Monday, June 27, 2011

Kim Oakley: Medical mysteries, autism and chronic self-injurious behavior



One of the blogs I follow,  and list on the side bar of this blog, is Autism, Epilepsy and Self-Injurious Behavior by Kim Oakley. A couple of days ago Kim Oakley wrote on the subject of Medical mysteries, autism and chronic self-injurious behavior. As is always the case Ms Oakley writes with straight up honesty and with a view to understanding and helping her son, and others,  who engage in self-injurious behavior.  In this comment Oakley describes some of her son's self-injurious behavior, in what contexts it arises and how long the last episode lasted:  4 days.

Obviously 4 days is a long time.  My son's self-injurious behavior has never lasted more than half an hour to an hour to  my knowledge.  I can't imagine 4 days of self injury, the pain it must have inflicted on her son or the courage Oakley and her family needed over those 4 days. Oakley isn't sure what caused the 4 day self-injurious "bender" to suddenly stop but she offers some speculation about what brought it to an end.  

I recommend anyone struggling with self-injurious behavior in an autistic child to read  Medical mysteries, autism and chronic self-injurious behavior. Oakley does not pretend to have all the answers but she gives us plenty to think about.    Once again, I recommend anyone with a child with autism who engages in self-injurious behavior to visit and bookmark Autism, Epilepsy and Self-Injurious Behavior by Kim Oakley.  It might provide one more piece of information to help you understand the mystery of chronic self-injurious behavior of your autistic child.

2 comments:

tiffany kendall said...

i feel so bad for all you parents out there like me with autistic children,my little girl is so beautiful that people dont see anything wrong with her..they blame her irratic behavior on me,they think its either bad parenting or she's desplaying some sort of abuse,they think since she has minimal speech &is still not potty trained that iam a bad parent,& being a single mom with NO family around 2 help,it's hard, i feel i have to explaine her situation everywhere we go..but since i was aware of this AUTISM SCARE,i had her diagnosed early,which has helped,&the state kicks n a little more so that's good,& THEY SHOULD...I HAD A WHOLE DR.APT SET AROUND HOW I DID NOT WANT 2 VACCINATE MY CHILD,THE DR.ASSURED ME MY CHILD WAS HEALTHY &THAT NOTHING WOULD HAPEN 2 MY HEALTHY BABY GIRL,HE SAID AUTISM IS SOMTHING YOUR BORN WITH&YOU CANNOT GET IT FROM VACCINES..he promised to space them out,but all i remeber thinking was.."another one already??"..NOT ALL LITTLE BABIES CAN HANDEL ALL THESE VACCINES!!!!!!..my baby was small,6lbs,12oz..i did not breastfeed her as long as reccomended,i am a personal trainer and i FELT in my bones my child is not gona be able to get rid off all those toxins&i was sooooo RIGHT!!!!!,A MOTHER KNOWS BEST!!..and iam finding new minerals&helping my baby&hopfully others as well,GOD BLESS..its a fight for all of us,but its the children that have the biggest challenges of all

tiffany kendall said...

i feel so bad for all you parents out there like me with autistic children,my little girl is so beautiful that people dont see anything wrong with her..they blame her irratic behavior on me,they think its either bad parenting or she's desplaying some sort of abuse,they think since she has minimal speech &is still not potty trained that iam a bad parent,& being a single mom with NO family around 2 help,it's hard, i feel i have to explaine her situation everywhere we go..but since i was aware of this AUTISM SCARE,i had her diagnosed early,which has helped,&the state kicks n a little more so that's good,& THEY SHOULD...I HAD A WHOLE DR.APT SET AROUND HOW I DID NOT WANT 2 VACCINATE MY CHILD,THE DR.ASSURED ME MY CHILD WAS HEALTHY &THAT NOTHING WOULD HAPEN 2 MY HEALTHY BABY GIRL,HE SAID AUTISM IS SOMTHING YOUR BORN WITH&YOU CANNOT GET IT FROM VACCINES..he promised to space them out,but all i remeber thinking was.."another one already??"..NOT ALL LITTLE BABIES CAN HANDEL ALL THESE VACCINES!!!!!!..my baby was small,6lbs,12oz..i did not breastfeed her as long as reccomended,i am a personal trainer and i FELT in my bones my child is not gona be able to get rid off all those toxins&i was sooooo RIGHT!!!!!,A MOTHER KNOWS BEST!!..and iam finding new minerals&helping my baby&hopfully others as well,GOD BLESS..its a fight for all of us,but its the children that have the biggest challenges of all