hi i am new to this forum i joined in the hope to get some advice. My 10 year old autisic son is constantly putting his whole fist down his throat and making himself sick has anybody else experinced this before or has anybody got any ideas on how i can prevent this.

(11-01-2009 07:53 PM)joanna dorey Wrote:  hi i am new to this forum i joined in the hope to get some advice. My 10 year old autisic son is constantly putting his whole fist down his throat and making himself sick has anybody else experinced this before or has anybody got any ideas on how i can prevent this.

Hi

I haven't experienced this problem but I thought I would reply if only to give some support.

Is your son verbal? If so, I presume you have tried to ask him why he does this (silly question I know). I'm wondering if it is a sensory problem...either he doesn't like the feeling of a full stomach or he enjoys the sensation of vomiting. If it is the latter of these two I really don't have a clue what you can do about it. If it is that he doesn't like the feeling of a full stomach, you could try giving him small meals at regular intervals.

It might also be that other children have been making fun of him (does he go to mainstream school?) so he is reacting to it.

I have no idea whether this is of any help but I feel for you, it must be very distressing to see your child doing this, and a real worry where his health is concerned. On the subject of health, are you giving him supplements to replace what he is losing.

I would go and speak to your doctor about this (if you haven't already done so of course) as the doc may have some ideas or could prescibe supplements.

Keep your chin up. I don't know how long this has been going on but hopefully it is a phase and he will stop doing it.

Take care.
Pam x

(11-07-2009 01:03 AM)Ma Griff Wrote:  

(11-01-2009 07:53 PM)joanna dorey Wrote:  hi i am new to this forum i joined in the hope to get some advice. My 10 year old autisic son is constantly putting his whole fist down his throat and making himself sick has anybody else experinced this before or has anybody got any ideas on how i can prevent this.

Hi

I haven't experienced this problem but I thought I would reply if only to give some support.

Is your son verbal? If so, I presume you have tried to ask him why he does this (silly question I know). I'm wondering if it is a sensory problem...either he doesn't like the feeling of a full stomach or he enjoys the sensation of vomiting. If it is the latter of these two I really don't have a clue what you can do about it. If it is that he doesn't like the feeling of a full stomach, you could try giving him small meals at regular intervals.

It might also be that other children have been making fun of him (does he go to mainstream school?) so he is reacting to it.

I have no idea whether this is of any help but I feel for you, it must be very distressing to see your child doing this, and a real worry where his health is concerned. On the subject of health, are you giving him supplements to replace what he is losing.

I would go and speak to your doctor about this (if you haven't already done so of course) as the doc may have some ideas or could prescibe supplements.

Keep your chin up. I don't know how long this has been going on but hopefully it is a phase and he will stop doing it.

Take care.
Pam x

Hi, Callum is non-verbal and attends a special needs school, he seems to enjoy the 'gagging' sensation and only vomits on a few occassions however he is very persistant, he will do it when he feels like it but not after having a meal.

Thanks for your support and reply

Jo

(11-09-2009 02:34 PM)joanna dorey Wrote:  

(11-07-2009 01:03 AM)Ma Griff Wrote:  

(11-01-2009 07:53 PM)joanna dorey Wrote:  hi i am new to this forum i joined in the hope to get some advice. My 10 year old autisic son is constantly putting his whole fist down his throat and making himself sick has anybody else experinced this before or has anybody got any ideas on how i can prevent this.

Hi

I haven't experienced this problem but I thought I would reply if only to give some support.

Is your son verbal? If so, I presume you have tried to ask him why he does this (silly question I know). I'm wondering if it is a sensory problem...either he doesn't like the feeling of a full stomach or he enjoys the sensation of vomiting. If it is the latter of these two I really don't have a clue what you can do about it. If it is that he doesn't like the feeling of a full stomach, you could try giving him small meals at regular intervals.

It might also be that other children have been making fun of him (does he go to mainstream school?) so he is reacting to it.

I have no idea whether this is of any help but I feel for you, it must be very distressing to see your child doing this, and a real worry where his health is concerned. On the subject of health, are you giving him supplements to replace what he is losing.

I would go and speak to your doctor about this (if you haven't already done so of course) as the doc may have some ideas or could prescibe supplements.

Keep your chin up. I don't know how long this has been going on but hopefully it is a phase and he will stop doing it.

Take care.
Pam x

Hi, Callum is non-verbal and attends a special needs school, he seems to enjoy the 'gagging' sensation and only vomits on a few occassions however he is very persistant, he will do it when he feels like it but not after having a meal.

Thanks for your support and reply

Jo

Hi Jo

So it sounds like it is a sensory thing then but not one that is going to be simple to stop.

The only other thing I can suggest is to try giving him some sort of food when you think he is about to do it (if there are any warning signs that is) so see if this may give him a sensation that he prefers to the gagging sensation. You could try different foods to see if there is one that he prefers. Apart from that I have no idea what you could do but I hope you manage to solve the problem or better still, that it is just a phase that will pass.

Let us know how things go.

Take care.
Pam