Walls
Grayson has struggled quite a bit with head-banging. It's something that escalated when we moved into our new house and it has lasted for nearly two years now. It's something he does when he is upset or during a meltdown. He completely destroyed his bedroom walls and the walls in our upstairs hallway and stairwell.
Despite critical behavioral intervention, having a helmet that he was specifically measured for, anxiety medication, re-directing him, having to physically restrain him...he still managed to cause major damage. Other areas of our home have dented walls, but not to the degree of his bedroom.
We talked for months about how to fix it. We had social workers from the county come in and look at it - and some contractors as well. It stumped just about everyone we talked to. We got an estimate, and the cost was astronomical. So Mike decided to take the bull by the horns and do it himself with help of a friend and his dad. He saved us several thousands of dollars, and it looks good!
Grayson has been head-banging free since October, but this week the behavior returned, and he put a hole through the wall once again - this time with his heel - only it was a piece of the original drywall he damaged, and not something that Mike had just replaced. Now that the walls are fixed, we are discussing exactly how to cover them so he doesn't cause further damage.
This behavior is disheartening and the hardest to manage by far of all of his behaviors. We feel reluctant to go anywhere because we are worried he will cause damage to other people's homes. We have see him head-bang walls at therapy, the library and church.
Despite critical behavioral intervention, having a helmet that he was specifically measured for, anxiety medication, re-directing him, having to physically restrain him...he still managed to cause major damage. Other areas of our home have dented walls, but not to the degree of his bedroom.
We talked for months about how to fix it. We had social workers from the county come in and look at it - and some contractors as well. It stumped just about everyone we talked to. We got an estimate, and the cost was astronomical. So Mike decided to take the bull by the horns and do it himself with help of a friend and his dad. He saved us several thousands of dollars, and it looks good!
Grayson has been head-banging free since October, but this week the behavior returned, and he put a hole through the wall once again - this time with his heel - only it was a piece of the original drywall he damaged, and not something that Mike had just replaced. Now that the walls are fixed, we are discussing exactly how to cover them so he doesn't cause further damage.
This behavior is disheartening and the hardest to manage by far of all of his behaviors. We feel reluctant to go anywhere because we are worried he will cause damage to other people's homes. We have see him head-bang walls at therapy, the library and church.
These are the before pictures, obviously!
Here is a picture of Grayson's room now! You can't even tell that the walls had been so badly damaged. Mike did a great job fixing it!
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