My daughter is hitting her chin on her chest and throwing head back or forward,why?

[marissasdad]

My daughter is on the autism spectrum,turned 3yo Dec 26th and is still not crawling.
Major delays in development.
Heart surgery at 6months old.

We have been putting 110% into our little girl and trying to continue special therapy with her every day.
Just when we think we are making some progress she has started to throw her head violently forward,enough that her head hits her chest. This seems to be voluntary.
She is also rubbing her chin now quite often.

Does anyone know why she has started to do this?

Thanks in advance.

[Sally44]

Regarding therapies.  You could look into whether any of the listening therapies might be beneficial.  There is clinical evidence that these do have a positive effect.  We are about to start a programme called Listening With the Whole Body.  The Occupational Therapies is overseeing this.  Again this uses certain musical frequences to stimulate the brain, and they also direct the frequences to different sections of the brain responsible for different abilities.  Does your daughter have any sensory issues?

[Sally44]

I just wanted to put in a caution about the baby bouncer.  My physio told me that they are not good for children with developmental issues because movement directly influences brain development and jumping like that is not a normal physical movement.  A trampoline is different because you have to control the movement more.  But basically because many children on the spectrum have movement problems the kinds of exercises that are said to be beneficial are any kind of crawling (I know your daughter isn't at that stage yet - if a physio is doing work with his talk to them about this.  Certain movements cross the mid-line and helps wire up the brain left/right top/bottom etc.  Because their brains wire up differently many have movement difficulties, co-ordination/balance problems, problems with hand dominance, poor hand writing and motor planning issues etc etc.  When your daughter does become mobile those fabric tubes you can get to attach to play tents are ideal for encouraging this type of movement.  Also talk to the physio about brain gym exercises.  Swimming is also very good because it encourages the crawling type movements in an environment where they don't have to take their own body weight.  Trampoline is also good for brain development and co-ordination and balance issues.  I've not heard anything negative about swinging.  You might find a place that does therapeutic horse riding.  I know shes very young and may need holding on the horse - but even so you have to begin somewhere and work forwards.  
Regarding movement behaviours, I was watching one of those films about childrens homes in places like Romania and inside it showed alot of the children spent huge amounts of time each day tied up or restrained and all of them showed repetitive movement behaviours.  The reason they gave for this was that their being restricted and not stimulated physically or mentally caused these behaviours.  Obviously the cause is not the same for your daughter as she is not restrained.  However in a way she is by her delayed development restraining her.  You could also have a word with Occupational Therapist working with her and tell her your suspicions that the head throwing is linked to a reduction in movement activities.  She may have some ideas.  They may also have access to lots of sensory toys that she might like to play with.

[MJIthewriter]

"People with normal children don't know how lucky they are."

You should ask my dad how he feels to have raised me and my "normal" sister.  He can tell you sometimes having a "normal" child isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Each person will have their strengths and weaknesses and life is learning to cope and to overcome those weaknesses.

I agree with Sally about seeing if you can find different sources of movement for your daughter.  Chances are she will like being rocked and maybe spun gently.  I used to like to spin, but I hated it if people picked me up by my legs and spun me. I had a relative that did that and I tried to escape when I got the chance.

[marissasdad]

Sally44, you read my mind about the mobility/head throwing connection.
I have thought about it and ever since the cold weather has started
(British Columbia,Canada) we have stopped putting Marissa on her swing (outdoors) which she loves. That is when the head throwing seemed to start again.
We are going to pick up a indoor swing at IKEA which has been recommended.
We have also been putting her in a Jolly Jumper which she loves.
3yo and in a Jolly Jumper.Sometimes I wonder.
People with normal children don't know how lucky they are.
It is a long road sometimes.
My wife has read the Jenny McCarthy book and have Marissa on a strict diet with liquid suppliments and B12 injections.
We have done hyperbaric treatments and are now starting neurofeedback sessions.

Thanks for all the great feedback.This site is great.

[Sally44]

Well great minds think alike!  I too, like MJ had a go at bending my head forward and throwing it back!
It maybe that she is trying to get movement sensation, so try different types of movement to see what she likes.  Get her in the teaching pool at the swimming baths if you can.  Eventhough she isn't walking, other areas of brain development maybe on time and movement is essential for brain development, especially movements such as crawling.  I presume she has professionals such as OT or physio seeing her already?  You could ask them what kinds of movements you can do at home to help development, and try to incorporate them into things she likes doing whether it is swimming, trampoline bounding, swinging etc.  Does she have poor muscle tone?  If so you may find a class for children with cerebal palsy that does exercises.  You maybe able to go along to one of those classes with your daughter.

[888mom]

May 5th... El Cinco de Mayo...

Are you on the gluten free and casein free diet?  What kind of foods do you eat?  

Doctor checked my daughter for wheat and milk allergies and she has none.  She is allergic to eggs, though, which I've known for some time now since she breaks out in hives and has stomach issues if she eats anything with even a touch of egg in it.  She has no issues with wheat or milk.  For the time being we are not limiting her diet because she won't eat a wide variety of foods, and without any tests that show any sensitivity to wheat and milk, they are a good source of carbs and protein.  She has no intestinal problems and she never gets sick. We don't have a lot of bakery items because of the egg allergy, so aside from macaroni, she doesn't really eat wheat but macaroni is one of her staple food items.  She's a big meat and fruit eater and some veggies like corn and sweet potatoes.  She also likes soup with rice and chicken in it with carrots and celery if they are really soggy.  

