Autistic child keeps on pretending to be hit by a car i

Post Reply New Topic

An child with autism has repeatedly pretended to be seriously injured by screaming at the top of his lungs in my neighborhood. The screaming is so intense that a visitor to the neighborhood who didn't know about said behavior would call the paramedics. The parents don't care, they've been sighted simply watching the kid while he puts on one of his fits.

Is there any family aid group or autistism group that helps with issues like this? It would be a shame to get the police involved because the kid has a disability. On the other hand, if it continues without the parents doing anything to stop it, the paramedics will eventually be called multiple times, especially over the Christmas vacation when there are lots of people visiting the neighborhood. A few wrong calls, and the police will get involved which seems like a bad outcome for the child.

Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of issue before.

Are you sure he is actually pretending to be hit by a car and it's not actually a stim he is doing?

First post? Fishy story?

First thoughts?

He is probably not pretending he was hit by a car and there is probably not much his parents can do. To presume that they "don't care" reads as pretty ignorant to me. You have no way of knowing how much they do or do not care.

I suggest you educate yourself about autism. You could also approach the parents and ask if they need any kind of help, or just to simply offer a friendly hello. If the rest of the people in your neighborhood are as quick to judge as you are, the parents probably feel pretty isolated and alone. If you are genuinely concerned, it might help both them and you if you took the time to befriend them and educate yourself a little bit instead of passing judgment.

Is he just pretending? It's a strange game of pretend, but he's a kid and kids do weird things. Invest in some earplugs and let him play. If he's worried he may be hit by a car, he may be using play to deal with that fear.

If he's safe, if he's not using this to express the idea that someone's been hurting him; if he doesn't actually get into the road--I wouldn't worry. I used to wrap myself in bandages and pretend I'd been injured when I was a toddler. I also pretended that my dolls were having appendectomies. It was pretend play, harmless--repetitive, but still just play. I think I liked the sensation of being wrapped up like that, the pressure.

And yeah, autistics can totally play pretend. That's the one trait that's most often missing from the list.