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What's he is trying to do ?

V

virtiw

Member
Hi everyone,
From a long time we are observing that my son is picking things/objects (different objects) and keep shaking it.
It can be leaves, sticks, paper, toys or any other objects that fits in his hand.
As soon as he goes out he will find an object and start shaking it.
I am not able to understand why he does it ? Is he seeking some kind of visual stimulation or sensory integration ?

Please let me know your thoughts.
Thank you.
 
virtiw said:
Is he seeking some kind of visual stimulation or sensory integration ?
Click to expand...
Probably. The fact that he tries this with various objects suggests that he might be experimenting with different objects to see what noise they make, or like the movement or visual aspect of it. It might also to be to regulate emotion or some other sensory stimulation, in order not to be overwhelmed.

One little quirk that I have is that I often shake my fork when eating. I really have no idea why I do it, only that if feels good.
 
Easiest way to find out is to ask your son. He might be 3, but hopefully he can verbalise in a way that puts your mind at ease.

Ed
 
I'm 70 years old and a retired electronics design engineer - and I still do that, sometimes. Can't convey why I do it, but I like it. I've learned to try not to do it very much in public because I have gotten tired of being asked what I'm doing.

My advice; don't worry about it. From personal experience, I'm confident he will be OK. There are a lot of things autistic's do and are drawn to that is hard - if even possible - to explain. It's hard to explain a feeling that non-autistic's never feel or ever experience. Like trying to explain to someone who was totally blind from birth what the color blue looks like.
 
Could be stimming . Or could be a very logical mind trying to understand the physics of movement and matter .
When I was I child I would constantly do this with water .
In the pool - standing and moving my hands half in water half out to try to understand the textures of air and liquids . I could do this all day
It also became a stimming . I would go to a corner and cry when being dropped off at daycare .They pleaded with my mom asking what can they do . She said he loves being in the tub with water . They said we have the perfect thing for him.

They had a big water bin ,that I could put my hands in , also had different colored cups in it to play with . they would let me play for hours by myself there to calm down . Actually I would prefer to do that all day .

Also anytime I was on hikes with my parents on the weekends , I would feel the rain on trees, puddles anything to understand nature in my own way . This lasted a very long time .

I don’t understand your child’s obsession as a problem .
I would perceive this as intelligent
And find more things for him to experiment with .
And nurture .
 
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Remembering my own experience as a child and reading others’ posts here, advice that comes to mind is do not make him feel badly or embarrassed about this.

There were a lot of things that I did as a child that could have become curiosity quests, but instead people thought they were making “harmless jokes” and made fun of me for it. This drove me to live a hidden and secret life.

Even if it looks funny or others around your son make supposedly lighthearted jokes about it, I would protect his curiosity at this point as much as possible.
 
Raggamuffin said:
Easiest way to find out is to ask your son. He might be 3, but hopefully he can verbalise in a way that puts your mind at ease.

Ed
Click to expand...
He doesn't talk or communicate. He has a good non verbal communication. Like he tells us through signs/gestures and rarely by pointing what he wants. But we understand him. Praying that soon he is able to tell us what is he doing and why. Thank you for your reply.
 
Rodafina said:
Remembering my own experience as a child and reading others’ posts here, advice that comes to mind is do not make him feel badly or embarrassed about this.

There were a lot of things that I did as a child that could have become curiosity quests, but instead people thought they were making “harmless jokes” and made fun of me for it. This drove me to live a hidden and secret life.

Even if it looks funny or others around your son make supposedly lighthearted jokes about it, I would protect his curiosity at this point as much as possible.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you so much for your post. We are never embarrassed. But when we in public or any social gathering people ask questions like "why is he picking those plastic spoons and playing with them". We tell everyone he is likes to play with anything he can get his hands on. One thing for sure I can say as a parent that he is a very curious baby.
 
its probably because it stimulates his sensory stuff, hard to explain but some repeated movements sort of 'calm' or 'touch a nerve' in a good way sometimes for me.
 
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