Autism-World

Q:My fiance’s sister in-law has a 21 yo autistic son. He lives at home with them and attends a day program (when his behaviour is OK). The problem is quite an embarrasing one for them. It seems that their son has quite a few issues with going to the bathroom. He seems to have a certain facination with feces, sometimes playing with them as if he was a toddler or something…which obviously is not socially acceptable.

Is this unusual? Could there be something lacking in his diet causing this, or is it a symptom of stress or sexual inactivity?
If this continues they will consider placing him in a group home.

Any ideas for this? They are really at wits end and obviously this is not a common problem (I think)?

Answer:

It is not unusual for autistic persons to have problems with bathroom issues. Not all autistics do this as differences in the level of functioning and behavior difficulties vary. I worked with young autistic children (average ages of 3 to 7 yrs.) and have run into a few that had a fascination with feces. One actually pooped in my water bottle as I was setting up for therapy. He would not go to the bathroom anywhere except at home & when he did it was very inappropriate. Going on the floor, playing in it….and so on. We tried behavior modification. When in school we assessed how he would react to the bathroom. He would make it so far into the lab but would not go – maybe noises, lights…difficult to know what was going on in his head. We got to the point where he would stand and try by reinforcing small steps with praises he liked.

The problem with the boy you know is that he is older and his behaviors are more engraned in his persona. It is not impossible to change his behaviors only difficult. He does not qualify for childhood intervention through therapy and behavior modification. Day programs as you mentioned will not try to change behaviors such as this or teach him appropriate activity. But his family can do it themselves.

Study up on behavior modification and Lovaas therapy.It is very intense. Assess every detail of the problem – what is good and bad, circumstances prior to and after the incidences, what he likes and dislikes…on and on. Then develop a plan and schedule on how family will reinforce good behaviors. LIMIT oppurtunities for him to have the ability to play with feces. It has become a habit for him and he has to replace it with another more appropriate habit that soothes him. The family knows him best.

It is not easy especially when the autistic person grows older and larger. Diet, stress, or sexual inactivity maybe an easy way to distinguish inaprorpiate behaviors in a non-autistic person but it is a whole different ball park for autistics. Their brain works in ways we do not understand. That is what autism really is. Our brains find it extremely difficult to see, hear, smell, and feel the way autistic brains comprehend. For example, we usually do not notice reflections on our skin from glares and lights, or the flickering of flourescent light bulbs, or the CONTINUOUS electrical impulses from appliances, or intense sensations on our lips, ears, hands….Autistics notice and feel things that we do not even recognize or comprehend. It may not seem it but autistics are intensley aware of everything around them. They are bombarded with stimuli, unable to decifer or filter it out. That is why detailed, small steps are needed to change their behavior.

The family needs to critically asssess every action and try to see the world through his eyes. It is difficult but they know him best. I feel for them. I feel for him. Maybe it is the texture of the feceses or the feel of his pants…only they can find that odd trigger. Good luck and kudos to you for trying to help them.

Just an additional note. I have a psychology degree as well as a Masters in environmental engineering. Sounds odd, yes, but I was interested in environmnetal fators of autism development and completed my thesis on “Oxidative Stress and the Possible Role of NITRATES in the Early Development of Autism” at Penn State Harrisburg. This cannot help your friends family at this point but I raised the question that nitrates may deplete oxygen in a unique way when a fetus is developing causing an odd brain dysfunction. My theory came from years of spending much time with autistics and their families in their homes and in their schools. Nitrate contamination was evident in many of the cases. Nitrate exposure is as random as autism affecting all social classes, areas of living, and children affected. It is found in many water systems, foods, medications, and chemicals. It could be possible that if a fetus is exposed at the wrong time and if his/her biological system is not capable of handling the exposure, oxidative stress distorts brain function to what we know as autism. Research has been pathetic and close-minded at finding a cause/cure and we need to start looking outside the box at the obvious just as autistic people are so good at. I am not saying I found the cause of autism but I do believe this type of situation needs to be further looked into. Again good luck!

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 7:31 pm and is filed under Ask and answer.