son is not sure whose foot is whose

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He seems to have trouble determining who owns body parts. I recently posted about fear of schizophrenia. My 6 yo went to a sleepover and when he saw someone's foot- didn't know if it was his or someone else s. This is not the 1st time for this kind of disassociation. I,m really worried- any input from parents of autistic children? Paul

I suggest you do some reading on proprioception, which related to knowledge about one's own body. Sorry, tired so not explaining well. It is linked with autism.

You've also mentioned that he talks non-stop and I have read that this is possibly a way for individuals with proprioception difficulties to locate their body in space in some way.

If he can see a foot, but not know whose it is, that suggests that he may not not be receiving or processing bodily sensory information.

This is in wrong section!

I've heard of people having strokes or other brain injuries such that they can't identify one of their limbs as their own. It's sort of the opposite of "phantom pain," where people can feel a limb that has been amputated. It has something to do with the part of the brain that associates sensory inputs with different parts of the body.

I have no idea if there is a developmental version of that, though.

Thanks Marcia, did some reading and proprioception is an interesting phenomenon that I knew nothing about. Might be the answer I was looking for.

Please would a moderator move this to the parenting forum?

Sorry but we are unable to keep track of every thread that gets posted here.

Theres an specific thread to bring situations like this to a moderator´s attention and we keep a close eye on that one so its more effective than saying wrong section/asking a mod to move it within the thread.

Hope that OP can get more replies about his problem now

Sorry everyone- could have sworn I did post it on the parenting forum, at least, that was my intention. I'll be more careful in the future. Paul

is there any way this is just 6yo imagination or 6yo behavior? My son will sometimes say silly things, or ask me odd questions, but I just write it off as age, casue it doesnt go anywhere!

Proprioperception problems are common in kids on the spectrum (my son has a bit of it) and that might be it, but keep in mind that there are also communication difficulties to consider. Is it possible that your son was trying to communicate something else (the other child's foot was similar, the other child's foot was bothering him/in his way) that came out inappropriately?

A child with proprioperceptive problems is generally clumsy (a result of not getting feedback from their body.) DS once had to get three stitches because he ran into a playground post less than two feet in front of him. MS patients report problems with proprioperception causing them to constantly injure particular body parts, if that helps you understand it.

My daughter has this..I first realized it when I was giving her a bath. She can not tell you what part you are washing unless she is looking at it. Does your child see an o/t? It might be helpful..

Yes, this is proprioceptive. My daughter has a bit of this though not to this degree. You can work on it through games and such, teaching them to recognize the sensory input of touch as well as the feel of their own body in space. Such as the kid game of drawing a letter on the palm of their hand and getting them to tell you what it is. My daughter couldn't do this up until recently-so it is something that can be improved.

This also reminded me that my daughter has trouble understanding that what she feels-others cannot feel. When my daughter's foot falls asleep she will constantly ask me to feel her foot-as she cannot understand how that sensation is internal (after all it feels very external to her).

I would not think this is related to schizophrenia.

I'm not sure if this is related, but my son also has a hard time recognizing his own parts as his. He will try to point my finger instead of his own. He'll clap my hands but he can't or doesn't understand how to clap his own. He will lead me around to do simple tasks for him that he can do, but he prefers to use my hands to do them.