Is head banging common with ADHD?

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I have a family friend whose 6-year old son was diagnosed with ADHD last year. He's having a lot of problems at school this year socially, and I guess it's gotten to the point that his (regular) school is recommending he attend a special needs school next year so that he'll "fit in" better. The behaviors include licking unusual things, sticking his hand down his pants during class, and banging his head against the wall. So I have a few questions.

1) I know these can be autistic traits, but I've never heard them as traits of ADHD. Is this kind of behavior also common with ADHD? (When he was tested last year, they were looking for but ruled out AS.)
2) His parents seem to think he is acting up (particularly with the head banging) because he doesn't do this at home. Is it possible that he's doing it only at school because school is far more stressful and the head banging is his way of trying to cope with the situation?

ADHD [inattentive subtype] is one of my problems [along with AS], and when i was a baby i would routinely thump my head against the wall, so my parents had to move my crib to the middle of the room to prevent me from doing this. when i couldn't bump my head i would violently rock my head back and forth. sorry but i can't say if anybody else with ADHD does this, i only know i did.

My son is diagnosed with Asperger's according to the WHO ICD-10 criteria (which don't include sensory issues) and has also been assessed as having significant and complex sensory processing difficulties.

He has banged his head since he was a baby, and it was the head-banging which first started on the route to diagnosis. He has always been extremely active and at one point an assessment for ADHD was considered, but after reflection and input from other professionals, not pursued as it was decided that he wasn't ADHD.

My son definately head bangs more when he is stressed - and the source of the stress may not be immediately or ever obvious to others. When asked about it, he says it makes him feel better. Over the past couple of years he has started to rub his head very hard instead of banging it against hard objects (or whatever is to hand/head!). He does this so much and so hard that he has bald spots on his head!

My son's Occupational Therapist told me that when asking a child about such behaviours it is better to ask, "How does (the behaviour) make you feel?" instead of the more usual "Why do you do (the behaviour)?" This opens up conversation about how the particular behaviour benefits the child, and can lead to a discussion about alternatives, or ways of reducing or managing the triggers.

So, is it an ADHD thing or not? Well, it is associated with autism too, but I think it is primarily a coping mechanism, and it is really a form of non-invasive self-harming behaviour which provides relief.

sometimes they just diagnose ADHD when the kids are young because sometimes AS traits can fit there, and it's easier as far as i know. then they have to come back and be reassesed later on. my 11yo was diagnosed adhd first because of her outbursts but after learning more about AS it was obvious to me that ADHD was not the problem and we had to get her tested all over again. the same thing is happening right now with my 4yo. he doesn't have any official diagnosis but it seems like they are on their way to labeling him ADHD but again, i'm pretty sure he is not ADHD at all but has the same diagnosis as his father, and both his older sister and brother. so far the only symptoms he has shown in front of others are the outbursts. he tends to hide his stims and odd behaviors when people are around so even though i have told them about them they choose to overlook these things because they have not witnessed it first hand.

Honestly speaking? I agree. I know some parents are hesitant to enroll their child in a "special school" because they want their child to grow-up like a normal child. But have they actually consider that it would greatly benefit their child if they go to a specialized school? My daughter (13 y.o) is currently studying in a private school , she is doing well because they have individualized teaching style that will fit according to my child's needs.

Is he able to get sensory breaks at school? He just may be overwhelmed/overstimulated and can't control it. Maybe sensory breaks would help decrease his stress and behaviors. I would look into ways to support him before putting him in a school that may not be the best fit. If he can do the academics and has a chance to stay mainstreamed, I would try other things first.

Why go to the trouble of getting your child diagnosed then place them in a mainstream school? Like my son these children need specialized teaching because of how they relate to the world...special needs school can provide that.Why try and make them neurotypical...by teaching them neurotypically...sorry but its cruel and ignores their needs.My son attends a special needs school and they have helped him enormously and he loves it.Do whats right for the child.

Not all kids need specialized schools (mine does not). As I'm not the evaluator or doctor of the child mentioned in the OP, I cannot speculate.

I have two kids with ADHD and one of them with ASD. Only the ASD kid does things similar to the child in the OP.

Special schools are well and good......especially if the child, eventually, is placed on a track towards receiving a "real" high school diploma, rather than the IEP one.

I don't think the OP is asking what school the child should attend. She only mentions his school as part of his background story.
What she wants to know is stated in the title.

We were also discussing special vs. "mainstream" schools.

I agree with the above advice given.

My son had VERY similar behaviors to that in Kindergarten (age 5-6). For him, it was a response to stress, as he very rarely had such behaviors outside of school. They were a way for him to cope with the overstimulation of the room and the feeling of pressure to "regulate" himself (which he did not know how to do.) He was in a very rigid classroom and it was a poor fit. If he had been able to move around more, he probably wouldn't have engaged in those behaviors as much.

I would categorize these behaviors as a sign of "sensory processing" issues, but not necessarily ADHD or AS. There is a lot of overlap. Kids can also have sensory issues without having ADHD or AS. ALL of my sons have sensory-related behaviors but only one of them has additional issues that led to a formal diagnosis.

I would NOT characterize the behavior as "acting up", which suggests that it's willful or naughty, even though it can often look that way if you haven't encountered it before or if the behavior is limited to one environment. I know that confused us at first because our son's behavior at school was SO different from his behavior at home. People should NOT underestimate (as we did) how very different the school environment is and how very stressful it can be for some kids. And with the rigidity and higher expectations on kids these days to be very self-controlled and to be able to sit and do seat-work and focus for very lengthy periods of their age group, it can send a kid with sensory issues into a "fight or flight" response.

Some of my son's behavior in Kinder was: touching or poking people; licking other people; fascination with the teacher's boobs (even putting his mouth on them during a hug); perseverating on words (repeating the same word over and over during a time when he was expected to be quite, like during carpet time); hiding under tables; experimenting with materials in an age-inapporpriate way (smearing glue on himself), and, when under extreme stress, hitting himself or banging his head against the wall. This behavior was shocking to us and it was almost hard to believe until we saw it for ourselves. The environment was just too overwhelming for him and the school didn't know what to do about it.

For what it's worth, my son is still at that school, in a mainstream classroom, but now has an aide to help him keep focused on his work and/or be an adult to supervise him if he needs a "sensory break" (he gets to leave the classroom and walk around campus if he needs to get out of the room for a few minutes, for example.) Whether or not a "special needs" school is appropriate must be decided on a case-by-case basis and depends on a complicated web of information specific to that child. We felt that our child benefited most from staying in the mainstream classroom, but he definitely needed supports and accommodations to address the sensory and focus issues. Now that he has those supports and the staff is more aware of his needs, and knows how to address them, all the really worrisome sensory behavior we saw in Kindergarten is gone.