Seeking Some Feedback from Other Moms

My son did this at around the same age and around the same time I got a Baby Center weekly e-mail that I subscribe to that talk about just this topic. They said that kids often do this out of frustration and boredom and that it is NORMAL and they will outgrow it.

I have a 9 month old who scratches herself when she doesn't get her way. I would say it normal but check with your doctor or get a developmental screening just to ease your mind. Some advice I've gotten from others has been to ignore/or don't respond to the behavior and praise her for doing other things.

I wouldn't worry about her being autistic. I have worked with autistic children, and she would be showing other signs for concern. My girls both went through the same behavior when they were young, and they are both healthy kids. Sounds like she is just getting started testing her boundaries. :-) Have fun!

My son would get mad and bang his head on the ground. He would do it on carpet, tile, anything. He never seemed like it hurt. I was concerned, because it didn’t seem right. He was banging his forehead on the ground!?!?! I told my pediatrician, who I love and he didn’t seem to concerned about it. My son is now 4 years old and at 3 we put him in preschool for the first time. I am a stay at home Mom. The preschool was concerned about his aggression and behavior. He’s not a bad kid, but he’s compulsive. They suggested I have him tested, which we did and he’s border line Autistic, OCD and ADD. WOW! I never thought of having a kid that was going to have problems like that. They wont label him yet, which is good. We currently have him in an Elementary school ESE program which started this year. They seem to be positive about being able to redirect him and help out. I don’t tell most people my sons problems because once I mention Autistic people seem to think he’s handicap or something. He looks like a normal child. If I were in your shoes I would take your daughter for tests. The tests are with behavior specialist and speech therapist, all they do is play, observe and interact with your child. The behavior specialist goes through little tests with your child, the test are on paper mostly to test your child’s IQ. There’s no needles or anything. Fiddlers is a state program and they paid for everything for me, which helped because I have a PPO and this is very expensive. The earlier you can catch this the better and this process takes just about a year. If you have any questions please ask, I’ll help you with anything.

My daughter who is now 16 months old has been doing that for several months. I have no concerns of autism, I just know that she has a strong personality and if she doesn't get her way this is her way of showing me how upset she is. I make sure she hasn't hurt herself then I treat it like a trantrum and ignore the behavior. I'm sure you could do some research online regarding other symptoms and you should find that this behavior alone cannot diagnose such a disease.

HTH

Dear M.,

Your daughter is normal!! Mine had many inventive ways to have hissy fits. I think it is tough for a kid in that they cannot express themselves and they get mad. Plus they grow at an astonishing rate. I fed mine baby vitamins and protein shakes at a young age to help with the growth, etc. Mine is now 6 and turning into a composed lovely girl.

D.

yes I have an 11 month old and he's has done that since he was about 9 months old and no I've never heard that before. But to me it seems like everything kids do today could be a sign of autism. So "they" say. My son is always trying to get in the dog food and when I tell him "no" I also move him away from it and set him against a small wall I have and he sits there and bangs his head against it. And that's just one example.

Hi M..

It sounds like a good case of plain old attitude to me :) My sound does this when he doesn't get his way...I don't know how extreme your daughter is when she does it but at this age they are testing us...how far can I stretch it to get my way. It is hard to tell if a child has autism until they are at least 2 years of age. I hope all works out with you two :)

Not sure if this has been mention but "Happiest Toddler on the Block" by Harvey Karp is excellent. It helps to explain and understand behaviors in toddler.

my son - about the same age started to bang his head (the front ) on the floor leaving a bruise on the forehead. he is 13 months now and still does it every now and then. i just put my hand on his forehead and tell him no. now he likes to stomp his feet and scream. best of luck - T.

M......i REALLY dont think your daughter Nevaeh is autistic. My daughter Ariana just turned one 3 weeks ago and let me tell you.....when she was 10 months old, she did the same exact thing! What am i talking about!? She still does it and it has only gotten worse. It is definately because they dont get their way. They are just born with that little attitude. :)
Here are a few examples that my daughter Ariana does: The other day i was trying to take her juice away from her because i thought she was drinking too much and she wasnt having it! She threw herself back and tossed the juice cup to the side. You really gotta be careful and make sure you are there to catch them when they start to do this because they can really hurt themselves. We have tile floors and she actually threw herself back and had a fit and ended up hitting her head on the floor one time. Another example is this morning......she is NOT a morning person. I had to get her ready because i had to take her to daycare and go to work. I woke her up and tried to give her her milk and she just hit it out of my hand and crawled back to her pillow. It was really cute, but i proceeded to pick her up so i could change her and in my arms she was straining and forsing herself backwards. There really isnt much we can do except deal with it! It is very natural for kids to act like this and be ready for it to get worse because Nevaeh is about to become a toddler soon. Just be patient with her and let her know not to do that because she can really hurt herself. I hope this helped! Have a nice day!!!
Sincerly, A.

I agree with the first post. I wouldn't worry if this is the only thing you see that causes you concern. Do be diligent with your on line research though and look to verify if there not other symtoms that you may not be noticing. For the most part though kids this young do really react that way, surprising I know, but they do. However, you are her mother and you should always follow your instincts. My 4 year old son was recently diagnosed with Sensory Inegaration Disorder. He appears to everyone to be a perfectly normal active and happy little boy, but I felt there was something going on. He is very touchy and overly affectionate. Most people said that I was an aweful mother for complaining that my son loved to touch me and strangers too much. He was after all only a toddler. My pedi told me we touched him too much and to stop touching him!!! Then finally someone was bold enough to say, hey he doesn't have any concept of other people's space. (which I knew that already :). You may have to have him checked out, then I came here to mamma's source and three other mom's agreed and advised me to seek out a occupational therapist that could help find out if there was a true issue. Now I have him going to a school that is familiar with this disorder and seeing the OT once a week. It's like a HUGE play session for him and he loves it. I am SOOOO happy I went with my gut and persued the issue. I know see so many other signs that I put off as normal baby/toddler stuff when all along they were small signs nobody would have notice. I have went on alot about this only to point out that YOU are her mother and only YOU can be her advocate. If you feel there is truely a problem after you researched this, then pursue it with everything that you can. I am happy I did (even my husband and grandma didn't agree with me at the time!) now we can help my son adjust to his condition and improve him instead of him struggling through life. The best part is that there is no medication involved! Look up sensory integration disorder (it's called many things) so that you can maybe see future signs of problems. It covers a wide variety of issues that children have which also include ADHD and Spectrum Autism. You could also go to the library and check out some books I am reading that are great. Sensational Kids (really helpful in finding out if your child has a particular disorder, it offers check lists for signs of each indiviual disorder)..I am aslo reading "The Out of Sync Child" I would read the first book I mentioned if I were you and this will help you determine if there is any merit to your concern. GOOD LUCK!!

my son is 10 and has autism. he did not do what you are discribing. on the other hand, my daughter did when she did not get her way quick enough to suit her.

unless you notice a lot of problems with speech, sensory issues (not liking certain feels - sticky, such as), and social problems (not liking to be held, not liking to be around people, hiding her face when you go out in public), I suspect it is a tantrum as you said.