14 year old boy has obsession with mud

My 14 year old has a problem with playing in mud sometimes when im not home. He wont stop so i told him if he does it he has to clean up his mess. He did it again. This time he got a bucket of mud and put it in the bathtub and rolled around in it. I dont know if this is a sexual thing. He was most likely naked because none of his clothes were muddy. When i asked him why he said that hes addicted to mud. I stilm dont understand. I will talk to his weekly counselor guy and we start a new family therapist soon so we can discuss it there too. He has an autisn diagnosis. He has adhd. Oppositional defiant disorder. Mood disorders. Cobduct disorder. Hes on a lot of medications. He seemed fine cleaning up his own mess and losing electronic time because of it. I am paying someomne to watch him on saturdays because i dont want to leave him by himself all day. He only goes to school half days right now. It will move to another hour this month and then hopefully full time by the end of the year. I am trying to not leave him home by himself as much as possible. But hes 14. Almost 15. I feel like hes reverting to a little child. Only plastic plates and cups because of suicidal trys with glass. Everything has to be locked up because of suicidal tendancies. I just need some thoughts. Maybe somebody has been through this. He did get approved for disability since his autism diagnosis.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I am wondering if the mud is soothing to him since he is on the autism spectrum. Bet it's related to a sensory issue. Would be nice if he could replace it with something cleaner...lol.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
It sounds like a sensory thing to me. I would talk to an occupational therapist and look for alternatives. If it calms him down, I would probably find a way to accommodate it, at least in a limited way that he can clean up. Sensory issues can be overwhelming and giving in to them can be helpful. I recommend reading The Out of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. Libraries usually have copies of these, and if you can only buy one, I would buy the Has Fun because it has more practical activities that could help him.

Most children with autism have sensory issues. Years ago I was told that Sensory Integration Disorder, which my youngest has, is actually on the autism spectrum at the very mildest end. I have sensory issues as do all 3 of my children. Fighting sensory issues is often a source of extreme conflict as the affected person really cannot help it. We accommodate it and it makes our household a far more peaceful place. In fact, MOST of the conflict has left my home since we stopped fighting and started accommodating the sensory issues. Learning about them made a HUGE difference, and in fact my oldest who was given a conduct disorder diagnosis some years ago is now a functioning member of society with no real problems. Sensory issues were a big part of what some saw as his problems - we just didn't know it.
 
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