Autism Biting

Those that glorify autism, that try to deny that autism is a disorder, never mention some of the more serious even dangerous behavioral problems that can occur with autism. There is probably no single behavior that is any more serious and dangerous than biting; self biting and biting others. My son Conor is profoundly autistic. When frustrated, or overwhelmed, he will sometimes bite himself. There are times when he bites others. I have been bitten while holding Conor to get his hair cut. I do not blame him for that behavior but as his father I have to try and teach him not to bite. Conor's biting has subsided considerably but not completely.

In Lab Worker Charged With Biting Boy Arrested Yahoo News reports the story of a former hospital lab technician, Anne McGlorthon, 53, who is charged with biting an autistic boy while holding him as a colleague drew blood from his arm. The lab tech stated that the boy had bitten her first and that she bit him to get him to release the bite on her arm. The boy was left with bite marks on his shoulder and had to take anti-biotics. I do not defend the lab tech, who lost her job as a result of the incident and who now faces criminal charges but her story is not unfamiliar to many parents with severely autistic children - except for the return bite.

Such incidents are part of the realities facing many families with children with Autism Disorder. Such incidents are part of the reason I get nauseous when I read ridiculous Neurodiversity accounts of autism as being nothing more than a trait or personality type.