Many people are baffled as to why anyone would engage in self-injury because it is both painful and dangerous. However, self-injury is a frequent occurrence in autistic children. There are a few things you can do to help ease this distressing practice, and there are a few theories about why it can be common among autistic children.

Because autistic children are unable to communicate verbally in the same way that other children can, they frequently experience feelings of anger when they are unable to understand or receive what they require or desire. As a result, in order to alleviate some of the frustration that cannot be expressed verbally, autistic children may engage in self-injury by biting or banging their heads, among other actions. Self-injury is also a way to get attention. The desire for attention and frustration of an autistic child go hand in hand. For example, an autistic child will get someone's attention right away by scratching themselves until they bleed, and this person will try to figure out what the child wants or needs.

For quite some time, the only thought has been this theory of attention and frustration. However, recent research has shown that self-injury may have a biochemical component that releases endorphins—also known as "happy hormones"—into the body, alleviating some of the pain and frustration experienced. Additionally, the autistic child receives a release from the endorphins, allowing him or her to temporarily forget about the pain and frustration. In addition, it is thought that if one engages in sufficient self-injury, the endorphins will begin to assist in masked pain, making the activity addictive.

Although some professionals believe that ignoring the autistic child's self-harming behavior is an acceptable treatment strategy, this can clearly be very challenging. Others have suggested that an autistic child might benefit from additional communication methods provided by communication therapy and medication. Drugs that release endorphins into the system, thereby assisting in the cessation of addictive behavior, are available. Additionally, nutritional options are available; Numerous families with an autistic child are said to benefit from calcium and vitamin B6.

Communication training to learn how to communicate with an autistic child is also very important for the family. Normal adults and even children and teenagers have to learn that communicating with an autistic child requires a completely different approach because they are so accustomed to using words or body language that are easy to recognize. One may be able to overcome this distressing practice by looking for solutions that benefit both the family and the autistic child involved in self-injurious behavior.