banging windows

I have a friend who has a 10-year old daughter who is diagnosed with mental retardation and autism.  The doctor's have said that she is more MR than autistic.  This child has had this behavior for the past 5 years, although it could be worse, it is frustrating to her parents.  She will hit the glass window with her hand, and if she doesn't use her hand, she will then use her foot.  One week the mother took a tally count and her daughter hit the window 86 times in a week's time.  This appears to be a game to her daughter.  She will engage in this behavior the most when she isn't kept busy, but may also occasionally do it when she is engaged with another person.  (By the way, it is very difficult to find things that will hold her attention for long).  Luckily the windows are tinted at her home, so her safety is not at risk.  However, she just came back from a cruise and my friend told me that she banged and kicked the metal walls in the cabin continuously.  If she doesn't have access to a window, she will hit other items, such as doors or in this case, the metal walls, t.v, etc.  If anyone has any ideas out there on how we can reduce this behavior, please share your thoughts.  It appears that this behavior is either sensory based or attention maintained, or both.  Please advise. Thank you!

Dear: Positive,

 

I am currently experiencing the exact same behavior with my eleven year old son Dx Autism.All behavioral situations, especially those that are so potentially dangerous, should be evaluated by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst for accurate programing/intervention. My son's BCBA determined that the function of this behavior for MY son was automatic reinforcement(sensory). We have been implementing our new plan for about two weeks now and we are already seeing a decrease in the behavior. We have implemented a sensory diet, that allows my son to receive the same sort of sensory input in a more appropriate way (using deep massages, joint compressions, vibrating massage toys that he can play with, and other prone excercises)we are also teaching him how to request this sensory time and along with that making sure that he is receiving tons of attention when he does display appropriate behavior. We are not out of the woods by a long shot and this is somethinng that requires a little extra work for our very busy family but that is the wonderful thing about collecting data,we must be doing something right...the frequency of the behavior is less and less. Hope this was helpful.....

Daniela