Calming Self-Injurious Behavior with a Simple Touch
The hardest part of treating people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is observing self-injurious behavior. It is especially difficult for the individual’s family and carers to witness self-harming with such aggression when they do not always understand the reason or cause of the trigger.
By Tal BADEHI
Therefore, I take my clients’ needs very seriously, and I work on a one-on-one basis, using personalized techniques to help identify the cause, lessen the distress, and prevent self-injury. Mary (not her real name), is one of my clients. She has an ASD diagnosis complex-needs. Before Mary attended my sessions, she would often display reparative self-injurious behavior, involving hitting herself incessantly around the eyes and temples. The hitting was affecting her vision and could eventually lead to blindness. Mary’s carers had no choice but to make her wear a protective helmet (made from foam-like rubber). It covered most of her head, leaving only a small opening at the front of the face, and causing Mary to sweat a lot.