Knocking is very common in children diagnosed with autism. In the medical view, banging is considered as a sign of a basic form. Sensory processing disorder in children with autism causes pain and restlessness and is one of the causes. Sensory processing disorder The status of neurotransmitters (chemical transmitters in the brain) in the brain is slightly different.
So the balance of brain chemicals is a way to understand sensory information and sensory inputs.
When a child is unable to process the information coming to him from different senses, small problems become acute for him, and this is a disorder of sensory integration that includes sensory problems.
Sensory processing involves the recording, regulation, and internal organization of sensory data so that it leads people to understand the environment and adaptive response, and can participate meaningfully in everyday life.
Environmental data is transmitted from the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, and internal data is processed through the senses of touch, vestibular, and depth.
Each person on the threshold of the nervous system reacts differently. If a person has a low threshold, they may react immediately to sensory input, which we call hyperresponsiveness, and in some cases, on the other hand, the reaction may take a long time. Which we call low reaction.
The seven senses (deep, vestibular, tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and sensory) are very important during SI.
Deep sense is our inner feeling of not being in our situation. This sense enables a person to recognize his position well and is a prerequisite for balance, movement planning and coordination, etc., and receives information through the joints and muscles.
Knocking on the head, biting, gnashing of teeth, pushing, and hitting, jumping and fluttering, running fast against the wall, and the like are all related to defects and disturbances in deep sense processing.
Sometimes children bang their heads and hit their heads in order to get in-depth data, and because of the damage they can do to the brain, they must be closely monitored by the child's parents and caregivers.
Pressing the child's forehead in the form of standard deep massages, occupational therapy, wearing a helmet, using protective headgear, etc. can be compensatory methods for the child's deep sense.
Another suppressive factor in children with autism is related to serotonin secretion.
Constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal and intestinal pain can interfere with the normal flow of serotonin. This causes an imbalance in dopamine transport, which contributes to autistic behaviors such as head banging.
These gastrointestinal problems can be due to fungal or bacterial infections that lead to impaired chemical transmission and affect sensory processing. Therefore, gastrointestinal problems should be treated and the status of chemical transmitters such as serotonin and dopamine should be checked in the nutrition program of children with autism so that they are not disturbed by the effect of nutrition and the process of sensory processing is done properly.
In general, sensory processing is the most important treatment for head banging, and deep sensory stimulation and data acquisition play an important and fundamental role in this regard.
