ASD son constantly jumping on furniture

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My 8 year old son with HFA has jumped on our furniture ever since he was old enough to jump. It has always been a bit of an issue; but obviously it is worse as he gets older and heavier. He is now almost 65 lbs and my couches and upholstered chairs are getting pretty tired-looking. I can't really afford new ones and neither do i want to purchase new ones only to have them destroyed. He also takes the pillows off and jumps on the springs. I don't have enough room in my house for an extra set of furniture for him to jump on.

Watching him, i believe it is a form of stimming. He often plays his special interests while jumping--right now he jumps with his star wars lightsaber (plastic and not sharp) and plays that he is a jedi. He is so in his own little world while doing this that it is hard to get his attention at all, let alone get him to stop. I have sort of given up having any kind of control over it--i kind of let the jumping run its course and when it is done, i tell him to put the pillows back and put my living room back together (because of course by the time he is done, the whole room is a disaster).

But, as the whole family lives in the house and we do occasionally like to use the living room for all of us, not just him, it rather drives us all a bit crazy. It has been a battle that i find more painful to fight than to let run its course, but i wish he wouldn't do this. Any thoughts or suggestions?

jumping on furniture is both good and bad.
on the one hand it is good because it proves that gravity will haul the child back to earth so it does not spring off into space after it jumps up, but bad in that it causes skeletal damage and other impact damage when the child hits the ground, and if there is an asset in the way like a sofa, it is also likely to be damaged.

what a dilemma.

Could you get a trampoline?

Yes, get him a trampoline! They make small sized ones with safety bars on them that don't take up any more floor space than a large chair. Google 'autism trampoline' and you'll find lots.

It's already been said, but TRAMPOLINE!

My son is 3, and he does jump a little bit on the furniture/bed, so we got him an indoor trampoline ($50 cheap kind) and he loves it. I don't know if he jumps anymore than any other NT kid does, but we got him the trampoline to give him a better place to jump incase it does develop into a stimming type behavior.

Thank you for the replies.

I have thought of a small trampoline but my house is tight on space. I will give it more thought--maybe i could re-arrange furniture but our house is old, with small rooms; there are 5 of us in a house with approx. 1500 sq. ft. of living space. I keep getting rid of stuff but the fact of the matter is that 5 people, the youngest being 8 yrs old, take up space--especially til we add in our beds, clothes, other furniture, appliances, and things for our hobbies such as pet aquariums, bookshelves, and other things.

I absolutely won't have a big one in the yard, even with a safety net. Not only is it a homeowner's insurance issue, but safety is major. I have worked long and hard to get this boy to the safety awareness that he has now--which i consider adequate but still not good, esp for 8 yrs old-- but on a trampoline, couch or any other place where he can jump, his safety awareness goes out the window. My cousin's son recently nearly lost his arm due to a trampoline injury (fell off the trampoline and landed on his arm, bending his elbow completely backwards--still has his arm but it will never be the same), and everyone we know who has a trampoline has had someone break a bone on it. It scares me too much.

Maybe my couch is the best trampoline--at least it is close to the floor. Just replace it eventually. Maybe he will grow out of this. ???

I think he would eventually grow out of it, but will your furniture outlast that outgrowing?
An inexpensive indoor trampoline is a lot less expensive than a new couch (even a good used one.)
The little trampolines are closer to the floor than the couch.

If you happen to have an extra room in your house,

Maybe you could make it into a sort of gym--with mat-like walls and mats on the floor, and little trampolines, jungle gyms, etc.

Make that "his" room. And make the couch totally off limits to him.

And talk to him about how his activities are breaking your furniture. I'm sure he has some sense that he is doing damage to your couches.

This won't allow for him to play with things at the same time as jumping, but what about a pogo stick? They are much safer than those big outside trampolines and SO MUCH FUN. Jumping/bouncing on a pogo stick was one of my most favorite activities as a kid! I didn't mind it in cold weather, either, as long as it wasn't too icy.

Please discipline your son. You are raising someone who will go out into the world, and "the world" is not going to "give him a pass", in the way that you are, and he's gonna get hurt, BIG TIME----if, in no other way, than being fired from a job, because of what may be construed as him being selfish / having an elitist attitude (e.g. him thinking he's special, because that's the way he's been treated, at home).

"I have sort of given up having any kind of control over it....."

And, guess who has control, NOW----HIM!! I don't see that as fair----ONE person running an entire family----ONE person, deciding for "the whole". You are already regretting it.

"It has been a battle that i find more painful to fight than to let run its course....."

SURE, it's a battle----but, the battle it would've been to curb his behavior, after only a few times of him doing it, would've been much, MUCH smaller than the battle, it's become----and the battle it'll BE, for the rest of his / everybody's life, if he's not disciplined, now.

Nobody wants to be seen as "normal", more than we ASDers, do; and, if we're HFA, like you say your son is, alot MORE is expected of us----he's gonna be expected to come-off, even MORE "normal"----and, he's not gonna be able to accomplish that, without great struggle / hurt / pain, because he's gonna be, like, 36 years old, and just learning that he's gotta grow-up----and, it's gonna be a much, MUCH more UNbeLIEVable struggle, THEN!

