Welcome to my "Ask Me Anything" blog post series!
I answer lots of questions on my social media channels, and it makes sense to share this information (anonymously!) in case it is useful for others, too.
"I have a child that hits other kids hard across the back. He’s always done this… he doesn’t mean to hurt (but it does, and as you can imagine, there’s then a domino effect!) he does it when there's a noise mainly… I’ve moved his workstation, trying to give sensory feedback and a social story. What behaviour would you try to replace this with? He also hits his own chest hard…I’m not sure if it's the sound or the whack feeling sensation… I’m a bit stuck as to what we could encourage to replace this behaviour."
It’s anxiety, not a sensory regulation need on its own, so “replacing” is tricky in the moment.
Hitting things like chests and backs is very grounding, it's a fight, flight or fright response to fear.
Things that may help:
- Position him facing the room with his back to the wall so he can predict if and when sound may occur to reduce unpredictable sounds.
- Have ear defenders available for his use within arms reach at all times.
- Have a weighted blanket available if he's particularly anxious.
- Warn him before any new sounds (fire alarm or electric air pump, for example) and give him the option to have a break away from the room
- Ensure he has a non-verbal way of communicating “I need to get out of here”, e.g. “I need a break” and model this when you can see he is being triggered and honour this when he uses it.
I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, let me know.
*I am not a doctor or medical professional, so for some questions, you might want to contact your GP, the National Autistic Society, or the NHS.
KEY SEARCH TERMS: ask me anything autism behaviour calming music classroom dysregulation FAQ overwhelm question repetition SEN sensory sensory learner teaching assistant para paraprofessional special education needs disability disabled teacher PMLD EYFS primary school SENCO occupational therapy therapist speech and language pathologist pathology noise sound sensitivity hitting anxious communication