My ASD Child

"When my daughter (high functioning autistic) gets really upset, she pulls her hair (YANKS IT BY THE HANDFULL!). How can we stop this? Why does she do this? Is this something other parents deal with who have a child on the spectrum?" Many children on the autism spectrum don’t know how to adequately verbalize their emotions. As a result, they may “act-out” their uncomfortable feelings by self-injuring. To make matters worse, research has found that self-injury is an addictive behavior. When a youngster self-injures, “feel-good” endorphins flood his bloodstream. In many cases, the rush is so pleasing that he learns to view self-injury as soothing instead of destructive. Self-harm is one of the most devastating behaviors exhibited by children on the autism spectrum. The most common forms of these behaviors include: hand-biting, head-banging, and excessive self-rubbing and scratching.  There are many possible reasons why a child may engage in self-harm, including the fo