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand how difficult it is, to tell your child "no"----and, you're tired, stretched-to-the-limit, don't have any time for yourself, your every thought has to include, him----but, this is ONE person / ONE person's life that is gonna be affected by your telling him "no"; whereas, many, MANY people's lives are going to be affected by your not disciplining him, when you send him out there into the world, because he's gonna expect THEM to always tell him, "yes", as well, and that just doesn't seem fair, to me.

I understand what you are saying, but it seems here that the needs is for the redirection of behavior, not the stopping of it. Jumping up and down for an 8yr old is not wrong, and is even healthy physical activity. On the furniture, it is a problem. Jumping in another way/location is just fine. Teaching and training our children is part of curbing unwanted behavior, but also helping them learn to self-regulate. In this instance, I believe self-regulating means learning "I can jump, but not here. I can jump over there (on that trampoline or on that pogo stick or on that mat, etc.)"

Our house does not have any extra rooms, but this is a great idea KK. We have a small basement that we have turned into a weight lifting room but the floor is concrete so not such a great place for a jumping kid. And, like the rest of our old house, it is divided into 3 small rooms--one that is totally full with weight bench and freezer; another full of my canning shelves with a ceiling too low for me to stand straight in--and i am only 5'4" tall--and another room also small with water heater and furnace. So not such a good option. Other than that, we have a living room/office which only fits a couch, chair, tv, desk, and small end tables/stands. No extra room other than to walk. Dining room (also the entrance to the house) is filled by coat hooks/bookshelves/table/piano with enough room to walk to the stairs which lead up from it. Kitchen is basically narrow galley style which is kitchen/laundry room/pet area. 3 bedrooms/1 bath upstairs with boys sharing approx a 10'x12' room so no extra space there once 2 single beds and a few shelves. I have turned an attic area into a playroom but it only works for spring and fall as it is not heated or insulated--too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Ok, now just kind of rambling...just cannot think how to fit in a trampoline plus space around it for safety reasons.

I do discipline him...Campin cat i see where you are coming from but i think you are pulling a few statements out of my post and making a blanket judgment on my parenting. i choose my battles but don't give him a pass for being autistic. (For example, he went through a phase when he would say, "i can't do such-and-such activity i don't feel like doing--nothing he was unable to do, he just didn't want to--because i have autism." We nipped that one in the bud pretty quick!) Maybe i do need to fight this battle a bit harder, but i don't let him run wild and roughshod over everyone else either.

The reason i have not fought this one is because i have no other way at the moment to give him an outlet for this jumping energy and it seems to fill a need in him. I was more looking for ideas to do this, than judgment on my parenting skills. Sounds like the indoor trampoline is the most recommended method and that there are no other real good options for indoor bouncing. But sometimes when one throws a question out there, someone comes up with something new that i wasn't aware of or hadn't thought of. It was worth a shot.

Now that i think of it, the pogo stick might be a good solution. He had tried someone else's one time and loved it--i had forgotten that. Thanks for reminding me!

And it is a great outside toy. We have a nice big yard--just a small house.

Is it the motion he is after?
Do you have a swing set?
If you have a big tree but no swing set, how about a tire swing?
What about a rocking chair?

I'm just thinking back to my own childhood, and the jumping, swinging, and spinning were all things I enjoyed very much. Still do...

Nerdygirl, I think it is the jumping motion that he is after. And the landing at the end of the jump.

I have a rocking chair which he rocks very vigorously. My wall behind it has big marks on it from the rocking. I honestly don't know how to keep this kid from destroying things in the house sometimes. I remind him to pull the chair out each time he hits the wall...and he does. Til the next time he rocks. It is the same with jumping on the couch. He jumps; I say, "stop jumping, buddy! you know better." He does know better. He stops. But he is soon back at it again.

Or he comes flying into the living room, excited about something (after being reminded not to run in the house...but it still happens no matter how much i tell him and even when he gets consequences for it) takes a flying leap, and lands in the upholstered chair. Sigh. He just doesn't think when excited or when an impulse/stim takes over.

He rides his bike very fast, and stops quickly to feel the tires skid. That is another reason i think it is the stopping motion he is after.

We do have a big tree with tire swing which he loves. But it is not the same as the jumping-and-landing motion. I have to watch as he will swing it in a circle and hit the tree. He is just a high maintenance child, even at 8 yrs old, in spite of my best efforts at discipline and safety training.

I love this boy so much. He is a sweetheart and a ray of sunshine. I am trying to train him to be as functional as possible in society. Sadly at times, i know he will likely always be noticed for being different. His outbursts of loud animal noises, his perseverations, impulsive hugs for his friends out of the blue...lots of stuff. But good things too, like his awesome piano skills, his retention of interesting and not-so-interesting information and more stuff.

But I am just a tired mama some days. My first post was made looking over a kazillion couch pillows and blankets strewn around my living room yet again. Except today, of course, with the Christmas tree and surrounding gifts thrown in the mix. Ahh, it's ok. It all works out somehow.

Yes, I agree that jumping up-and-down, is not wrong----and, that "on the furniture" is a problem. I totally agree with the 3rd underlined sentence, as well----but, it didn't sound like, to me, that she was teaching and training her child.