14/08/2007 time 14.11pmhi i'm a married mum of 4 children aged 8,6,4,2 its my 4yr old that is autistic and he's very challenging vey angry and physical he mainly hits and punches his little sister but he has also recently started self harming which is upsetting to see i try very hard to keep the peace between the children but its not always easy i do have to physically remove ben from the scene in order to try to calm him down i don't really get much support from my family except my sister and my husband who are both fantastic i think the rest of the family just think he's a naughty child but i know different and i love him to bits.
Replies
Awww Mel, I know how you feel, my best friend of 21 yrs thinks I don\'t dicipline (spelling) him hard enough, that I should spank or pop his bottom more often than I do. I disagree. Ian, my boy, will lash out and hit or scratch, he pushes my other best friends 15 month old grand-daughter down and I always feel so horrible when he does that. Also Ian has been hurting himself since he was about 6 to 8 months old, he will slap himself, pull his hair, bangs his head (till it bruises sometimes if we don\'t get to him fast enough) and he will drop face down to the floor and bang his head. Don\'t listen to any negative comments even though it hurts coming from those you love, follow your instincts... YOU\'RE the Mom and you are usually right!
Take care! Melissa
My son, Jonathan, does the same things. Last month, he had such a bad tantrum- he was banging himself against the wall and went right through it. We also have people think thinking that he is not diciplined enough. I have an autism awareness bracelet, and I just point to it without saying a word when they stare at us or scowl. Get the diagnosis as soon as possible- it\'s important to do before he starts school. Push to see a neurologist, and don\'t take \'no\' for an answer.
Best of luck to you and your son :-)