Over the last few months my son, who is 6 and being evaluated for ADHD has begun doing a few things I have never seen another child do, he does these both at home and at school.

About 6 months ago he began banging his head on things when he gets frustrated. He will do it up against a wall, somewhat hard but not hard enough to really hurt himself, or he will hit himself in the head with a book, and when you tell him to stop he says "Why, it doesn't hurt?" He got upset with his school Principal the other day, a man who rivals Job in the patience dept., and started hitting himself in his private area. That is the first time he has done that.

Also, just recently, he has begun eating paper. The Principal says he will do it at school if he gets in trouble, just start stuffing it in his mouth. The does not do this at home, except for maybe the usual kid thing of chewing on it occasionally. Also, I don't know if he really realizes he does it, but he chews on thread also, say if he is sitting on our couch or a chair watching TV, he will pull thread up out of it and chew on it.

Someone mentioned to me this might be a symptom of OCD, but I was just wondering if any of you heave dealt with this?

The frustration sounds AD/HD related and the banging and chewing sound like anxiety. Have you talked to his doctor about this?

They CAN be signs of other disorders (like OCD or autism), but they are also quite consistent with stress and anxiety as Tara stated.

When frustrated, kids (and adults!) do a lot of "strange" things. Regarding hitting his head, my 8yo ADD would often hit himself. Sometimes with just his hand and sometimes his shoe, believe it or not.

I wouldn't worry about it at this point. Just get through the evaluations, find out what's going on, and get treatment and accomodations. Then, watch closely. With luck and care, these will go away along with the frustration.

If they are not a part of ADHD (or whatever might be wrong), they'll persist and you'll know you need a different approach.

Good luck!!

Just the idea of knowing that what he does has "a name" would ease my mind do much, the we would know in which direction to go with helping him.

My 6 year old did some of the same things when he was first diagnosed in kindergarten - I think frustration has a lot to do with those reactions. He still will hit himself on the head with his hands if he feels out of control.

I have to agree. My 5 year old bangs his head with his hands when he is frustrated. Usually saying "stupid, stupid, stupid" Breaks my heart really. We are booking our second appt to the pediatrition this week. His dad has AADHD so in all likely hood he does as well, in fact it is pretty obvious.

That's not typical ADD/ADHD. (Or at least not ONLY, the ADD/ADHD itself.)

Has he been assessed for a PDD? ('Pervasive Development Disorder')

(eg some subtypes can include Autism, or Aspergers. Aspergers kids can be quite bright.)

I studied self-injurious behaviours when i took an Honours course with a Developmental Psychology professor at my school.

The basics: There are two main categories of self-injurers.

1. Those with who self-mutilate due to usually having a trauma history, or BPD, or perhaps psychosis, or impulse control/rage disorder (eg intermittent explosive disorder).
2. The seriously intellectually disabled ("retarded").

Your child does not seem to fit either of those categories.

Ask your school for further assessment. This sounds too complicated for us. :S The part about him saying he does not feel pain makes me concerned.


Emma

The only time he ever says something that obviously hurts, doesn't, is when he is banging his head on something, or hitting himself. If he say falls off his bike, or gets hurt when roughhousing around, he says he hurts.

Sometimes, his reaction to pain then seen way OVERDRAMATIC!

Sometimes, his reaction to pain then seen way OVERDRAMATIC!
That's pretty age-appropriate, I think. Although it may be even more overblown in our sensitive AD/HD kids.

My son stopped the "banging" behavior in kindergarten when we let him know it was unacceptable. The result, though, is that his frustration turned inward and he was close to tears continually during school hours.

He's totally turned around in this respect on Adderall. We are having a few problems, but I think they'll prove minor.