TheBoyHasArrived
New Member
Has anyone with a child with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who has limited language found a way to minimize/stop the noises? This kid is driving me absolutely insane. He makes a motor-like noise almost all of the time now (it's like a lateral lisp/motor/siren noise accompanied by "flying" whatever object is laying around), which is a huge increase in the past 2 months or so. I know weaning him off risperdal had something to do with it, but it's seriously driving me bonkers. Not to mention it's completely non-functional and he uses it to pretend like he can't hear us (for example, he will make the noise loudly enough that you would think he couldn't hear/focus on a directive, but if I count to 3, he will immediately stop and follow the direction--sometimes laughing.) I think he used the noises to occupy himself (extremely neglected/institutionalized prior to adoption) in the past, but they have increased significantly recently.
I've tried re-directing (does not work at all), I've tried giving him words to replace it ("vroom, vroom...car says vroom" "go, car, go..."), and I've tried allowing him to do it in a separate area of the house ("you can make that noise in your room"). We've tried increasing sensory activities, compression/weights, etc. If I tell him to make the noise in his room, he will typically protest and stop the noise for a minute or so and then start again. I know some people aren't bothered by the vocal stims and would say let him go, but it's really inhibiting his language development (speaking English for 6 months) and relationships (partly because it's making *me* crazy). Has anyone found anything that worked?
I've tried re-directing (does not work at all), I've tried giving him words to replace it ("vroom, vroom...car says vroom" "go, car, go..."), and I've tried allowing him to do it in a separate area of the house ("you can make that noise in your room"). We've tried increasing sensory activities, compression/weights, etc. If I tell him to make the noise in his room, he will typically protest and stop the noise for a minute or so and then start again. I know some people aren't bothered by the vocal stims and would say let him go, but it's really inhibiting his language development (speaking English for 6 months) and relationships (partly because it's making *me* crazy). Has anyone found anything that worked?