This is such a hard thing to teach. My son is nonverbal and craves pressure and touch all the time. Throw puberty in there and it's a recipe for disaster. He goes up to waiters and grabs their wrist, tries to rub the back of people's arms, and is constantly wanting to touch others. We emphasize quiet hands, quiet hands. He keeps his hands locked together and we give him a reinforcer for any amount of time he keeps them to himself. It's getting better slowly, but he reached out and touched a girl's rear at lunch the other day. Ugh. He also likes to give kisses when he's happy. That's where it becomes really hard as well, because, he can give his mom kisses, but not his seat mate on the bus. I try to talk to him about it as much as possible. I know he hears me. He has gotten better but it's slow progress. Most people are understanding, but then you get those who kind of freak out a little, which is understandable.

Two things have been helpful for us. The first came from school, where they told the kids that everyone should have a "hula hoop" of personal space. Then the kids put on the hula hoops to see what that looked like. Now, we can just remind our son to remember/respect the hula hoop.

The second was from us. We've been really hammering it home that people wear clothes for a reason--some body parts are private, and it's inappropriate to touch or comment on body parts that are typically covered by clothes. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but we'll deal with those when he's older :)

We have struggled with this too. I read my son a social story I found online every time I caught him. At first I just redirected him to his room or bathroom. He is non verbal and very low functioning. That worked until he wanted to go in his room all day! Then I changed it to only at night before bed. He does ok, although sometimes he will still go into the bathroom during the day or i will catch him if the room he is in is empty. Sorry if this is too much information for some, but I never even thought about this situation when he was younger. About the only thing we can do is redirect as much as possible and stress that it can't be all the time. He understands most of what I say, but hormones are powerful! I also do behavior supports for another boy his age, but his parents just let him walk around in public with his hands in his pants. When I have him, I taught him "hands up" and he will put his hands up and hold them together in public. I tell him every single time, you can't touch your privates anywhere but your house in your room. He now will keep his hands up in public with me. It has to be consistent with all caretakers, but it can be handled. My son is only 13 now though, I'm dreading older teenage years!

Lizzie loved to give kisses, so it was tough for her to understand that she couldn't kiss whoever she wanted. Now I'm trying to explain and teach it to Beka and she's our NT child.

This is a hard subject to talk about. I saw no questions about it. All our children grow older and hit puberty at some point. Temple Grandin said her anxiety of people kept her from having sexual feelings, so for some that may be a blessed relief to know your children will avoid intimacy and touch. For others, this may not be the case. Some children do crave touch and pressure. For them, I think we need to find safe ways for them to feel good about their bodies and explain all the time that boundaries of others must be respected.