self hitting

[Simran]

My son is 7 yrs old. He had congenital hydrocephlus and was operated at the age of 2 months. He is diagnosed as a case of MR with gross developmental delay. He cannot walk on his own and is without speech. For the last 2 years he had developed the habit of slapping his face when he is irritated or crying. He has no speech but can understand some simple commands and when we stop him from doing this he does not stop. Whenever his demand is not fulfilled he starts slapping himself . Scolding or pacifying him with love has failed to change his habit. Please guide me what to do at that time . In public it is very embarrassing for us . Help us.

Simran.

[CaptainPanic]

I want to warn you against asking for medical advice on an anonymous internet forum. People can write pretty much anything they want, and the moderators (I am one of them) cannot check whether the advice is correct or not.

 

To follow up any advice is potentially dangerous. The only advice that makes sense is to tell you to see a professional.

[Simran]

Can you please guide me to any online medical site for professional help?

[hypervalent_iodine]

Going to any website for medical advice is generally a terrible idea. Go see an actual doctor.

[random]

have to agree go see a doctor but.........I would also like to suggest you try and put yourself in his shoes to the best of your ability. Try to think like he does, what does the slapping do?

I'm gonna make a guess and thats all it is, a guess. Anxiety can cause physical discomfort sort of like a funny feeling in the chest you just can't get away from and can hardly tolerate it's a horrible sensation worse than the other physical effects of anxiety and I'm GUESSING he has discovered slapping distracts him from this sensation.

 

A good pediatrician should be able to help you.

 

the only reason I provided my guess is because quite often the medical profession is very good about treating the symptoms but not very good about determining the cause. Like any concerned parent you want to know why and what to do when the situation presents itself, To that I have to say you yourself know your child better than anyone A pediatrician should be able to point you in the right direction and offer helpful advice but every child has their own unique personality, Do your best to try and view the world through his eyes and discover what makes him tick.

[Simran]

We have consulted lot of doctors regarding his problem and they have suggested us the solutions but its not working out on him. I can very well understand my son's situation . His misery is my misery too . When all my hardwork goes futile its very devastating for me as well . So i thought of taking help from net and when i browse for psychology and self hitting this science forum came up and thinking that some one with the personal experience can help me i registered my name here. As a parent one discover lot of new things which are more helpful than a medical profession can provide. I just want to help my child.

[hypervalent_iodine]

Simran,

 

I can appreciate your situation and how frustrating it is for you as a parent. However, even if I or someone else here were a trained medical professional, it would be irresponsible for us to offer you medical advice having no in depth knowledge of your son's current state, his medical history or one on one access to him. I promise you that no one in this thread is shutting you down for the sheer pleasure of it.

 

All I can say is that if what the doctors have advised you to do is not working for you, then you need to go back to them and tell them so that they can suggest an alternate method. If they aren't specialists for his condition, then you could always ask them to refer you to one. You might also ask them if they know of support groups for people with what your son has (in fact, I would highly recommend that you do that; they can do a world of good).

 

In any case, the point is that for something like this, you don't want the words of people who are ultimately not in a place to give them to you. Your safest option for both you and your son is to go back to your doctor and talk to him / her or even to get a second opinion from someone else.