How to stop him from banging his head?

(I know alot on special needs/autism from my brother having asburgers)
Do you know if he has special needs?

A helmet couldn’t hurt for the time being!

@Tay122 there is a very good likelyhood. He has several behavioral symptoms but is still in the early phases of testing.

@Schroedes13 I would love to give him a helmet to protect him but he absolutely will not wear it. He hates wearing anything on his head.

Im hoping perhaps a way to curb the behavior or replace it with something equally pleasing (for lack of better word) to him that is not so dangerous

I can tell you now (from expeirience), he has something. I know a few of my brothers basketball teammates, some still bang their heads at age 16 and older. A physical therapist is best. I went once with my brother. It’s fun even for me. It’s like a mini gym with swings and games.

My great-grand nephew is also on the autism spectrum and I have done mountains of reading and research.

Your son may need behavior modification therapy and other interventions, and the sooner the better.

Thanks @Tay122 and @gailcalled… By any chance have you had any personal experience with this specific behavior? Something that your loved one found effective in place of headbanging that is less dangerous?

Id really like to do anything I can to help him now. I know my son will need help and the sooner the better and while i’m doing everything I can to get him the help its a longer than desired process. I guess there are more kids who need help then there are people to help because we are wait listed for every test and program we’ve been referred to.

If I can do anything personally to help him from putting his head through a window or cracking his scull on a tile floor I want to start today. I’ve searched online on the subject but everything I read says just let them do it because its a self soothing technique.

I would get him into his pediatrician right away. I think you will have to be hyper vigilant with him and I would get him a little padded hat. I’ve seen they make stocking cap type winter hats for little ones with the ear flaps and string to tie under the chin. A helmet is the only other option. I’m sure you already know what could happen if he hit his head too hard on a pain of glass or a glass top coffee table.
There is another concern beyond the immediate danger to him from hurting himself and property. I recall reading an article about children who play soccer. They used to have the children hitting the soccer ball with their heads. They aren’t allowed to use their hands in the game so the coaches would teach them how to hit the soccer ball with their head. The only problem was that when researchers studied the brains of people who were boxers or soccer players, they discovered minute brain damage. The longer they had been in the sport, the more damage they had. I think if there is any way for you to minimize the impact with a helmet or padded hat, then that should probably be your first priority. The next step is to get to a pediatrician and have your little guy evaluated. Most children go through a stage of bonking their heads. My son would head butt you if he was angry when he was a baby. My daughter would throw her little body backwards and I’d have to catch her before she hit the ground. They quickly out grew it because…...OUCH! It hurts. A child that is consistently banging his head deliberately may have some sensory input issues or a bad inner ear infection or even show up on the autism spectrum. Good luck with your little guy.

Did someone laugh with him excessively for hitting his head once? Maybe he thinks it’s a game that he can get rewarded for.

If he’s doing this as a self-soothing technique then perhaps there is an alternate way to accomplish that which may help him.

One of the things that has been found useful has been some type of deep pressure. Temple Grandin (a high functioning person with Autism discovered this for herself and even built her own type of contraption for this for herself. She observed the use of pressure chutes used for innoculating cattle. It not only held them in position but actually had an immediate calming effect upon them and they totally ceased struggling and completely relaxed.

They’ve also had success with using weighted blankets or swaddling kids to get the same effect and it works in a lot of cases to calm them and relieve the overwhelming anxiety.

I’m sure you can research more specifics about this and perhaps give it a try. You may find some of Temple Grandin’s books helpful as she has kind of opened up a window of understanding from her own experiences coping with her own Autism.

Hopefully you can find some sort of substitute some type of technique for the headbanging which isn’t as damaging.

@Buttonstc I will certainly look into the deep pressure techniques. That might be a really good substitution for him- he loves massages, thank you!

@geebseye I have not noticed a correlation between the headbanging and him specifically wanting or needing something but I will continue to monitor him to see if I can identify anything

So this obviously can’t be the same case but the following is something I can relate to you with.

Just to be clear: In the following passage, what required doctor’s attention was that my brother was missing all of his milestones regarding speech & I think his head was slightly smaller than normal at birth & the doctor had said he might need special care (Although you cant tell the difference now). The head-banging happens to be one of things he did as a toddler for some time.

My younger brother used to do this when he was a toddler. He was born with “less-intelligence” and is enrolled in special education in school currently. If you meet him, you will find him to be a very normal person ( he is now in his teens)...perhaps shy…plays video games, holds meaningful conversations, is very loving, likes playing sports, responsible but he is not very good at school. He does well in the classes he is taking (Hardest one being adapted Biology)...but is still behind the kids of his age. I was too young to care/understand all the doctor visits we made when he was a baby/toddler but I know at the end it was said there was no diagnosis for his condition. The head banging stopped maybe when he was 4 or 5 I am not sure. Either way it is something that does require consult from doctors & experts and I hope you find something to help your son.

I am not sure which kind of helmet you have tried but if he has a favorite hero (poweranger) that he likes you could try getting/making him a helmet that looks like one so he wear it thinking its cool. Also a headband ( like the one basketball players wear) can be an option or a piece of cloth tied around his head since the are you want to largely protect is the forehead and back.

Good Luck!

My 2 year old throws tantrums like that and he doesn’t have any of the spectrum disorders, he’s just crazed sometimes. I hold him to prevent him from hurting himself.

I suggest taking away any furniture or anything he bangs his head on, or padding things as much as possible. You can buy foam padding at most fabric stores, or quilted moving pads at the U-Haul.

The other ideas about head gear are good ones as well. Perhaps a costume hat