Sitting tolerance

[sash]

Hi all,
I have a 2 year old kid. She has been diagnosed with autism. She have zero sitting tolerance she not sitting in one place for 5 minutes. We are trying to read books or coloring or playing with toys but she don't want to sit . How I make her to sit in one place. We tried high chair but she is screaming and not sitting. Please advise or suggest.b

 

[Stuttermabolur]

Can she stand, or crawl on all fours? Does sitting at all cause her discomfort, or is it specifically sitting in a chair? Can she sit in someone's lap, on a swing or a bean bag?

I would recommend finding some other ways to engage her if she can't sit. Can she color against a flat wall or chair while standing, or on the floor/rug/bed laying on her stomach?

 

[sash]

Can she stand, or crawl on all fours? Does sitting at all cause her discomfort, or is it specifically sitting in a chair? Can she sit in someone's lap, on a swing or a bean bag?

I would recommend finding some other ways to engage her if she can't sit. Can she color against a flat wall or chair while standing, or on the floor/rug/bed laying on her stomach?

She don't sit anywhere in chair or sofa or in our lap. We checked her spinal cord too no problem physically. Hyperactive kid. If we give colors she keep in her mouth due to sensory. Don't know what is the problem
Thanks for the reply.

 

[Outdated]

I'm not a parent, but to me this sounds quite normal for a two year old. She might be hyperactive but I think it would be difficult to tell at that age.

 

[Rodafina]

Hi @sash. Welcome to the forum.

What are the activities or times when it is critical for your child to be sitting? Is this a skill that they need right now?

I understand it may be exhausting for caregivers, but sitting is very difficult for many toddlers and especially for those with sensory issues or hyperactive tendencies. I would reccommend adjusting your expectations for prolonged sitting and focus on the times when it is really imperative that they remain seated (for example, in a moving vehicle).

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Sounds like ADHD mixed with autism. When I was a scout leader there was a little five year old girl that could not sit down at all or focus on anything. She would be constantly touching and grabbing other people and items. We could teach nothing to the other girls because we were constantly wrangling the girl with ADHD. As an aspie who is already uncomfortable with unwelcome touch, it was exhausting.

She would scowl and fight and get revenge if anyone took something she wasn't supposed to have, or tell her to stop climbing on them. I do not like the idea at all of putting children on ADHD medications, but the mother ended up medicating her daughter, and there was an enormous change. She was sedate, polite, sweet, and loving. She sat and paid attention, she was kind to her neighbors at the table. She participated and waited her turn. She went from being a child I dreaded seeing to being the sweetest, kindest little cupcake in the group.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

My daughter is autistic. She was not hyperactive, but between the age of about 16 months to just about 3 years, she was a runner. As soon as we were in a public place with lots of stalls and people, like a farmer's market or grocery store, she would unbuckle whatever seatbelt from a stroller or shopping cart, jump and bolt as fast as she could and wouldn't stop running. It was like she was a Kenyan Olympic track star. That fast.

I ended up getting a harness for her. Yes, a baby leash. These are good for autistic children. I'd put the harness on her before we went in to the store. The clasp was on the back and it felt to her like overalls. I would put the loop around my wrist and that way if she wanted to explore, she could in any eight foot radius of me, looking nicely at the people and things, without being out of control.

I got a few nasty words from uneducated people who thought I was an abuser. But I ignored them. Other people would come up and say how they used one with their child. It really, really helped. And it may be a good solution for you, so you can have your neurodiverse child free to explore, while you are doing things out of the home.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

The happy ending is that by four years old she had grown out of the bolting stage, and would go on sweet little walks with me, holding hands. And if I asked her to sit nicely, she would. The grocery store we went to even had a tiny broom and dust pan set out for her to help sweep up, because she loved being such a helper. Once she reached an age where cause and effect could be taught and understood, she was just the best behaved little angel.

Terrible Twos, Terrible Threes, but she was just the sweetest little 3 and a half, four, five, and six year old, and beyond. A helper and a reader. Super compassionate and empathetic. Everyone loved her.

So your child will most likely grow out of the "I don't wanna sit down" phase fairly shortly. It's a yucky one. I think it was about as bad as going through parenting during puberty. You will survive, mama.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

baby gates are great too. if you need to keep her from escaping out of doors, closing the door with a folded dishtowel in the top lintel of the doorjamb will make the door too heavy for a child under eight years old to open.

 

[sash]

The happy ending is that by four years old she had grown out of the bolting stage, and would go on sweet little walks with me, holding hands. And if I asked her to sit nicely, she would. The grocery store we went to even had a tiny broom and dust pan set out for her to help sweep up, because she loved being such a helper. Once she reached an age where cause and effect could be taught and understood, she was just the best behaved little angel.

Terrible Twos, Terrible Threes, but she was just the sweetest little 3 and a half, four, five, and six year old, and beyond. A helper and a reader. Super compassionate and empathetic. Everyone loved her.

So your child will most likely grow out of the "I don't wanna sit down" phase fairly shortly. It's a yucky one. I think it was about as bad as going through parenting during puberty. You will survive, mama.

Thank you so much