Verbal Stimming

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Hi All-

I have posted on this topic before, and no one really seems to know how to help, but I just need to vent!! !! This is causing tremendous stress in our household. My 5 yr old son's main stim is verbal stimming. He likes to make loud noises and clap his hands really loud. He is very verbal, speaking in full sentences. He just seems to really enjoy the sounds. I don't know how to explain it other than verbal outbursts. It does not seem like Tourette's because he has control over it. He just enjoys doing it. Well, he is doing it at school, (has been for over a yr.) It is disruptive to the class, and it interferes with him paying attention in class.

He tends to do it a lot in the evenings when my husband comes home from work. Well, this is driving my husband over the edge. He is a quiet person my nature, and the noises are just too much for him. I have been allowing my son to do this in the afternoons when he gets home from school until his dad comes home. I have told him that he can do it, but when it starts to bother us, he will have to go to his own room to do this. We have tried explaining that the noises bother other people and that it hurts their ears. He doesn't appear to be under a lot of stress. He doesn't
have tantrums or meltdowns. When I pick him up from school, the teachers say that he had a good day. They just say that he needs lots of prompts to stop making noises and do his work.

Overall, I understand that this stim is his way of releasing energy, etc... The problem is with my husband. He just doesn't get it. He seems to think that if we discipline him enough that he will stop this. He gets very upset about the noise at home and the fact that our son can't seem to stop doing it at school. I do the best I can at trying to explain, but it is just a big source of tension. I just don't know what to do anymore.

Like I said, I don't know if anyone can help or not, but I had to just get this out, because I have no one to discuss this with. I do talk to family members about things, but I feel like they just don't know what to say or do, so I just get tired of talking about it to them. Anyway, thanks for listening!! !

I can't help much but I have a sibling that does this almost constantly, mostly with playing. She is so loud, and seems to have no understanding of what an inside-voice is. If I SHHH her she can stop for a little while but it continues soon again.

I know you said he does it for fun and enjoyment, but I wonder if this is really that voluntary all the time. Like I said, my sister always starts up again no matter how many times you tell her to SHHH. She was speech delayed, and a couple years older though.

It's like if you told me to stop wringing my hands. As soon as I wasn't thinking about it but still needed to I'd probably continue it again. I've heard of people "swapping stims" by encouraging something else, but I think this is normally if it is hurting the child.

did you try giving him chewing gum?

It is like that, I can ask him to be quiet, and he is quiet for 2 seconds, and then it starts right up again. Sometimes I wonder about Tourette's, but I saw a movie about a kid with TS, and I saw a kid at church that seemed to have uncontrollable tics, and this doesn't seem to be what this is. Sometimes, i think he does it out of boredom, because he really doesn't play with toys much. He just can't seem to entertain himself. My son was sort of speech delayed. I mean he had words on time, and his speech has steadily progressed, but he did do a lot of echolalia, and he speaks out of context some, and he makes up words. And he had trouble with back and forth conversation. All of this is improving, and I had read somewhere that usually when the language improves, then some of the verbal stimming will subside. This hasn't been the case so far.

He also flaps his hands and shakes his head side to side, but the verbal is the main thing. I just wonder at school if he is doing it to avoid working, or if is just out of his control......

Also, I forgot to mention that he is able to keep it under control at church when we go for an hour each week. But, we tell him before hand that if he is quiet at church, then he will get ice cream. So, he is quiet to get his ice cream. LOL! So apparently, he can control this some of the time.

you could try giving him a hand drum. It wont make things any quieter, but the noise might be easier to black out, plus he might just enjoy it and be really good at it. I had a set of bongos as a child, I would bang on them for hours, it was easier for my parrents to ignore the drums then the singing.
I miss those bongos. lol. *runs to musicians friend online to see if they still carry them*

how about an mp3 player? you know, with headphones =) you can put a variety of things on it. music, drums, audiobooks, podcasts, nature sounds, etc. ive bought lots of little mp3 players for as low as $8, so its easy to get several cheap ones and keep them in various places around the house, in the car, at school, etc.

he can control the volume and get his loud sounds, but nobody else is subjected to it.

same could be done with a computer and wireless headphones (or wired, but wireless means no cord to tangle up).

i think it matters a great deal whether he enjoys the action of making the sound, or the sound itself. if you can figure out which is most important to him, it might give you a more distinct direction to go for re-directing the behavior.

Have you had his hearing checked by a specialist? I mean more than the 'raise your hand when you hear the beep' test?

I was also going to suggest the MP3 headphones. Perhaps try both music and books for him to listen to.

Have you had him checked out for an auditory processing disorder? I guess these come in many forms. I was talking w/ a lady the other day and her son has an auditory processing disorder where he repeats everything anyone says to him.

I don't know anything about TS, but the one thing I have learned in the past few months is that you can't believe much of what you see on TV or in magazines about complex disorders, you need to read books and talk to reputable people before ruling anything out.

Does he have any type of sensory disorder?

I would love to hear if you find a resolution or diagnosis for this issue.

Thanks for the replies. He has had his hearing checked in order to get into the special needs program. I do believe that he has auditory processing issues, but I am not sure what type of doctor to take him to do diagnose this. He was diagnosed as PDD-NOS by a developmental pediatrician when he was 2.5, and I have not taken him to any other doctors (except for sicknesses since then) As far as sound, I believe he is UNDERREACTIVE to sound. He is not usually afraid of very loud noises. He has been on the beach for fireworks before and loved it. One time the smoke alarm went off, and he wanted to hear it again! The only sound he doesn't really like is babies crying, or children fighting, and I think that is more emotional than anything.

He did have some sensory issues when he was very little, he had some tactile sensitivities, but this is not really a problem. He did have quite a few vestibular issues, and probably still does to some degree. He had trouble learning to walk because he couldn't quite keep his balance. I believe vestibular is tied to the inner ear, so there probably is some connection there. He did have a lot of echolalia (repeating what was just said), but that seems to be fading. He was pronouncing 4 syllable words such as diagnosis and diarreah before he was 2 yrs old, so I really didn't think he had a hearing problem. His speech is really progressing very well. He is speaking in full sentences, and most of it is making sense. He does get hooked on ideas, and asking repetitive questions, and asking questions that he already knows the answer to.

As far as music, OMG, my boy is hooked on music. I would have to say that now that may be his number 1 special interest. He has always loved music, since he was a baby, and he is now moving on to listening to all of my CD's LOL! His dad and I are both very into music, so this is no surprise. He likes classical, jazz, rock and roll, and top 40 music. He is hooked on the band the Cranberries. They are an Irish rock band. Sometimes, I think that he is trying to imitate the singing, but he was doing the noises before he started listening to the Cranberries.
I have been letting him listen to lots of music, as I don't mind hearing the music, but sometimes I wonder if so much listening is adding to the problem?

AzureCrayon, that is an excellent point about whether it is the sound that he is seeking or the sensation of it coming out of his mouth. I suspect that it is the sound..... Or it could be both.....

I really feel that there is a connection to the auditory processing, but I am just not sure if I should pursue a doctor or a therapist for this. I had thought about trying the "Listening Program" but I haven't been able to get feed back from anyone about if they thought it was worth it. In my experience, therapists have been more helpful than doctors in my son's case. There is so much out there to pursue, that it is overwhelming at times.

Anyway, thanks for responding, it does help to "talk it out" with others who understand.





Azurecrayon, that is an excellent point about trying to determine if it is the sound he is seeking or the sensation of it coming out of his mouth that he is seeking.