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My autistic daughter can’t sit still ...

G

groundhogy

Well-Known Member
Hi,
My autistic 8 yr old girl can mostly not sit still. On her worst days, it seems like she’s writhing. Shes always been this way as far as i can remember.

She gets ABA therapy. During the parents meetings i can see the video feeds from all of the other children in each room. The other children can sit at the activity table and do their lessons, but not little miss F. The tech spends alot of energy wrangling F to the table for each learning event.

Any ideas on what this could be?
Has anyone here had this same problem?
 
groundhogy said:
Hi,
My autistic 8 yr old girl can mostly not sit still. On her worst days, it seems like she’s writhing. Shes always been this way as far as i can remember.

She gets ABA therapy. During the parents meetings i can see the video feeds from all of the other children in each room. The other children can sit at the activity table and do their lessons, but not little miss F. The tech spends alot of energy wrangling F to the table for each learning event.

Any ideas on what this could be?
Has anyone here had this same problem?
Click to expand...
For some people the mind works much better while walking around. Often this is a male trait, but certainly females can have this as well. When I was studying in school, I would create study flashcards and walk around the house because if I sat down my mind would shut down after about 30-45 minutes and I would have to stop. However, if I was walking around the house, I could go for hours and still maintain my sharpness of mind.

If you do some research on some of the schools in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, there is a growing trend of making time for the children to go outside and stay active. The academic performance is often much better than the US and UK, and they don't have standardized tests. Even years ago when I was in primary school, we were on the playground before school, had a recess in the morning, after lunch, and then again in the afternoon. We also had physical education class 2-3 days a week. We were always active and burning our energy. Guess what? No such thing as ADHD. It literally wasn't a thing at all until years later when the education system started pulling away from physical activity and wanting children to sit for hours and hours throughout the day. Oh, and your kid, and your kid, and your kid, too now suddenly needs to be medicated to sit still. Something is horribly wrong here. Kids are supposed to be outside playing, for hours out of the day, not stuck in boring classrooms and then stuck inside their home doing hours of homework afterward.

I am of the mind that there is something inherently wrong with our schools, and not our children.
 
It could also be worthing looking into--if you haven't already--having a thorough physical exam done to rule out nutritional deficits, medical conditions, etc.
 
Neonatal RRT said:
For some people the mind works much better while walking around. Often this is a male trait, but certainly females can have this as well. When I was studying in school, I would create study flashcards and walk around the house because if I sat down my mind would shut down after about 30-45 minutes and I would have to stop. However, if I was walking around the house, I could go for hours and still maintain my sharpness of mind.

If you do some research on some of the schools in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, there is a growing trend of making time for the children to go outside and stay active. The academic performance is often much better than the US and UK, and they don't have standardized tests. Even years ago when I was in primary school, we were on the playground before school, had a recess in the morning, after lunch, and then again in the afternoon. We also had physical education class 2-3 days a week. We were always active and burning our energy. Guess what? No such thing as ADHD. It literally wasn't a thing at all until years later when the education system started pulling away from physical activity and wanting children to sit for hours and hours throughout the day. Oh, and your kid, and your kid, and your kid, too now suddenly needs to be medicated to sit still. Something is horribly wrong here. Kids are supposed to be outside playing, for hours out of the day, not stuck in boring classrooms and then stuck inside their home doing hours of homework afterward.

I am of the mind that there is something inherently wrong with our schools, and not our children.
Click to expand...
If you look at the suicide rates and mental illness rates, it's obvious that a lot of modern society traded off physical hardships for mental hardships. I couldn't imagine living with the social pressures and expectations of plastic surgery culture in South Korea, for example.

So in that sense, yes, ADHD might be seen as a product of trying to fit artificial expectations that would never have been a thing in a more agrarian society. Thomas Edison got kicked out of primary school because he would not stay still in his seat and could not sustain his attention through lessons. He had no formal education but still became the Elon Musk of his time. He even did a line of self-teaching portable desks where kids could teach themselves basic knowledge and handwriting, if I recall.

I don't think there's a right way or wrong way to deal with ADHD just like there's a right way or wrong way to deal with ASD1.
 
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As a super active kid, l was always out biking riding, playing tennis with random strangers, roller skating, skateboarding. Is there anyway for your daughter to get physical exercise? Maybe join martial arts? That promotes discipline and great exercise, it really helps kids become very responsible, and gives them routine.
 
This whole talk is delightful, but one answer to your question starts about 15 minutes in;
 
groundhogy said:
Hi,
My autistic 8 yr old girl can mostly not sit still. On her worst days, it seems like she’s writhing. Shes always been this way as far as i can remember.

She gets ABA therapy. During the parents meetings i can see the video feeds from all of the other children in each room. The other children can sit at the activity table and do their lessons, but not little miss F. The tech spends alot of energy wrangling F to the table for each learning event.

Any ideas on what this could be?
Has anyone here had this same problem?
Click to expand...
ABA may not be the best therapy. My understanding is that they try to make autistic people not be autistic thru rewards and punishments. Almost Pavlovian.

This sounds more like ADHD. Many NT kids have the same problem. (Former substitute teacher here.)
 
As a parent of a kid with ASD that also struggles to sit still, our experience is that fitting a mental straightjacket makes it worse. His teachers initially tried to restrict him more and more, in the end coming up with a pose he had to maintain (sat down, legs crossed, hands together, in lap, face forward, rifle over shoulder type of thing). We also note that trying to train away a disability is probably going to increase stress and the tendency for fidgeting. He does best when positively engaged in things he finds interesting. Recognising that things like maths, grammar and spelling don't appeal to all children at first pass, the challenge is to find ways of teaching that appeal to his mindset. We found self-motivated research and project based learning were positive. YMMV.
 
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What happens if you give her a little teacup full of coffee or tea?

If it makes her sleepy and focused, you might want to try that. Many neurodiverse children start yawning after a can of Mtn Dew.

There is a lovely tincture to try. It's called Kalmerite Glycerite. It is sweet and tastes like mint. It helps one to relax and takes the edge off of anxiety.

wisewomanherbals.com

Kalmerite Glycerite

Supports normal healthy emotional balance and a normal healthy response to temporary stress.* Benefits: Supports happy days Supports focus Promotes feelings of well-being in children and adults Alcohol-free extract Properties: relaxing nervine Ingredients: Catnip, lemon balm, passionflower...
wisewomanherbals.com wisewomanherbals.com
 
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ABA can be useful in many situations. It can help speech and other forms of communication, potty training, object recognition, meltdowns, and more, but I don't know if it would apply to a child who simply can't sit still.

And I'd ask a doctor before giving a young child caffeine.
 
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