My son also has self-injury from OCD, in addition to autism and other conditions.

For us, Prozac worked well to help calm the anxiety response that was causing the self-injury.

Then, once the medication put control of the impulses to something within in his reach, we worked with him to develop REPLACEMENT, non-damaging behaviors for when he was anxious.

We found, in the long run, that keeping his hands busy with a variety of activities of interest kept him from picking at his skin, pulling out his hair, scratching to the point of bleeding, etc.

He knaps obsidian, plays video games, works with clay, and cooks meals in the kitchen. The cooking turned into a career interest, and he is leaving (today, actually) for chef training at Art Institute.

my son is HFA with ADHD. He has a tendency to chew his cheek and/or fingers. He will do so till they bleed. I swear one time he nearly chewed a hole through his cheek! It was awful. When that happened, I just started giving him gum to give him something to chew on. I instructed his teachers to do the same. Slowly, my son became more aware of his "chewing" habit and started to put bandaids on his finger tips. I sent gum and bandaids with him in his backpack. I even keep them in my purse and in the car. I rarely see him chew his cheek any longer... but he still chews his finger tips. But, not nearly as bad as he use to! Now there may only be one bandaid on his finger where as early on there were 2-3 fingers on each hand with a bandaid. It's been almost 2 years... and I'm so proud of how well he is doing!

Hey, Tiffany!

I'd suggest letting your son play with things in his own way... and watch carefully to see what his constructive patterns are. Does he line things up, stack, throw, etc? There are positive, constructive activities that tap into these preferred behaviors.

If he likes flapping stuff, get him toys that flap... there are some fun flippers, clackers, ball-paddles, etc. out there. Let him explore!

My son is verbal. He was unable to do any of the activities I listed when he started self-injuring.

Even though your son is non-verbal and may not respond much to verbal information, that doesn't mean that he doesn't understand. That he started self-injuring when family stress hit, shows he has some good comprehension.

If he likes DVDs, get a variety on people who have careers involving motion... athletes, construction, artists, etc. In time, he may start to show a direction.

That makes alot of sense, Thank you!!

Wow! My son did that for a long time with the cheeks and I thought I was alone... doctors couldn't explain it until after we got a diagnosis. Before that I kept washing his face which he hated (to this day still hates water in the face). I had a lot of sheets too... I felt awful after I realized why he was doing it