Why do you self harm/hit out?

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I am just curious as to know why autistic children/adults self harm or hit others or objects. For those of you who can answer please tell me, it would be interesting to know. Thank you.

Hi JeanneA, I got scolded once because the other party assumed that I was trying to say that all Aspies self-harm for the same reason. Since every Aspie is unique, the reason why I self-harm (though I have stopped self-harming for quite a long period of time) might be very different from the reason why other Aspies self-harm. I self-harm because the consequences of harming oneself are painful but not as grave as the consequences of harming some other person. In my case, anger triggers self-harm.

Hi, thanks very much for your answer, it is very helpful as it helps me to understand as it why my son could be self harming.

I believe it's out of frustration too, imagine being so angry that you want to break something, scream, anything, your body is feeling enraged and hurting yourself relieves that pain you are feeling. That has been my understanding from working with kids. I think then it can become a habit even when not angry. My DD cracks her knuckles and enjoys the sensation of it, my hubbie hates it and hates the sound, she use to pick at her nails to a point of bleeding sometimes but that was from anxiety.

Sometimes it's not about acting out, it's about hyposensitivity. Some people who have reduced sensation may engage in behaviours like this because it's something they can actually feel. Almost all of my sons senses are under reactive. Luckily my son does not purposefully hurt himself, but he can accidentally hurt himself without noticing.

Thanks so much for your replies. My son has a lot of sensory issues, so I have thought that some of the self harming is to do with sensory.

The only way you'll be certain is if you start tracking everytime he hurts himself. Write out a check-list of potential triggers or reasons and see what you tally up.

It may be any of the above:

attention-seeking
communication difficulties (receptive/expressive)
sensory
frustration
deficiencies
chemical release

Thanks adsmom that is a good idea although he isn't living at home with me I will mention it to the staff at the hospital.

Hospitals should be able to do a Functional Behavioral Analysis: http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.fab.starin.htm and give you the results.

Thanks momsparky I will mention this to the hospital.

My AS dd5 occasionally hits/slaps herself in the face, scratches and bites her arm, hits her head on the walls or floor when she feels frustrated or angry. I have also wondered if it was sensory too. It seems to coincide with school for my daughter so I think its stress induced.

Hi confused, School was always a big issue for my son Glen when he was younger. He would become extremely anxious and stressed out and would hit himself and me before going to school and then would also hit out in school.

Glen has a lot of sensory issues, he is being seen by an O.T. at the moment during his mental health assessment in the hospital.

Has your son had any O.T. input for his probable sensory needs? If not I would highly recommend you ask for your son to be referred to an O.T.

I self injure for several reasons:

wanting to turn emotional pain into physical
wanting to tell someone I'm upset when I'm having trouble speaking (I lose speech skills when upset)
wanting to leave a mark to remember how I felt later
wanting to punish myself

In my experience, nonverbal or minimally verbal autistics have much higher rates of self-injury than the more verbal kids. So I think frustration from inability to communicate is a major cause of self-injury.

Thanks for being so honest. My son rarely speaks, he is able to but choses not to. I am sure he self harms out of frustration and also out of a sensory need.

I guess the main problem started in kindergarten and the lack of power to deal with problems concerning other kids and the lazyness and incompetence of the adults. If i was teased, usually nothing was done about it. If someone hit me, I was told to hit them back. Twice I was told this and they quickly realized the mistake they had done. Every time a kid teased me or hit me, it would end in a fight between my inner animal and the kid in front of me, unblocked, blind rage.
As it was the only thing I knew in those situations, I kept doing it and later on skipped the "ask the adults" part and went straight to the beating. This all lead up to my Asperger's diagnosis.

it really came to a head in 6th and 7th grade when the bullying started. The only thing done to remedy the problem from the teachers was a quick talk with whatever bully was after me, and epectedly things got worse. I knew they did nothing and my defenselessness turned into an enraged beating machine with the consequences that ensued. Especially those two kids from the grade below, Patrick and René could light my pee on fire.

it came to an end when my rage went in the direction of my best friend, Amy in 8th grade. I hit her hard in the shoulder with a fist. After that I was extremely depressed, but determined to do everything to cage that beast in. I went through everything from drugs to meditation, and in the end it was thorough meditation and self-control exercises that did the trick. Although she since forgave me, I still have a recurring and extremely painful image in my memory of me hitting her and her crying.

I lashed out because of inaction and powerlessness, hovever i've never actively harmed myself.

It was somewhat painful to write this, but I hope it helps in your search.

Thanks so much I do appreciate you telling me your experiences, could not have been easy for you growing up. It has helped me immensely what you had said, thanks again.