Self Harming kids

For starters I would like to say "Welcome to myLot"! What you have described sounds like an autistic child which the 2 yr. old could just be learning those things but not actually be autistic. I am not a Dr. so I could be wrong. I would suggest seeing another Dr. or therapist for a 2nd opinion. If you have to get a 3rd also. When the child is behaving in that manner you might try restraining him and talking him down from being so hurtful to himself. The restraint which I am sure you know, but in case not I will describe it. You sit on the floor with child between your legs, wrap your arms around them holding one hand in each of your hands. Your legs go over there legs which prevent them from kicking. When in this hold, try rocking him as you hum, sing lullablies or kids songs, or talk softly about something that is pleasant. That's an idea for you. Do you know why the boys were put into foster care?

They have helmets and gloves that you can purchase to prevent the child from causing harm. ALso the caseworker should have given you a background history on these children with their age being so young, there seems to be some serious issues at hand. Medical treatment and medications will be needed for these children, however the proper medications. It seems like the DR you have seen does not want to be bothered with these children so I suggest you seek out another, being a foster parent the dept should pay for the medical expenses for these children and if not media attention always helps to get a point across, call your local TV and ask them to do a story about this, they will come and interview you and your foster children. You do not want to be blamed in any way of harming these children so make sure to document every incident or video tape it to protect you and your husband from false accusations.

what a terrible thing for your family and these children to have to be dealing with. planned ignoring would probably work in situations where actual bodily harm isn't happening but it's sounding like it's escalated until the children are actually physically endangering themselves. i also suggest the helmets and gloves someone else mentioned. and of course these children need alot of psychological assistance. you can learn physical holds to prevent the child from SIB (self injurious behaviors) i suggest you contact mental health agencies for assistance with dealing with these children so you can hopefully start them on the right track for adaptive behavior. you may need to separate the children so the younger stops copying the older during periods when one or the other is upset. good luck and keep us updated.

Let me just say bless you for taking in foster kids. Your a wonderful person. I would say just spending time with them talking to them asking them why they are doing it maybe getting them to talk about it. I dont know how long you will have them but maybe if you could get them around some animals so they have something they can love on. Also I may get reamed for saying this but it may help if you take them to church. One where it is all about the kids. And lastly I would tell them it hurts me when your hurt yourself because I care about you. Best of luck to you and i said a prayer for you and the boys.

I read up on autism awhile back because I suspected my son to be autistic and I don't recall self harming being one of the symptoms of it but I do know that there is other members who have an autistic child on mylot you may want to seek them out through the search. That being said you haven't said how long you have had these children but I am going to assume that it has been a little while anyway so you can pretty much rule out that it was the change of environment. I am also sure they know that they are safe with you now. I would take them to another doctor for a second opinion even a third one if necessary. I would also see if there is a trigger for these behavioral problems so that you can "defuse" it quickly and maybe prevent them. You have your work cut out for you. I would also like to welcome you to mylot and say that you are a special person for taking in these children.

I know what you are going through, I have a nine year old son who is self harming himself also. It is really frustrating to cope with! Although we haven't seen a psychiatrist because there isn't one here on the island we reside, we are in therapy. The therapist sugested that I create a bi-weekly calander complete with happy face and sad face stickers. She sugested that I use that calander as a form of discipline towards the self harm behavior. I would ask my son to name one thing that he wanted me to buy for him on payday and use that as an incentive when he doesn't self harm. For each day that he does'nt harm himself I would give a smiley sticker & for the days that he does harm himself he would recieve a sad face. If he continues to self harm that day I would take away the previous smiley that he has recieved. Overall he has to recieve at least 8 out of ten smiley faces to get the prize of his choice! It has worked a little...since I have started the calander he has only self harmed twice out of a week, which is better than the usual 5 times a week... I wish I could help you more, but unfortunatly thats allI have to offer. I will pray for your family, in the hopes that you recieve what it is that you seek:) Lastly, I would like to say (WELCOME TO MYLOT) and I hope that though time, you will learn to enjoy it as much as I do;)

Hi and welcome to MyLot ! That is horrible and makes you wonder what these children have been through if this is there way of coping with things . I have never heard of a child this young doing anything like this before and can understand why you are concerned . Have you tried maybe trying to get the attention off what they are doing by showing them something that might intrests them or find something that they can take their anger or frustration out on by give them something to hit when they are upset so that they are not taking it out on themselves . I wish I could offer more but have never run into this before . Best of luck and take care !!

Along with seeking a second opinion & support from a therapist, I would try to see what's happening right before these outbursts. See if you can't avoid the stimuli that leads to it. If there isn't any reason not to, I might try getting them involved with a kids yoga program or other gentle exercise program. Something to help them stay calm but also release some energy in a positive way. Swimming might also be a good idea, or being around animals. Perhaps playing calming music through the day & in the car would help too.

Does this activity randomly recurr or is it possibly the result of something? I can't imagine having to deal with something like that. The children are probably to young to really talk to them about it. Good luck with it though.

sorry, i am not a psychiatrist, can't really help you with that, it seems you picked the wrong kids