My brother has autism and Leigh disease. How can I stop him from ripping his clothes?

Lhutchinson

My brother lives with me he is 40 non verbal ausitic and Leigh disease he is constantly ripping his clothes shirt and pants.  I have tried letting him know he can't do that. I have even sewed his pockets clothes getting him b neck shirts. I do not know where to turn or how to respond to is and he knows he is not suppose to do that because he will look at me before he rips them. As well as ripping them during night. What can I do?

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

Could you give him some old clothes or bed sheets or something though this may encourage the behaviour 

There are things called twiddle mitts which are effective for people it's a mitt they put their hands in and there are different items attached of different textures eg buttons , ribbons etc 

Also fidget cubes or fidget spinners 

Alex_Alumni

Hi @Lhutchinson

Welcome to the community and thanks for sharing your query. I would second what janer1967 has said, it might be worth trying to occupy his hands on something like a fidget spinner, fidget cube or twiddle mitt, so that he can channel that energy into those rather than his clothes. 

We had a similar discussion on the forum from not long ago which might be helpful as well.

Do let us know if we can help any further, please don't hesitate to ask

Alex

staycb1985

Lhutchinson said:

My brother lives with me he is 40 non verbal ausitic and Leigh disease he is constantly ripping his clothes shirt and pants.  I have tried letting him know he can't do that. I have even sewed his pockets clothes getting him b neck shirts. I do not know where to turn or how to respond to is and he knows he is not suppose to do that because he will look at me before he rips them. As well as ripping them during night. What can I do?

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know you're not alone. My 9 year old son has ASD and also does this.