AUTISM SOLUTIONS
Children under three years old will rarely cause long-term
damage by head banging. Their heads are designed to handle
impact from learning to walk, and head banging will rarely cause
more trauma than a slip-and-fall accident at this age.
has received reports from thousands of parents who
have given their son/daughter vitamin B6, calcium
and/or DMG. These parents often observed rather
dramatic reductions in, and, in some cases, elimina-
tion of self-injurious behavior. Parents have also re-
ported reductions in severe behavior problems soon
after placing their child on a restricted diet, such as
a gluten/casein-free diet, or removing specific foods
to which their child showed signs of an allergic reac-
tion.”
While Edelson admits that researchers and medical
professionals have not reached a clear consensus on
whether dietary or even pharmaceutical interven-
tions can reduce head banging in children with au-
tism, he recommends exploring these options with
your child’s pediatrician.
Can head banging cause brain damage?
In conjunction with figuring out why a child is head
banging, parents often ask if their children will harm
themselves or if head banging can cause perma-
nent injury. Children under three years old will rare-
ly cause long-term damage by head banging. Their
heads are designed to handle impact from learning
to walk, and head banging will rarely cause more
trauma than a slip-and-fall accident at this age. How-
ever, as children get older, they are at a higher risk for
causing lasting damage.
Children who are strong enough to cause injury
should receive functional behavioral intervention
to formulate a plan to replace head banging with
healthy coping and communication strategies.
“[Self-injurious] behaviors can be physically danger-
ous for the individual who is head-banging…and
self-injurious behavior is very concerning for their
caregivers who want to keep these children safe,”
writes Minshawi. “In order to implement a behavior-
al treatment plan for self-injurious behaviors, a func-
tional behavioral assessment should be performed
to help determine the environmental and/or inter-
nal factors that are maintaining the behaviors. This
information is then used to inform behavioral inter-
ventions in order to preempt the causes or replace
the unwanted behaviors with ones that are more ac-
ceptable.”
How can I protect my child from self-
harm?
It can be terrifying to witness when a toddler hits
himself in the head, but protective measures can be
taken to ensure children do not self-injure. Some chil-
dren respond well to resistance exercises including
chin ups or lifting light weights. Tracking when your
child head bangs and to what extent will be helpful
in determining what level of pain he/she might ex-
perience