Does Autism cause violent behavior

[elme]

Last week, my 6 year old grandson was attacked by a 10 year old boy who is said to be autistic.  The boy got aggitated when my son and another little boy called his name at the after school daycare.  He knocked my grandson (the smaller of the two boys) to the ground and started choking him.  He had to be pulled off of my grandson, but there were marks left on my grandson and he was quite shaken up.  The parents of the 10 year old said that he had done that do them as well in the past.  The daycare center is suspending this 10 year old from the center and of course, I am happy to hear that - This was a serious attack that could have ended in tragedy.

I cannot find any symptoms that suggest an autistic child is violent or becomes violent.  Is this normal?  Obviously, at the parents admission, this particular child has moments of violence.  I just have never heard of this type of behavior from an autistic child.  I am "thinking" that this child has been misdiagnosed.  Yes, I am extremely upset over the attack on my grandson, but I am also concerned for this 10 year old because IF he has been misdiagnosed, he is more than likely, also receiving the wrong medications that very well could be causing the random acts of violence.

[specialmom]

Hi,  as you know autism is on a spectrum and many autistic kids CAN actually communicate.  While some autistic kids can be violent for various reasons (including mood regulation/modulation difficulties related to their nervous systems)----  many are not.  It is hard to generalize about such a thing.

I am sorry though that your daughter is having such a rough time of it.  Is she in the pulic school's intervention program? Is she able to communicate at all?  

[emilysmom14]

You are wrong!!!! Autism does cause children to be very physical. Most Autistic children cannot talk this is their only way to comminicate. If they feel agitated how else do they express it. My daughter is six years old and autistic nad she becomes very physical at times. This child should not of been removed from the daycare the boys bullying him should have been removed!

[Jeanne61]

My son is 18 and has a diagnosis of ASD and moderate learning and behavioural and social difficulities.
He lashes out at times much less now than he used to though thankfully, he would also hit himself on his head with extreme force.  He could never tell us why he did these things.  He has not got the communication skills to express what he is feeling/why he does these things.  His mental age is about 2.1/2 - 3 years of age.

Anything can trigger my son off, one minute he is fine and the next he could hit himself of someone else.  

[SuperCake]

NO! this is NOT normal!

i am autistic and i have never been violent towards anybody. i do my best to avoid hostile situations.

i have known of other autistic people in my small circle of friends to be violent, but it does not come with the territory. at least not for me, anyway.

[lilmissmedic]

Your comment does nothing but put your ignorance on display for everyone to see. Thank you for reminding me why autism awareness and education are still so needed in this country. I would be mindful of what comes out of your mouth.. Karma has a very good sense of humor... I would hate to see you end up with an autistic child or grandchild. I see you rocking back and forth in a corner, crying your eyes out, waiting for help to come to you...

[specialmom]

You sound like a very lovely woman.  good luck with your son.