SEN child swearing

[Sarah1417]

Hey all,

I'm at a bit of a loss. My son who is 7 years old has suddenly caught on to some pretty bad swear words.

He is constantly dropping the f bomb and saying the s word now but I don't know where he has got it from. I only ever curse now and then and usually out of pain like stubbing my toe or something.

I monitor what he watches and plays and I can't seem to find where he has suddenly got this language from.

For context he has ADHD and suspected autism.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this. He was suspended from school last week for swearing so badly and this evening he swore at a family event which was incredibly embarrassing.

I don't know what to do about this. Help?

I have children with adhd and autism and it doesn’t exempt or excuse them from swearing. They understand rules and generally follow them as they are quite black and white. I know all children are different but is it possible there is something more going on with your son eg Tourette’s?

Does he have older siblings? I’d try just ignoring him if he swears.

When my DS who has ADHD was a bit older he moved to a PRU and picked up swear words. We told him off so he thought "ooh a reaction". We then ignored it completely and it stopped. Now he tells me off if I swear!
There is a tendency for children with ADHD to seek to shock because it gives them a dopamine boost which they are lacking.

Practice your poker face!

I don't excuse the behaviour at all, I have spoken with him about how the words mean something he might not be aware of.

I don't think it's tourettes as he uses them in sentences and I do believe he is saying it to get a rise out of people.

He doesn't have any older siblings and as far as I know his friends don't swear either but then I suppose I'm not with them all the time.

I've tried ignoring it but then he just keeps going and eventually someone will give him a reaction. And the school suspending him for it has only given him a bigger reaction.

If shock gives him a dopamine rush perhaps I could incorporate that some how by turning it around so a specific word "shocks" me instead?

I agree on the shock value of thing with adhd. My dd used to tell everyone who would listen that she was a transgender pansexual demiboy furry and something else can't remember what when she didn't get the reaction she was hoping for it soon she forgot about it. I would just say that's nice dear. Appreciate schools a bit different you can control what they do.

Luckily DS PRU would have had to suspend everyone if they did it for swearing.

What's a PRU sorry I'm not familiar with that ?

If he does it just roll your eyes and turn away from him. Ignore him for a minute or two and tell others to do the same. It will soon lose its shock value. If he was just saying 'oh I hate that fucking maths teacher' then it's an expression of annoyance or anger. But if he's just yelling out swears to get a rise out of people he will stop if you withdraw attention fully.