A little embarrassing - Autism Spectrum Message Board

bercol1 · 01-05-2006, 06:20 AM

My six year olds autistic son, has become infatuated with his private parts. He wont leave them alone. He seems to enjoy rubbing them all the time. He has a little understanding of speach but not a lot. I have been trying to break the habit over the holidays by redirecting his hands to something else and he now has the message that I don't want him to do it. The minute he thinks I am not looking he is at it again. He does it when he's bored or excited. When excited i have been trying to change it into a cheer or somthing a bit more sociablly acceptable. If he is bored like in the car or at the dinner table I try to give him somthing else to do like a piece of playdoh or magnets as he likes to click them together. Has any one else experienced this and what did you do to break the hablt?

caliente · 01-05-2006, 11:14 AM

i'm going through this with my six year old daughter. her hands are down her pants a lot. i havent found a way to get her to stop doing this, all i can do is try to redirect her.

one thing i have noticed though is that if i dress her in overalls during the day and a sleeper at night, she is less likely to do this. maybe its because she doesnt have easy access. people think i live on a farm because my daughter is dressed in overalls a lot! lol

ThreeBoys · 01-05-2006, 03:38 PM

My 5 yr old typically son does it too! It is a discovery thing, curiosity and the age, I believe....You're not alone!!!

anthonysmom · 01-06-2006, 11:29 AM

i agree with threeboys. i too have 3 boys, my 9 year old has AS, my 6 year old does not have AS and my almost 1 year old does not have AS, all three of them at one time or another are "discovering" themselves. my AS son grew out of it in about 6 months. good luck!

bercol1 · 01-06-2006, 12:45 PM

Thanks everyone. Its funny how knowing other people share the same problems, always make you feel better!