Opening and closing doors

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My son is 9 and hes done this all his life not just with doors but any opening and closing mechanisms i too would like to know why and is this a stim? i have just found these i know my son would love ::Motor activity wooden house with all different locks:: (cant post links yet) so you may need to google it if you wish.

OOoo - I remember doing that! It feels good.

It's a stim, on my account - visual and tactile. It makes me want to go lean up against a door right now - right on the narrow end and roll it back and forth over my forehead and on my body. Just to watch it is relaxing, any way you move it back and forth. It is neat to watch it pivot on the hinges. It is so wonderful to be able to manipulate a large object so freely. You can even move it with your toes or one finger. Something you could not so easily lift is suspended by these little bits of hardware. And I love smooth edges - you know where it delineates the thickness of the door. I used to love the feeling of an indoor wooden door because it was so cool, flat, and smooth - I could stretch my arms the breadth of it. They are endlessly interesting. Have you tried the same action? You might get some insight by copying what he is doing. You might like it

I wouldn't worry to much about a pinched finger - you can show him "ow" see, this will hurt so do this carefully - 3 year olds understand more than we think, just act it out for him in a demo - and he might well get pinched regardless - when any kids explore, NT or AS, you're going to have a few mishaps - but what a terrible thing if kids can't explore.

I've never been fascinated in opening and closing doors like that. I just get overobsessive with some doors in my house because of sensory issues; I like to keep certain doors closed when the TV is on in that room so that I don't hear the chattering of the telly from my room. It just distracts me if I can hear a telly from my room, so I have to remind everyone to keep the living-room door closed. Obviously if the telly is not on (we don't normally put it on in the daytime, just the evening), I don't worry about the door. Also if my cat is miawing in the kitchen or the kettle is roaring, I also demand the kitchen door to be shut. Often people forget my ''rules'' and so I find myself having to get up myself and shut the door behind people.

That's my rant about doors - I'm not fascinated by them.

Lots of children I work with like slamming/opening and closing doors. I would however suggest trying to ensure now that it doesn't become a dangerous habit. One child I work with has slammed quite a few kids fingers in doors at school or hit them with doors, as he gets really distressed if doors are left open. At the age of 11/12, we're now trying to change a lifelong habit of slamming doors, which is very difficult. I think had he been taught from an earlier age that he could open and close doors but not slam them, and he could do it at certain times and not with every single door, it would be a lot easier for him.

I like doing this with doors to closets and other small rooms it creates a piston effect

I used to do this with a door on an entertainment center my dad made when I was a kid. It had hinges with a pretty complex movement (I think they were called cantalever hinges). I'd just stand there opening and closing the door watchign the hinges work. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking when I did that.

Moving and spinning things (especially complex movements) just grab my attention. I love watching how each part interacts with each other.

One thing I caught myself doing last night was laying on the floor with one of my RC cars .I kept lifting the front end up and letting it drop for about ten minutes so I could see the suspension cycling and how it affected the steering links. (I just converted the front suspension and steering to a setup that is pretty complex and has many more moving parts.)

It's like candy for the eyes