I am diabetic so I try to go lower gluten anyways.  I also have a slight to moderate allergy to wheat.  There is something called sprouted grain bread.  It's got the grain, so yes it does have wheat in it, but the glycemic index and wheat is much lower than regular bread.  I have also tried making bread in my bread machine at home with spelt flour which cuts out a lot of wheat but the texture is not great and it kind of falls apart.  There are breads in the grocery store in the freezer section that are organic and have no wheat in them, but most of them are made with nuts (almonds or walnuts) and I have a bad allergy to nuts except peanuts (peanuts are different from tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.).  Pediatrician told me absolutely do not give her anything with nuts or nut oils in it since the  nut allergy seems to run in my family since my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother, and one of my sisters, and myself all have the same allergic reaction.  

[MJIthewriter]

I file down my nails when they get rough because I can't stand any sort of roughness and snagging fabric on my nails.

Marissasdad: I tried bending my head forward to touch my chest to see what it feels like. If I do it back and forth, it kind of gives me a dizzy like feeling.  That could be what your daughter is seeking.  

Or it could be something else.  For some reason my throat and chin itch and I've been scratching. I suspect the dry weather is being part a cause for the itching for me.  Maybe some allergies as well.  But with your daughter it sounds like a sensory thing like the other members here suggested.

[Sally44]

I am also a serious nail biter.  Horrible habit I know.  I also bite the skin around my nails until it bleeds.  Hmm, actually typing that has disgusted me so much that I may try to stop the habit.  Funnily it does run in phases, ie. I will go months without biting and have long nails, and then suddenly I want to bite them again.  Is your daughter just siting and biting her nails, or is she using it as a way of concentrating on something else?  You could try introducing something else to fiddle with.  You can use theraputty, or something like a string with beads on (as long as she can't undo it and swallow the beads).  You can also buy a liquid to paint on nails that tastes disgusting, but I don't know if you would want to try that?
When my son used to bang his head it was out of frustration.  Thankfully he hasn't done that for ages.  If he has a really bad tantrum he might hit himself on the head, but its rare.
Regarding your daughter getting dressed.  Sometimes, doing something in the same way means it makes sense and you know what the procedure is.  If you start dressing differently then what comes next, an arm or a leg?  It throws the whole exercise into chaos.  I'm sure she will grow out of it.  But many times doing things differently = a totally new thing to someone with autism.  My OT wrote a report, which stated very clearly, "when giving verbal instructions always use a simple sentence.  If you have to repeat the instruction use the same words again because new words = new instruction."  The getting dressed maybe a similar thing ie. different sequence of dressing = different task, and that may make it harder or even unrecognisable to your daughter.

[penny16]

she is possibly having a fit to get attention. if she is on an autism spectrum, try looking up Jenny McCarthy and the gluten-free, cassein-free diet. if she has not started talking yet get her into speech therapy. I happen to be a 15 year old girl that is on the autism spectrum. I was diagnosed May 5, 2008.

[888mom]

Sally,  I loved your response... maybe you can figure this one out too... My daughter started biting her nails about 6 months ago.  We have to continuously grab her hands out of her mouth.  I mean serious nail biting below the nail that personally I worry about infection.  

I don't know why these behaviors pop up.  I dont' know why she went through the head banging phase when she was younger.  I don't know why she has to have her left arm in her shirt sleeve before the right one when she gets dressed every single morning and at night with the pajamas... or left shoe on before the right one... Oh, wait... I actually have that problem myself... but, nope, can't tell you why I do it either... Maybe she does it because I do... LOL... Oh wait, I used to bite my nails too... I quit a few months ago but still do it when she isn't looking.  I at least know when to stop and not go so far down... I really hope she didn't start biting her nails because mommy did... *sigh*

[Sally44]

Like many things with autism, it is sometimes a process of elimination trying to get to the root of behaviours.
Try to be a bit of a detective to see what is happening before she starts this behaviour to see if it ties in with that.
Do you suspect she has sensory differences?  Many times movement, such as rocking, spinning, swinging, jumping etc are due to sensory issues.  As your daughter is not up and mobile, this is just a guess, but maybe throwing her head back and forward is somekind of movement sensation she is seeking.  
With Sensory difficulties any or all of the senses can be affected and it fluctuates throughout the day and day to day.  So, for example, my son has oversensitive hearing, but it also fluctuates to the point that at other times he appears deaf.  So he might cover his ears at sudden unpredictable noise, or talk to himself to block out noise, or make noise, or appear deaf, plus he likes to go to drum club.  That is a huge variation in his ability to process sound.  But you will need to watch and experiment with your daughter.  Eg. does she like to swing, does she like deep pressure etc.  Or is this some kind of avoidance behaviour to something else that is happening.  
If you do suspect she has sensory integration dysfunction then an Occupational Therapist is the professional to assess for this and put together a treatment plan.  You would need your doctor to refer you.
Rubbing her chin could be a similar thing.  Try giving her different types of fabric texture to see what she does with it eg. cotton, fur etc.
Please post back to say if this is useful.