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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Are The Consequence Of An Autistic Child Beating Himself?

Our 16 year old son has autism and is non verbal. For a little over a month now, he would hit himself (several times) very hard on the chest with his hand. This happens almost everyday..when he is angry ..and sometimes for no obvious reasons to us....While we do our best everyday to stop him from doing this, we wonder and worry about the consequences to his health..What could happen to him if this self-beating continues? Would his organs -heart, lung, etc be damaged/at risk? Help us, please..
Tue, 14 Oct 2014
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Pediatrician 's  Response
Hi, thanks for asking.
I can understand your concerns.
In my opinion there no physical harm in him beating his chest.
It can be either a self stimulatory behaviour or he is trying to communicate something. Or it may be an attention seeking behaviour.
I would suggest you see a developmental paediatrician who can assess this behaviour.
Also you can try alternative and augmentative therapy for alternative communication for him.
I hope I have helped you
Thank you
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What Are The Consequence Of An Autistic Child Beating Himself?

Hi, thanks for asking. I can understand your concerns. In my opinion there no physical harm in him beating his chest. It can be either a self stimulatory behaviour or he is trying to communicate something. Or it may be an attention seeking behaviour. I would suggest you see a developmental paediatrician who can assess this behaviour. Also you can try alternative and augmentative therapy for alternative communication for him. I hope I have helped you Thank you