Repetitive running in younger child

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Hi,

I have a wonderful son with 'mild' autism who can clear a park in seconds of arriving with his over excited screeches and screaming and I am slowly learning how to deal with things like that.
Miles has for a while now got up and just started running up and down but lately it's every day and goes on for a bout 15 mins at a time, on and off all day ( but only at ho
e ) I just wondered if anyone could maybe help me understand why he does this and maybe why he would be doing it more lately ,
Thank you

I'm not a parent, but I am an autistic person who has been running repetitively like your son for about 10 years now. I go for about half an hour at a time, 1 to 3 times a day. It used to be as much as 10 times a day, but I cut down drastically when I began living a nocturnal lifestyle. I typically run when I am mentally stimulated by something, such as researching a special interest. Being mentally stimulated like that fills me up with adrenaline, and the only way I can get the excess energy out is by running. I also feel the need to run when I'm anxious or under stress. One of the symptoms for Asperger's includes repetitive body motions that may include "complex whole body movements". I believe that running might be an expression of that.

Idahorose,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply,
It generally starts as soon as he wakes, his only intrest is animals and as soon as he opens his eyes he's saying elephants have long trunks,'giraffes are tall with long necks etc so he is always engrossed is his interest so I feel that you are prob right, did you also do it at school ? Miles doesn't start for a year but I do worry how school will cope with him when he starts.
Thank you

How old is your son? My son is 5, and he uses body movements as well to express his excitement. When he was 2 and had just started walking, when I would take him to the pool, he would just walk in circles around the pool. If we went to the park, he would just take off and go and not really show too much interest in the playground equipment. I think some of this is normal childhood behavior too. My son has settled down some. Now he will stay with me in a store and not run off down the aisles. He does still like to run though when we are outside. Sometimes he will jog in place too if he is excited.

As far as school, has your son been officially diagnosed? If so, what type of school is he going to? If the teachers are trained and knowledgeable in the area of autism, they will more than likely be very used to this type of behavior. That is part of the learning process too, for the child to start learning that there is a time to sit still and a time to run. As your son is still young, I would not worry about it, and just let him get his energy out!

My son runs, jumps and runs circles around people or objects to express excitement, happiness, stress - pretty much any emotion with a lot of energy in it. The change of daddy coming home from work usually gets the little guy running circles around daddy's legs. Hearing about starting preschool gets him jumping in place with joy. Taking him to the store gets him running down the aisles and back or spinning circles around his sister. I have made a deal with my son (he's 4); if he stays beside me while we're walking and doesn't run, I let him spin circles while I stop to look at things and put groceries in the cart. Involving him and asking him to put things in the cart helps, too.

So I think your son is just expressing himself.

Hi,
'Thanks to you both also for your replies and ideas.
Miles will be 4 in December , we live in Devon in the UK, Miles will go to our local primary school in Sept 2011. He has been attending an assessment unit since Nov last year, he had severe separation anxiety and it took 7 months before I was able to leave him there for the 2
Hrs per session, his diagnosis will be in November in time for him to be assessed for statement so he can have one to one help when he starts school. They agree he is autistic but were assessing him for other things too so it can all be put in writing etc in November. I can only now explain things to him as his understanding is getting better but it's still not great so I wouldn't be able to do the supermarket thing, he doesn't walk anywhere only runs and boy is he fast ! In town or on the road we can not be without his pushchair, he has no sense of danger with traffic etc ...

my son doesn't run, but he constantly paces around.

Get him a treadmill.

Don't think treadmills are made for 3 year olds !

Your son's school will need to accommodate his needs, and if he needs to run or pace in order to regulate himself, they will need to find ways to accommodate - not eliminate - that need.

My daughter does the same thing. It's a way of her self-regulating her sensory overloads. We bought a mini-trampoline (exercise) and she loves it. She knows when she needs it and we try and accommodate her as much as possible.