Sensory Input Gone Wild

In an ABA session last week, Yester’s case manager calls me to tell me about an innapropriate incident during his session. First, let me start by explaining that Yester enjoy’s squeezing your skinny.  You know, those cute little fat rolls under our rib cages or that lucious extra swaying skin under your arm.  Somtimes, it’s that vuluptious amount of skin where your 16 year old body used to have thighs.  Yester’s teacher made an executive decision that this was our “skinny” not our fat!The sensation of squeezing or his skin on your skin is soothing and comforting to him.  Well, quite frankly….he enjoys it.  Mostly, these squishy sessions are reserved for the females only. Yester’s newest tutor to our team, Amber, is a female.  Very different from the two male tutors he currently has.  He liked her immediately!So, that brings us to last weeks incident.  Yester told his “new” tutor that he wanted to work for squishy and his case manager, unfamiliar with how often he’s been seeking out this behavior, allowed him to work for “squishy”.  BIG MISTAKE!!

The phone call I received placed her on the other end of what was a very concerned tone, as she explained what happened. ”Yester had worked for “squishy” and then he went from squeezing to thrusting his hips onto Amber’s leg.”  Like one of those little, yip yip, annoying chihuahua’s dogs. 

I was mortified and embarassed to say the least.  She went on to say that my three-year-old son had a small irrection and that he had “pee’d” his pants after she sternly said, “No, Yester.  I don’t like that!”  Now, before I lose it, a million thoughts entered my mind and questions?

Ohhhhhhhhhh………… the questions I had!! 

Concerned? to say the least! 

Frightened? You bet your Ass! 

Confused?  Like no other.

She assured me that parts of what happened were completely normal.  I told her, “Sure, I’ve seen the morning wood fairy work her magic on my boy but, seek this stimulus out?  I don’t believe that for one moment.” 

I felt for a moment that maybe Tod and I were to blame.  Had he seen mommy and daddy doing the horizontal mambo and we didn’t notice?  I don’t think so.  Everytime I’ve been up late watching HBO, he’s been in bed.  Right?  I’m pretty confident on the answer’s to these questions.

I truly had no idea.  Of course, the worst came to mind too.  I had to think.  “No, I’ve never left him with anyone un supervised that was just him and another person alone.”  So, what gives.  Perhaps, the sensory seeking has just reached an all time high.  I don’t think he realizes his behavior is innappropriate.  All he knows, is he likes the way it feels.

So the concensus was, teaching him that “squishy” behavior is innappropriate and when someone says, “stop that” he needs to respond in a socially appropriate manner. If this behavior continues, his ABA team will have to start taking data on it.  Yester’s case manager seemed to think that Yester might be acting out because of how much time I’ve been spending away from home (I recently signed on to do some consulting jobs on the side).   Personally, I think it’s sesory input gone wild!  My solution:  I bought a ball made out of synthetic material that feels like Lycra, filled with some sort of small granules that feels like you’re squishing someone’s skin.  My thought, was if he likes the input, give him something that is more appropriate to “squish” and give him parameters and rules as to when and where that behavior is more appropriate.

I really hope I’m doing the right things and asking the right questions.

~ by Autism Today on July 20, 2007.