hitting one's head? autism's location in the brain?

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thanks for all the comments. i was really wondering- i think- whether autism was supposed to be related to any part of the brain any more than another.
eg- i suffer REALLY badly from sensory problems, so wondered if that is located in the area i hit, or whether there was any other reason for hitting a specific area in that way. i googled brain function, frontal lobes etc in several ways, but didnt really get anywhere.

i know autistics can hit out at other people- i hit my mother a few times- but i have always associated autism more with head hitting or banging. maybe that is a misconception because tahts what id initially heard and it stuck in my memory, or because it related to me, and i forgot further contrary evidence.

but hitting one's head seems to be more personal-m i dont know how to explain it... legs, arms chest etc- feel more of the world, my head feels to be more more me, more my world.

thank you esp to kingdom of rats for the crash helmet advice-

scarily enough, Acacia, there does seem to be evidence of head trauma being linked to autism. at least in my non scientific googleing of autism, head trauma/ brain injury.

i have been meaning for years (aspie procrastination) to go to a cranial realingner, or whatever they are called. i know my skull is mis alingned, as one of my eyes is further out than the other (you cant tell, honestly, but i can feel a sleep mask on one eye, not the other!! i sound like such a freak!!), and my spine curves over weirdly- again, invisable except to osteopaths,a nd i ilearnt to have very errect posture.... this guy mentions head injury and spine/skull misalignment- 'The missing link is the misalignments of the spine and skull. '
http://www.turnerwellness.com/index.php ... dia/autism

as does this guy- 'Traumatic injury to different parts of the brain can cause the same problems suffered by autistic and dyspraxic children. '
http://unclesamscabin.blogspot.com/2006 ... brain.html

there is also this from wikki-
Savant syndrome—sometimes abbreviated as savantism—is not a recognized medical diagnosis, but researcher Darold Treffert defines it as a rare condition in which persons with developmental disorders (including autism spectrum disorders) have one or more areas of expertise, ability or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations.[1] Treffert says the condition can be genetic, but can also be acquired,[1] and coexists with other developmental disabilities "such as mental retardation brain injury or disease that occurs before (pre-natal) during (peri-natal) or after birth (post-natal), or even later in childhood or adult life."[1]

i cant find any links to the study i once found on 44% of aspies in an aussie study having birth trauma, thought...

I always hit that part of my head too... WEEEEEEIRD!

Maybe there is some reason because there is another girl who hits that part of her head too...

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I hit my head on both sides when the kids start SCREAMING or dogs bark or if I'm frustrated and sometimes I strangle myself!! !

I know it's sad isn't?

Autism is related to the amygdala, which is in the lower part of your brain, mostly in the center. I doubt you'd be able to damage it directly without damaging other parts of your brain quite severely.

Also the difference in autistics is not a damaged amygdala, but a larger one. The amydgala is responsible for feelings of fear, anxiety, and also for connecting memories to feelings or sensations. If when you smell a certain perfume and suddenly you are ported back to 1994 when you smelled it on someone you knew, that's your amygdala at work.

More on the amygdala here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala

As a child I engaged in some serious head-banging but fortunately outgrew it.

idk that either, but makes me wonder i hit my head a lot, and it feels good, i dont really feel any pain due to it at all either. my head has a huge permantent bump from severe headbanging, im now starting to hit my head on the back of it, usually i hit on the forehead, but have hit the sides of my heads, now also the back. im waiting until i can save up more money and getting a weighted hat to see if it works, you check into that... http://www.southpawenterprises.com/Sear ... ighted+hat headbanging is serious ive been trying to fix my headbanging for yearrrrrrrs, been doing it since i was a kid, and basically deformed my head due to it, messing up my sight, my memory a lot.

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Being Normal Is Vastly Overrated

I've always been a head-banger & I still am. There were also times when I hit my forehead really hard when I started to feel a crying spell cuz of depression. I've had MRI's, EEGs & CAT-scans done on my brain because I have a rare vision disorder I was born with & a tremor disorder & things checked out on those test. I wouldn't rule out having brain damage from my birth but those test did not turn up anything

I have damage on left side of my brain. but I hit both sides of my head usually my temples in a meltdown. I dont think you were beating it out of you as much as it was right handeness
I could be wrong. Dont get to carried away with the idea of beating it outta ya cause you can knock yourself a good one and result in further brain damage which would cause more problems instead. I usually bite myself when I am at the mercy of a meltdown. I dont understand the whole self injury thing. It is like the emotions are so overpowering and with a bolt of emotional lightning that goes through me and I strike myself with hitting or biting or scratching. I have no control over it once it gets to that point. but why this happens is almost surreal.

Most NT people who self injure, usually cut themselves cause the bleeding causes endorphins and gives them a sort of high. I understand that

But I would never cut myself...I dont like blood nor pain. When I hit or bite myself, I have no control over myself. I dont want to do it...nor does it feel good...and I usually feel ashamed for a few days after it happens and I have to wear long sleeves to cover the bruise I left so people wont worry about me.

It's all of the brain, really. Over the last few years that I've been paying attention, I've seen studies showing physical macroscopic and microscopic differences in the brains of autistics (including Asperger's autistics) in everything from the brain stem to the frontal lobes, and everything in between. It seems that "neurodevelopmental" is about right--it starts very early and affects how the brain develops.

Never mind that brain injury from strikes to the head can appear elsewhere than just the point of impact. Kinetic energy does lots of funny things.

I have 8 y/o twin with severe autism. One of the boys slaps and hits his head but can not tell me why he does it. Sometimes he does it because he is upset and other times for no reason that is aparent reason. I am puzzled as to why he does this because he has no way of telling me because he is nonverbal. Can anyone give me some insight as to why people hit themselves? Does hitting give him some kind of release? Is it because he can not respond appropriately and that is the best way he knows how? Any and all insight would help. Thanks
Eric