Head banging 18 month old

[BrownEyedMum]

My 18 month old boy has Down's and is currently crawling and cruising, but not walking yet. He is mostly a contented relaxed child (with the exception of teething issues!) but recently has started to bang his head, hard, against anything he can. He'll stop mid crawl to bang on the floor, or go up to a wall. He's leaving bruises on himself, and sometimes doing it so hard he makes himself cry. I try to just stop him and say no, then ignore it as I don't want to give attention and therefore encourage him to do it more. Is this a problem toddlers often go through or do I need to take him to see someone?

My boy had this at a similar age. I found it was because he was so tired that he'd gone 'over-tired' and couldn't take any more 'input' so this was how he vented

It stopped for a while but now he's started again (age 2 tomorrow), just the odd forehead bang on the patio - it's always somewhere really hard!

I find trying to let him have long daytime naps and a few quiet days at home if we've been racing round often resolve it.

I forgot to mention, if you search for headbanging (top right) you will find this is a common issue!

Can I just add my boy is also downs and headbangs and he is nearly 9. Maybe he has a headache or earache. Some kind of frustration. Maybe post problems on the special needs board. Sorry not much help at the mo, but will keep thinking.