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How To Control A Child Who Screams, Hit Himself, Throw Things For No Apparent Reason?
My 1 1/2 year old screams for no reason hits himself and throws himself back hitting his head. He hits, throws things or does whatever he can to hurt people usually for no apparent reason. I can't find anyway to make him stop until he decides too, is this normal?
Wed, 4 Dec 2013
Hi there,
Thank you for choosing healthcaremagic.
As you mentioned that your 1.5 yr old screams, hits himself and throws things for reasons you don't understand.
I would like to ask you some important things about his behavior so as to understand why he is having this type of behavior.
1. Was he born on time and did have to stay in Neonatal ICU for any reason.
2. Has he had these changes in his behavior recently?
3. Does he seem to make eye contact with you, does he look at you when you call his name.
4. Did he pass his hearing screen or has had a formal hearing evaluation ever?
5. Has he had normal milestones so far- like is he able to run, does he speak atleast 6 words with meaning, does he respond to you when you call his name, does he look around and point at things that he wants. Can he point to atleast 1 bodypart.
6. Some warning signs for autism-
He does not look at you in your eye when you talk to him, he does not pretend that he is playing with something like other kids of his age do, he seems to have a blank stare, he makes unusual finger or hand movements in front of his face or he seems to be excessively annoyed or angered by loud sounds?
I would strongly suggest you to discuss these answers with your pediatrician or get back with me, since these are important in finding out if your child is having a normal toddler behavior or suffering from autistic behavior.
You can also consult a behavioral and developmental specialist to get his behavioral evaluated.
If his hearing and vision are normal and autism is ruled out, then there is a likelihood at this age group children start developing temper tantrums and they seek attention, it is best to ignore these temper tantrums and not feed into these by attending to all his wishes since these make the temper tantrums worse. The best you can do is to attend to his immediate needs that you think are significant and take him to a place where he is safe and ignore his tantrum and also when you start to notice that his tantrum is about to start, then you can help him by distracting him to an activity that he would enjoy.
Hope this is of help to you.
Wish you and your son best of health.
Regards,
Dr. Sumeet.
Thank you for choosing healthcaremagic.
As you mentioned that your 1.5 yr old screams, hits himself and throws things for reasons you don't understand.
I would like to ask you some important things about his behavior so as to understand why he is having this type of behavior.
1. Was he born on time and did have to stay in Neonatal ICU for any reason.
2. Has he had these changes in his behavior recently?
3. Does he seem to make eye contact with you, does he look at you when you call his name.
4. Did he pass his hearing screen or has had a formal hearing evaluation ever?
5. Has he had normal milestones so far- like is he able to run, does he speak atleast 6 words with meaning, does he respond to you when you call his name, does he look around and point at things that he wants. Can he point to atleast 1 bodypart.
6. Some warning signs for autism-
He does not look at you in your eye when you talk to him, he does not pretend that he is playing with something like other kids of his age do, he seems to have a blank stare, he makes unusual finger or hand movements in front of his face or he seems to be excessively annoyed or angered by loud sounds?
I would strongly suggest you to discuss these answers with your pediatrician or get back with me, since these are important in finding out if your child is having a normal toddler behavior or suffering from autistic behavior.
You can also consult a behavioral and developmental specialist to get his behavioral evaluated.
If his hearing and vision are normal and autism is ruled out, then there is a likelihood at this age group children start developing temper tantrums and they seek attention, it is best to ignore these temper tantrums and not feed into these by attending to all his wishes since these make the temper tantrums worse. The best you can do is to attend to his immediate needs that you think are significant and take him to a place where he is safe and ignore his tantrum and also when you start to notice that his tantrum is about to start, then you can help him by distracting him to an activity that he would enjoy.
Hope this is of help to you.
Wish you and your son best of health.
Regards,
Dr. Sumeet.
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