Brain Power with Dr. Eko

Ep. 11 | My Child with Autism Bangs Their Head: Reasons and Strategies for Managing this Behavior.

• Dr. Hokehe Eko • Season 1 • Episode 11

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Navigating the stormy seas of parenting isn't easy, especially when your child with autism faces the compulsion to headbang. In our heartfelt discussion, we delve into this perplexing behavior and offer a treasure trove of practical strategies designed to bring solace to both you and your child. From parsing out the hidden messages behind each headbang to creating a nurturing environment that addresses sensory needs, we provide a compassionate blueprint for mitigating this distressing behavior. Plus, find solace in knowing that every moment spent in one-on-one connection is a step towards a calmer, happier child.

Joining us on this journey is a pediatric holistic specialist, whose wisdom on natural approaches for children with ADHD and autism shines a light on the path to improved health and well-being. We tackle the everyday hurdles of dietary challenges, sleep issues, and gastrointestinal discomfort, arming you with holistic solutions that could transform routine struggles into victories. This episode isn't just about finding peace for your child; it's about enhancing the deep bond you share by enriching your parenting toolkit with knowledge that resonates with your family's unique rhythm.

Find the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and check out the video version on our YouTube channel!

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If you want to schedule an ADHD/Autism appointment for your child, you may contact Glow Pediatrics:

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Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Hello everyone, I'm your happy brain pediatrician, and today we're going to talk about the topic of my child headbangs and what should I do about it. So a couple of things with neurotypical children, right? Children who don't have a diagnosis of autism or any other neurological disorders. they too, can headbang. We see neurotypical toddler's, babies, headbanging, and usually they outgrow it by the age of three. So if your child with autism, that had been diagnosed with autism continues to headbang past the age of three, then I wanted to talk about some tips for you parents.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

So there are several reasons why children will bang their heads against an object, against a floor. It's an indication of physical pain that the child may be feeling, physical, and they're headbanging as a way to distract them from the pain that they feel, and so it's critical to recognize that as well. The other reason could be that you're frustrated and maybe they're not able to verbalize to you what's really going on with them, and so they will headbang to get your attention. The other reason that's kind of linked to what I just said is they mainly will use headbanging as a way to get your attention, because they know that if they headbang, then their caregiver, their parent, will rush over to attend to them, then they may be more likely to use that as a strategy. And the other reason that a child with autism may bang their heads is as a symptom of sensory overload, right? They don't know how to handle all of the stimuli that they're getting all at the same time, and so their neurotransmitters are not transmitting what's going on with their brain or what stimuli they may be feeling, and so what you will see is that they will headbang as a result of that, because it's just too much for them to handle. And so all of these things are really important for parents and caregivers to know in children with autism as a way to appropriately address them. Right, your child is doing this for a reason. So, as any good parent or caregiver, we want to find out what the reason is.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

So we'll go through a few things, a few strategies, to help you identify what's going on. So the very first one is track your child's behavior. What does your child do just before they start headbanging? Usually, with children diagnosed with autism, it's a pattern, right? You see children headbang or bang their heads repeatedly for like a period of time, and it can come in episodes, and they may or may not be an apparent trigger. But I'm asking that you study your child to see what happens before they start the behavior and also what happens right after it ends. Does your child do anything right after they stop banging their heads? And if so, it's important to keep track of that. It's important to keep track of what happens before so that if there's any way to mitigate the situation meaning to maybe redirect your child or to address whatever that trigger may be you can do that to prevent them from going through with banging their heads.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

So the second strategy I'm going to discuss is tied in the area. Often children with autism will pick an area, a particular area in the house where they will bang their heads. I'm not saying this is 100%, but it does happen. If you identify those areas, it's important to pad them with soft sponges or foam pads, things like that, so that they don't really hurt themselves. And to go back to what I previously said about neurotypical children, babies, toddlers banging their heads. Thankfully, often they don't bang their heads hard enough to injure themselves, but we're not going to wait for that to happen. Right, we're going to protect the area that your child will usually bang their heads in so that we can prevent any brain injuries from happening.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

The third thing would be to spend quality time. Like I mentioned, children some children will use the banging of their heads as a way to get your attention, and so, parents, it's so important that we put down our devices and that we spend one on one, quality time with our children, because, even if your child has a diagnosis, they still feel, they still are aware to some degree of what's going on, and they do know who you are. They do want your warmth, they do want to spend time with you. It goes such a long way. It strengthens the bond you have with your child. It helps your child regulate their emotions because they can feel your love and your care for them when you spend time one on one with them, and so, as much as possible, please incorporate that into your day with your child, because that helps your child more than you even know or can imagine.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

And the fourth thing I'm going to address is sensory input. How can we build a daily routine of sensory input? And what do I mean by that? So, activities that will activate their vestibular system, which is a system that controls movement and position. Right, it's found in the inner ears. So when your child does activities like rocking on the chair, using an electric toothbrush, those things activate their vestibular system and what it does is it helps soothe their need for the headbanging and so they're less likely to bang their heads. They're less likely to do that when that system has been activated. So, like rocking chairs or rocking horses, things like that help your children decrease the need and the urge to bang their heads.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

The last thing I'll say is consider a protective helmet for your child. The products for children who have autism lots of it has changed and they have lots of products now where they're more comfortable and they look better, and it will definitely help. If your child is prone to really hitting their heads really hard and like against surfaces like a wooden floor or hard surface floor, you definitely want to consider this and I will talk to your pediatrician as well and consider the use of a helmet for your child's head to prevent any head injuries or decrease the head injuries, the possibilities of head injuries. And so, parents, I know this is a difficult area to talk about. I understand the pain, the frustration of not knowing how best to help your child, and so that's why I'm on here sharing these tips and I hope this helps. If you need further information, I'll be happy. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer your questions. Please leave them in the comments below.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I'm going to be doing more of these short topics. If you have any topic you'd like me to address, please let me know as well. I'll be happy to do that. Again, as I always encourage parents, you are the best parents for your child. Thank you for spending the time to watch this to learn how to better care for your child. Please take care of yourself as well, because you cannot care for your child unless you care for yourself and know that we're here to support you. I'm here to support you in this journey that you walk through to help you and your child get to the place where your child can go with health from the inside out, so that your entire family can thrive.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

So if you live in the state of Oklahoma and you feel that your child needs a diagnosis or an evaluation for autism and or ADHD, go Pediatrics is offering virtual and in-person evaluations for the entire state. So go to our website, gopediatricscom and get on the wait list Right now. We're at two weeks, so instead of being on the wait list for months and even years. Get on our wait list and we'll be happy to help you get the diagnosis that you need. And even more than that.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I'm the pediatrician that specializes in ADHD and autism in a holistic manner, and I will be happy to walk you through how best you can help your child go with health. You can help your child become healthy. You can address symptoms in your child's like constipation, like the inability to sleep or not sleeping well, the picky eating that can be quite frustrating and hard to deal with. That's what I do. I'm happy to help parents walk through those things so that they the parents can do better, the children can do better and the entire family will thrive. And so I look forward to serving you. Please share this with family or friends that need to hear about it, and please subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also have a podcast. Bring power to Dr Echo and look forward to just being a part of your journey. Again, have a wonderful day and remember you are valuable, you are the best parent for your child and I'm here to support you. Have an amazing day.