Ideas for constant jumping?

[BeachPeace]

Blue has started a new thing of just jumping in place - ALL the time. Even though he is not technically on the Spectrum - it reminds me of one of Indigo's stimming behaviors.

Anyway - he is really pushing her with all that motion and noise is causing her to yell at him and get overwhelmed/meltdown.

I had an idea of getting a little mini trampoline to put in his room, but husband thinks that doing that would only "encourage" the jumping behavior. My gut tells me that he needs the stimulation and maybe if I could give the activity some boundries ie: jump in your room...I could lessen Indigo's sensitivity.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? This new "stimming" type behavior started a couple weeks ago when his aggression increased?? I have no idea why - except that this all coincided with school getting out for the summer.

Anyway - thanks for reading and any insight.

 

[Wiped Out]

I really like the idea of a mini trampoline. We have one for our difficult child. Both of my kids ended up loving it when we got it. Now they hardly use it but I pull it out from time to time and it really helps.

 

[KTMom91]

Sounds like a good idea to me, Beach.

 

[TerryJ2]

I think it sounds like a great idea. Seriously, he's going to do it anyway. Make it safe, healthy and fun.

We could always tell which one was difficult child on the baseball field, no matter how far in the outfield he was, because he was the one jumping up and down like he had ants in his pants. I never had to memorize the number on his shirt for 2 yrs, LOL!

P.S. That was on Adderall, too. I wondered what it would be like if he hadn't taken it ... He'd probably be over the fence on another baseball field!

 

[tictoc]

Mini trampolines are great! We got one for difficult child at the suggestion of my therapist. difficult child loves it. When he needs to bounce, he has his place to do it and it isn't on the couch, finally.

My difficult child also loves to swing, so we have a rope ladder swing hanging from a tree in our backyard. It provides the rhythmic movement of a swing, but also makes him work harder to hold on so he gets a good workout.

Good luck.

 

[TerryJ2]

BeachPeace, there is a test done by some neurologists where you put a kid on a swing and twirl him around and around until he gets dizzy. It has to do with-inner ear issues. Many of our kids actually want to be twirled around more! But neurotypicals will yell "Stop!" and be ready to throw up.
I did it at home (a friend gave me a list of tests that the docs gave her Aspie son ... why spend the $? ) and difficult child twirled a mere 2X b4 he wanted me to stop.
As he gets older, he becomes more sensitive to movement, and no longer likes car rides, or rides at Busch Gardens, etc. I thought I was the only one that sensitive ...

 

[BeachPeace]

My daughter Indigo - (who was diagnosis'd as Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) before she was 2 and changed to Asperger's at age 8) used to LOVE all the motion ... but as she gets older she has become very sensitive to it as well. Since her brother is in constant motion it makes for a very wild mix...
I love the idea of a rope ladder swing.... I would of course have make sure that neither one of them could hurt the other one with it. I can just see Indigo hanging Blue upside down.....

 

[hearts and roses]

Oh my, I just laughed out loud when I read the title of your post, I had to read it!

My now 20 difficult child NEEDED motion all the time as a little one, from birth. She was in her johnny jumper at 2 months because the swing just wasn't enough. She would hold one toe down and wind herself up in the jumper and then let go while spinning out - her eyes were crazy when it was all done. I even asked the pediatrician if it was okay to allow this and he said it was fine as long as she was unable to get hurt. My exh even installed it in the center beam of our living room so she couldn't hit any walls!

At about Blue's age my difficult child began jumping in place and doing jumping jacks whenever she put something in the microwave. For her, she was counting how many jumping jacks she did before the beeper went off, but still that constant motion was necessary for her. Later it was the pogo stick....

I think a tramp would be the most awesome way in which he can feel comfortable in his room with his jumping without bothering Indigo. Definitely.

 

[Shari]

Our house, especially in the winter months, is a variable Disney land. Wee broke the leg off the mini tramp, so it will have to be replaced this year, but he also has a padded barrel to roll in, a swing and a bar in the doorway, a hideout under his bed, and a loft above it. We also keep 2 big foam mats for winter use. We'd go crazy without it. Like the others, he has to move.

A couple of years ago, he took the mini tramp and set it in front of the couch, then the foam mats and all the pillows and lined them up in a straight line across the room. He'd jump from the couch to the tramp and then flip and roll the length of the room on the pillows. Did it for 3 hours non-stop...

That was an "extreme" incident...its usually much less involved and detailed, but there are times...

 

[TerryJ2]

Ohhhhhhh, yeah! I forgot about the Johnny Jump Up!
My husband did not want one because it causes some kind of spinal issue and can slow down the walking process. Well, I put difficult child in one at a friend's house and I have never seen a happier kid, ever. Plus, it kept him busy. He was a very busy boy!
I immediately bought one and hung it up, and when husband came home, he complained ...
well, I won.
difficult child would cry to get back into that thing.
Gosh, I'd forgotten all about that ...

 

[AnnieO]

BFF has a full-size one for his kids, and it seems to help wear them out. So far, they're mostly showing non-difficult child behaviors, but like many kids move a LOT more than adults do.

Last summer, 5-y/o conned Aunt Step into jumping with her while I was babysitting. BFF got home and I swear I thought he was going to fall over from shock. I'm not exactly athletic!

BUT - trampolines are great. Mini are better for the little ones. Full-size are just scary dangerous.

 

[Shari]

The dad in the book Reasonable People (I think that's the title) built onto his house to house a trampoline for his son.

We have a full size trampoline outside. I agree they are kinda dangerous, but so's my difficult child without them...

 

[trinityroyal]

Mini trampoline, pogo stick, something. I agree with the others that, rather than trying to stop the behaviour, you just need to redirect it in a constructive way.

I have a perennial need to wiggle, as do 4 out of the 5 children. Little easy child and I broke our mini trampoline last summer -- it just couldn't take the abuse. I had a pogo stick for years, and used to just hop all over the yard -- down the garden path, up the driveway and back. Tot Monster P is highly entertained when I do jetes (a ballet-style jump) with her as she jumps around in her jolly jumper. Sometimes I even resort to jumping on the bed (we have a light fixture that hugs the ceiling closely -- husband knows me well. He knew that a low fixture wouldn't stop me, but would break either the fixture or the top of my head.)

In some cases it is an Aspie thing, but whatever the cause I know that with me it is an imperative.