tape on kid's mouth

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Forcibly putting tape on a kids mouth. SO.NOT.OK

Tape on a kids mouth for a joke? Meh. Only so long as the kid is in on the joke. And that's what we don't know.

My son puts stickers on his mouth sometimes. i would NEVER do it to him. Him staying breathing is pretty much my priority numero uno, so I wouldn't do anything to obstruct that.

I would never tape my kids' mouths. Ever.

But I might use that t-shirt!

Abuse, plain and simple. I don't care what kind of tape either. You put ANYTHING on my kid's mouth, my husband and I are suing you to the fullest extent of the law.

That shirt depends on the children. Had I been forced to wear it with another child as a child, I would probably hurt them out of self defense because it was painful for another person to touch me. A lot of my fights with other children were BECAUSE they had touched me. So in my case, the shirt thing would be to much of a risk to the other child.

I had an older brother who was kind of a bully who would poke or tap me intentionally to make me have a reaction. I had two other brothers who wouldn't let him get away with it and my parents put a stop to it when they could. I hope the shirt thing is only used with siblings or kids who are related. I know some kinds can be borderline psychopaths who would INTENTIONALLY touch the other child to make them react and get them into even more trouble.

When I was in 4th grade (around 1973) my homeroom teacher was fired for putting duct tape over my mouth for hours. But she had previously been disciplined for tying me to a chair. We did not have a good relationship.

My kids have put tape on their own mouths, but I wouldn't do it to them as a parent. It seems, well, ineffective and unnecessary. Put your own ear plugs in if they've said their piece, you've made it clear you've heard them, and they refuse to let go.

Thank goodness I never actually do the things I fantasize about doing when a kid won't stop screeching, whining or just won't shut up. Taping their mouth closed is actually the least cruel of the fantasies.

If people search my past postings, I have always advocated taping parents/teachers/therapists' mouths. It's the cheapest way of solving developmental issues in autistic children. It would work like wonder, it's just sad that no one actually does it. Oh well. Ha ha.

See, the problem is never with the children. It's with the adults. Adults have behavioral problems, and are intellectually disabled. They are unable to pick up skills. Skills as simple as drawing pictures (which any kindergartner can do). You tell parents do draw pictures, write down words for their children, tell them stories, at bedtime, and ... they don't do it. You tell them to prepare picture (drawing) albums, you tell them where to get the supplies, and ... they don't do it. I mean, how often have I wished to put a tape on their mouths, so that they can realized that they need to communicate through their hands, instead of their mouths? Parents/teachers/therapists love to talk, talk, talk, talk, and talk. Drives me nuts. Can't they see they are bombarding their children with noise all day long, driving these children insane?

Inability of adults to pick up skills is the main problem. If they can't even draw pictures, what's the hope that they will understand about Fun and Facts and modulation? What's the hope that they will understand there is alternative beyond punishment and rewards? Their children's behavioral problems is all their own making.

I still remember when my kids were non-verbal. Those were magical days that I will always treasure. They were non-verbal, but I communicated with them without problems. I miss those days so much.

"Non-verbal" did not mean she did not read out aloud. It simply meant she did not use words for conversation. When my daughter was still 2 years old, I drove her to her preschool, on the way there was this restaurant sign:

One day when I drove by the restaurant, she read that sign out, and giggled. I was like, wow! And then later, she read the sign of Jack in the Box. That was when I realized she could read cursive writing. At age 2! (I did confirm later that she was able to read any cursive writing.)

And when I took her into the public school, she surprised the teachers by reading out the lyrics of "five little ducks" posted on the wall of the room. She didn't talk. But her reading skills was way ahead of her peers. Today, at age 11, she is still the fastest reader in her class. Written English was her first language. Reading skills also helped with her leadership skills, as in the Montessori preschool/kindergarten, other children would come to her and ask her to read story books for them. You know, so many adults would say, oh that's hyperlexia, as if it was something irrelevant or negative. But the fact is, she gained leadership skills and confidence, because of her reading skills.

My daughter was potty trained around 3.5 years old. Back then I did not understand autism as I do today. That was something that I regretted. I mean, why force these children into a schedule that is not natural to them? So, later on, I started to refuse listening to other people. I spoon fed my daughter until she was 10 years old, to the dismay of most people out there. I was trying to prove a point: these children have their own way of development. You develop their brains, and everything else happen automatically. No need to worry, at all. Focus on their strengths, and develop them from there. Just like how my daughter's reading skills has made her special in her kindergarten/preschool, or how my son's robotics skills enables him to help other children in his class. I just had my son's IEP meeting a few days ago. Guess what? There was zero item to help with his social skills. School teachers know that (1) my son is doing very well interacting with people, (2) I would never take any offering of social skills training for my son. Com'on, treat autistic children as equals. They are not defective, they are not sick. They will socialize, and they do socialize, at their own pace. Develop their brains, and disregard all those silly efforts in potty training, speech therapy, behavioral therapy, social skills training. Look at ourselves in the mirror, and try to understand that all the problems are in us, the adults. The children are perfectly fine the way they are.

Apparently I didn't notice it when I replied back in September, but this is an OLD thread.