Biting all the time - need advise

[Suzza]

Hello,
My son is 5 years old and has HFA. He has 1:1 for 17 hours a week at mo (as they HAD to!) we are awaiting to hear if he is being considered for a statement or not. 5 weeks and waiting!!
He is doing well with the 1:1 support but has decided the last few weeks to bite teachers and children at least once a week. I am immediately called to come and collect him it is the bloody schools policy argh...it is driving me nuts and starting to slightly depress me.
I don't know how to deal with it, he hardly knows he has done it and won't speak about it at all. How the hell do I punish him, it is so confusing, apparently as many a professional has told me there is no link between school and home, so punishment at home is pointless...

Where is that brick wall again!!!

Any help will be appreciated, never been so fed up!!!

Someone trained (ASD outreach, psych, someone from special school or behaviour support) need to come and assess the problem. Observe him to see what triggers are - the teachers need to write down what happens before and after - sometimes its the consequence eg getting sent out of class which is the reward
eg he has had enough thinks I know if I bite someone I will get to sit outside
So you need to see if there is a pattern eg before or after certain event, certain time of day etc

My son bites his thumb when he gets frustrated but equally does it when he is really happy and overly giddy.
He has a behaviour plan to reduce this kind of behaviour - a token system where he wins tokens for good behaviour and loses them immediately for biting and it has really reduced the behaviour often he stops himself before doing it
But he has an ABA package so techniques to manage behaviour are part and parcel of it and applied really consistently by trained tutors
Its very hard to get someone into mainstream provision to sort this out.
but that should not stop you asking
Also really important to address it now when they are small.

You need to make it clear this is related to his ASD and therefore is an educational need and its not ok for the school to ring you. if they do not know how to manage it / extinguish it, they need to call in someone who does and if you get a statement insist that a behaviour plan to manage and reduce this behaviour is included as an objective

You cannot punish him for stuff that happens at school - as I say there should be positive reward for not doing it and immediate loss of something that he cares about when it does happen

Do you have any outside professionals involved?

My dd occasionally bites at school. I have never been phoned to collect her. She is given time out in the classroom and the TA tries v hard to supervise as much as possible. Whilst I am told about what has happened, it is never to prompt me to punish her. It would be totally pointless. It is over. she would not know what she was being punished. You need to have a discussion with them about what they are going to do to manage and decrease this behaviour. As Agnes says if they don't know what to do they need to get advice from someone who does. Good luck.

Thanks for your help Agnes and cansu. I am going to seek help from a behaviour support person by speaking to the SENCo.

mainstream is a total nightmare to me, wish he could just go to a SS!!

thanks again for all your help.

suzza