Special needs adult brother, can anything be given to him to help with his “fiddling”!?

[littlepopp]

My DBro is mid twenties, still lives with my parents and is quite severely autistic.
He has recently taken a liking to spending time “fiddling” with himself. This can happen multiple times a day and my parents are finding it difficult to deal with.
A friend of my mums mentioned that a medication exists to curb this issue which is often given to people with Down’s syndrome.
Does anyone have any experience of this?

You can get 'chewies' and fiddle toys for sensory needs. Would they help?

Hello, this maybe a sensory thing or being aroused. I would ask for support from local learning disability team if he has LD. “private time” can be managed with clear social story about where and when i.e in his room etc. Also your parents responses to it might be reinforcing it unintentionally. The challenging behaviour foundation is a great org. that has loads of advice and resources. I don’t think medication is ethical. Unless he identifies this as a problem to him and could consents. The behaviour has a function and needs to be understood and managed. Good luck!

I would focus on redirecting him to a private area, but prep him with a social story first, backed up with clear visuals if his level of cognition and understanding requires. There are some really good (free) examples of masturbation social stories and visuals online.

The best way to deal with it as a parent is to first understand that it is not a sexual thing for him, it is sensory. That can make it easier to approach.