It was a nice night last night, so I took my son outside to play when I got home from work. He loves playing with bubbles, so I also took them. The bubbles lasted for a few minutes, then he found a "line" created by the trim (I think) on my car. After that, that was all he wanted to do. Many have given advice on how to deal with this, but it was difficult redirecting his attention. It just seems like he has a one-track mind when he latches onto a line. But I kept redirecting. Oh well, at least it was time with my son. I put him to bed at the normal time (we have a fairly strict bedtome routine), and as I was going to bed, I heard him crying. I stepped into his room to see if he was okay, and he came up and snuggled into me. It was just one of those precious moments I have come to cherish as a parent. After a few minutes of this, I softly asked him to get into his "big boy bed". I tucked him in, and he went right to sleep. It turned out to be a pretty good night. My wife is going to California for a week to see her sister (starting tomorrow), and I took vacation time to spend it with my son, and I am really looking forward to the one-on-one time!
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I don\'t know really if this will help, but my son use to stare at the end of a crayon and make it shake. He did it all the time. So every time I saw him do that I said no sir, don\'t do that. Then I would ohysically make him put the crayon down. After a lond while..he stopped and I was so excited. I kept re-directing like you said, but I had to let him know that he couldn\'t keep doing the behavior. I did it with love but I would shake my head no and use a stern voice. Have you talked to a behavior specialist about how to re-direct the line following? I know it is frustrating, but he will turn so much of this behavior around. My son outgrew so much when he got closer to three...he doesn\'t repeat as much, he doesn\'t line up cars anymore...so take heart.
I realized today after I wrote my previous comment that I really have no advise to give and really shouldn\'t give any. I have no idea how to help, not even in my own situation. I hope you understand that my need to be helpful doesn\'t mean that I have it figured out either. I did realize today though..that if this behavior was easy to turn around then it wuldn\'t be considered a disorder. It is going to take a lot of consistance and time to see results. Have a great day!
I know every child is unique but I thought I\'d add that my son\'s stimming actually has decreased (he\'s now 4.5) with time. As his ability to verbalize and comprehend increased, we found the redirecting easier.
I know every child is unique but I thought I\'d add that my son\'s stimming actually has decreased (he\'s now 4.5) with time. As his ability to verbalize and comprehend increased, we found the redirecting easier.