new kind of tic...

[nayma]

hi.  my dd (5) has asperger's, and has recently gone through a few big changes- one being her first experience with a class (being away from me, long stretches of unstructured play time with peers, etc) and the second being daytime weaning.  she has always been a HUGE nurser, and although i never thought i'd nurse a child this long, even her OT agreed that it was important for her.  at any rate, she has suddenly developed this thing where she licks her fingers, then sticks both up her nose and squishes them all around.  in some ways, i could care less,  but she's about to start formal kindergarten, and i'm afraid she's going to be reprimanded for it frequently.  she's a kid who's terrified of being "corrected" by strangers, and though i've tried to explain that her teachers may not be supportive of her nose thing, she seems unable to stop.

any thoughts??

thanks!

Edited by nayma - 9/29/11 at 11:09am

[PikkuMyy]

I would talk to her teacher about it ahead of time, and coming up with a plan that you can teach your daughter before she enters school. I'd suggest some nonverbal signal that lets you daughter know she needs to quietly get a tissue or use sanitizer.

I have a student on the spectrum in my class who developed a habit of wiping snot out of his nose with his finger and sticking it in his mouth because he had bad allergies. Unfortunately, he kept the tic even after his nose was dry. He's not as sensitive so I remind him it's gross and have him use sanitizer each time. But if it were something that was hard for him to handle, I'd develop some hand signal to let him know without drawing attention publicly.

Then practice it at home so that she's already used to the routine of "adult signals, I get sanitizer" when she gets into school.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by PikkuMyy 
Unfortunately, he kept the tic even after his nose was dry. He's not as sensitive so I remind him it's gross and have him use sanitizer each time. But if it were something that was hard for him to handle, I'd develop some hand signal to let him know without drawing attention publicly.
Then practice it at home so that she's already used to the routine of "adult signals, I get sanitizer" when she gets into school.

Ds isn't sensitive about it either so that's what we do.

Her sensitivity to being corrected and how it is best handled is something that could go in a 504 and make sure that all of her teacher's are aware. We had a situation up through last year where ds would "freeze" and refuse to communicate (anxiety)--it took us awhile to figure out what was going on so it wasn't in his 504; after we figured it out we only got a call if his primary teacher couldn't talk him out of it.

[FarmerBeth]

We've had similar trouble with our ASD child in the past, too.  It was a combined snorting with nose picking kind of thing, and like your daughter, he was sensitive to being corrected.  Things that worked were the teacher asking "Do you need some Kleenex?" as it sounds less correcting.  Also, with all the tics, having appropriate replacements helped.  Sometimes something directly related, like having a Kleenex to blow the nose or a wet washcloth for washing the lips (rather than licking until very chapped), a nail file or clippers for long (to him) nails rather than biting, etc.  Also, things generally for fidgeting helped, like those "Orb" necklaces that can be changed into different things, modelling wax or silly putty, jewelry with beads, etc.