises, stretching, bending you can try but we didn’t have much success here. Dancing of a fashion pacing backwards and forwards or across the room and back on good days worked ok to music. This time the music is pop or rock. Swimming. But unless you can afford your own pool, going to the public pool has it’s hazards. You can enquire as to special quieter times. Most children with autism love water. We used a swimming buoyancy aid called The Little Otter.( they are named Konfidence suits now) Fantastic! All in one suit with floats that you can remove as they gradually get more confident in water. These are a few tried and tested ideas. No guarantees though as our kids are unique. What works for one will not always work for another. But you will find things that work for your son. It may take time to find them but persevere as best you can.I do need to mention sensory issues. These are far and wide and again unique to individuals but ‘ALL’ kids with autism have them to greater or lesser degree. HyperSensitive or hyposensitive to touch, sound, visual, smell and not just external stimuliRemember the internal can be just as interesting, painful, overwhelming or plain annoying.Imagine you cannot switch off the sound of your digestive system, or the sensations this brings. Or the constant sound/feel of your blood flow system. We often forget these areas that impact just as dramatically as the outside environment. It’s a tough world ‘autism’ and I do now think that our kids grow into their autism.They gradually over the ‘years’ get used to their unique way of experiencing the world and begin to recognise and accept what helps ‘them’.A great book on sensory issues is by Gail Gillingham “ Autism-Handle With Care”In my opinion still ‘the’ best on this subject. Our own drug use by the way was more on the ‘knock you out’ side. Sleeping draughts, which had little effect only to exhaust him more through fighting the effects. ( this is worth remembering , our kids have unique takes on medication, what can knock an elephant out often has little or no effect on our kids. The reverse also applies, some drugs need to be smaller than normal dosage. It’s all trial and error)Our son was like a dynamo constantly on the go of course with hindsight we can see it too was ‘anxiety’ our son was ‘fleeing’. 23 years ago we didn’t understand it as much as we do today. Sorry this is long Pam

I read this topic and know about this. It is very important to have a good doctor that will help you with these difficulties, as it is so hard to do it alone! We have a great pediatrician, who is always available for our concerns, where as we see a psychiatrist that doesn't have the same qualities or time but has been able to get 2 of our children into a hospital setting to be monitored for behavior and medication issues as well as written letters for us to receive more funding in their schools. Both of which have helped us greatly in the school setting.So many many thanks for this post. I know lot of things about this post. Its so popular. I like this.

Hi , are daughter is now 32,brain damaged and autistic , it must be very frightening and the future can look very bleak in the early stages , there is only one real problem you have to deal with _communication_ it,s the key to everything , this may sound a little strange , but your child dosn,t understand the world you live in and vice versa and major wobblys ensue .We have created over the years a world we can all understand and live in ,talking teddybears , talking dogs ,money , sausages , key words that help your child understand that you are upset _ we use the classic _you,ve broken my heart _ and then walk away . Victoria has an alta ego which she can blame on any behavior she is not sure about , christmas ted who asks for things she wants , and harry the dog who is her enforcer , Good luck

We have asked local services to help with any techniques that we could use to defend ourselves and try and keep my other children safe but they are reluctant to help – probably afreaid of being sued. Surely special needs teachers, paramedics, police must know of techniques we can use to restrain my boy safely without harming him.

We have asked local services to help with any techniques that we could use to defend ourselves and try and keep my other children safe but they are reluctant to help - probably afreaid of being sued. Surely special needs teachers, paramedics, police must know of techniques we can use to restrain my boy safely without harming him.

See:Physical Restraint v Seclusion on this forum<https://autismuk.com/autism-forum/forum/physical-restraint-v-seclusion/>

Hi everyone.My name is Max and I run a training company called Aggession Management Ltd that specialises in training Nurses, HCA's, Teachers and teaching assistants in the use in all forms of Physical restraint and Self Defense techniques.The reason I'm posting on hear and it seems to be evident from your posts and referrals is that no one wants to provide training for parents, families and their careers which I feel is totally unexceptable.We are now branching out into this and are providing training for charities and families who unfortunately need this.If this is something that you wish to discuss then please feel free to contact me or have a look at my website to see what exactly how we can help.My email is Max@aggression-management.co.uk or http://www.aggression-management.co.uk.Or if you prefers to contact me personally my work mobile is 07775636769.Thank you for taking the time to read this post.Kind regardsMax

Your son is trying to avoid the situations that cause anxiety/fear by staying in his room. his ‘safe’ zone. It is ‘safe’ because it is known. The ‘unknown’ causes the anxiety/fear.This is where schedules, predictability and routines serve their purpose they remove or we hope they help to remove some of the ‘unknown’.