5 year to stop biting- Help please

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I am a first time poster looking for help. My 5 year old son was recently diagnosed with Aspergers. He has had a history of being impulsively aggressive with others when things are not as he wants them to be. He used to bite other kids, including his brothers, but there was a lull over the summer as he adjusted to a new class for camp. Now he is starting kindergarten. The biting had gone away but now it is back in the second week of school. The school suspended him and may look to remove him. Any tips for helping a 5 year old learn not to bite. He understands that he should not do it but does not seem to have the impulse control. Thanks.

Behavior is communication. If he is biting and he does, as you say, clearly understand that it is wrong then there is something going on that is intolerable to him for some reason. You have to look at the environment he is in and figure out what the problem is. I feel your pain, my biggest fear right now is that my son will lose it in kindergarten, bite someone and will be kicked out of school. It's kinda an overblown worry since the school recognizes his condition and he would never actually be kicked out for one incident but... (note my avatar).

Sounds like the summer camp was a comfortable place for him. Think about how his K classroom can be made more like that. You have to identify what his sensory sensitivities are and other things that cause him stress. It usually means a lot of detective work. Chances are, when you relieve his stress, the biting will stop.

Does the school know about his diagnosis? If so, they probably have some requirements they must meet. If not, you may have to pursue evaluation through the school system if you want to get the school to live up to its obligations.

I would tell him he shouldn't bite people because if he gets their blood in his mouth he could get very sick and die.

Lol, I know why you are suggesting that, but with the way AS kids take things literally the white lie could some day back fire BIG TIME.

But, the concept of overriding a distress reaction (biting) with a more vivd one (fear of dying, in this example) is a valid one.

I would insist the school be proactive while you work on getting to the root of the distress. Easy solution is for them to gently put distance between your son and other kids. The same thing good daycares do with biting toddlers.

Meanwhile, let them know of the evaluation, if they don't already, and tell them that AS parents consider this to be connected to issues arising from the AS. If they are a public school, then, they cannot kick him out over it, although you may eventually decide from this and other behavior indicators that YOU want to pull him out, because the situation is too stressful.