Hi, my name is DeafBlindMom! I was reading about the child who is ripping her clothes
DeafBlindMom
Community member Posts: 2 Listener
Hey Everyone, I'm new here. I was reading about the child who is ripping her clothes.
My child does a similar thing. She is 18, DeafBlind, and has CHARGE Syndrome.
She is very autistic like in most of her behaviors and functions at about a kindergarten level. She is nonverbal. She communciates behaviorally and with basic ASL, but is losing what little vision she has in her only viable eye She rips her clothes, apron/bibs, coats, also her therapy swing. She uses her teeth to pull the fabric until she creates a tear, then shreds it further with teeth and hands. It usually happens at the end of one thing transitioning to the start of something else, or when she is bored, or highly anxious about being away from home for too long.
We are currently in intensive behavioral therapy. While in the clinic, we set up scenarios to work on interruption, redirection and extinction strategies.
May daughter was given a preferred toy, in this case, a light up globe. She was asked to put on a torn tshirt. We gave her short periods of time to play with the light (1-2 mins) and then asked her to put the toy down and wait (30-60 secs) without negative behaviors,( like ripping the tshirt), before we returned the light. Then repeated many times during the sessions. We made sure she was successful with this in the begining by keeping the wait times short then gradually increasing as her tolerance grew. When she did get frustrated and used unsafe behaviors, she might hit her head with her hand or try to rip the shirt etc, we interrupted the behavior and immediately gave her a file folder to complete and sometimes 2, in order to refocus her attention & give her hands something useful to do. we praised her for "Safe hands" we counted down 5 secs & gave back her light globe as a reward, then reset the clock to repeat. We kept reinforcing "safe hands" It was a great conditioning exercise and I believe my daughter began to comprehend that if I tear my shirt or hit myself I lose my toy. Once we moved into the home based therapy, I did set up practice sessions similar to that in the clinic, but found it was hard to enforce outside of those practice sessions. I couldnt always catch her in time to interrupt or didnt have a file folder within reach or was in a place where i couldnt respond at all, like in the car or out in the community. Also, she wasn't always using a preferred item at the time, which defeated the point of the exercise. This was especially true in the car on the way home from school. So it works in some areas and not in others and works on some behaviors better than others. I do still use these strategies when it makes sense, but Im still searching for a better way to respond to the ripping. We've tried a few other things, but none that really help. It goes in spurts, and is not always predictable. I have started undressing her down to her sports bra in the car on the way home from places, and even at home if we don't have company. But she will occasionally rip even at that. I stopped repairing her favorite shirts and hung them back up in the closet as is so that she can see the torn clothing next time she goes to get dressed. She's running out of options and is forced to choose something else less preferable. So far this makes the most sense to me, but the jury is still out on whether it will have longterm benefits.
Medications help take the edge off of her anxiety, but does nothing for these repetitive OCD behaviors.
I wish I could be in her head for a day!
My child does a similar thing. She is 18, DeafBlind, and has CHARGE Syndrome.
She is very autistic like in most of her behaviors and functions at about a kindergarten level. She is nonverbal. She communciates behaviorally and with basic ASL, but is losing what little vision she has in her only viable eye She rips her clothes, apron/bibs, coats, also her therapy swing. She uses her teeth to pull the fabric until she creates a tear, then shreds it further with teeth and hands. It usually happens at the end of one thing transitioning to the start of something else, or when she is bored, or highly anxious about being away from home for too long.
We are currently in intensive behavioral therapy. While in the clinic, we set up scenarios to work on interruption, redirection and extinction strategies.
May daughter was given a preferred toy, in this case, a light up globe. She was asked to put on a torn tshirt. We gave her short periods of time to play with the light (1-2 mins) and then asked her to put the toy down and wait (30-60 secs) without negative behaviors,( like ripping the tshirt), before we returned the light. Then repeated many times during the sessions. We made sure she was successful with this in the begining by keeping the wait times short then gradually increasing as her tolerance grew. When she did get frustrated and used unsafe behaviors, she might hit her head with her hand or try to rip the shirt etc, we interrupted the behavior and immediately gave her a file folder to complete and sometimes 2, in order to refocus her attention & give her hands something useful to do. we praised her for "Safe hands" we counted down 5 secs & gave back her light globe as a reward, then reset the clock to repeat. We kept reinforcing "safe hands" It was a great conditioning exercise and I believe my daughter began to comprehend that if I tear my shirt or hit myself I lose my toy. Once we moved into the home based therapy, I did set up practice sessions similar to that in the clinic, but found it was hard to enforce outside of those practice sessions. I couldnt always catch her in time to interrupt or didnt have a file folder within reach or was in a place where i couldnt respond at all, like in the car or out in the community. Also, she wasn't always using a preferred item at the time, which defeated the point of the exercise. This was especially true in the car on the way home from school. So it works in some areas and not in others and works on some behaviors better than others. I do still use these strategies when it makes sense, but Im still searching for a better way to respond to the ripping. We've tried a few other things, but none that really help. It goes in spurts, and is not always predictable. I have started undressing her down to her sports bra in the car on the way home from places, and even at home if we don't have company. But she will occasionally rip even at that. I stopped repairing her favorite shirts and hung them back up in the closet as is so that she can see the torn clothing next time she goes to get dressed. She's running out of options and is forced to choose something else less preferable. So far this makes the most sense to me, but the jury is still out on whether it will have longterm benefits.
Medications help take the edge off of her anxiety, but does nothing for these repetitive OCD behaviors.
I wish I could be in her head for a day!
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Comments
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Hi @DeafBlindMom welcome to the forum
I'm sorry I can't offer you any magic solutions, but it sounds like your doing a good job and getting your daughter the right help in therapies.
There are lots of parents on here who connect with advice and support. I've put a link below for more information
https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/support-to-from-friends-family-parents/
Being on this forum can offer lots of support even just a listening ear. Or somewhere for you to make freinds. Lots of topics to join in with, or games if you want to chill and unwind. Take a peek in the coffee lounge.1 -
Thank you Sandy0
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Hey @DeafBlindMom, I noticed things had gone quiet here and I just wanted to check in and see how things were progressing?
Don't be shy with the community, everyone's lovely and helpful, so feel free to get chatting.
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