Throwing

I throw my bowl of cereal and watch the milk and branflakes swoosh over the table and drip onto the floor.

I throw my nectarine and it splats onto the kitchen cupboard.

I throw my juice cup onto the carpet and the lid comes off and I watch the puddle of blackcurrant spread.

I throw my book at Lily-Rose's head and wait for her to cry.

I throw my sun-hat into the river and watch it disappear.

I throw my grapes at Luca and wait for the big shout.

I throw my pasta onto the walls, the floor, the curtains, the cupboards, and see the big red patches of sauce.

I throw my whole plate onto the floor and wait for the cross voice.

In the garden, I throw everything I can find over the fence... I stand and peep through the gap to see where the things have landed.

I throw myself onto the floor...


Ever since Zac discovered that he could throw, he has enjoyed flinging things! As a baby and toddler he used to spend hours throwing his toys up into the air with a flick of his wrist that would make them spin.

Unfortunately his love of throwing has its downside, as you can see, especially at mealtimes. He will suddenly, and without warning or provocation, fling his food across the room, resulting in a huge clean-up operation and yet another spoilt dinner.

It seems that throwing is almost compulsive with Zac, and he gets such huge sensory feedback from throwing that this is his “reward” for doing it. (You’ll remember from previous posts that he suffers from Sensory Processing Disorder.)

It also seems to be a way for him to explore cause and effect, as he clearly enjoys the reaction that his throwing produces, as well as the sensation itself! We therefore try to keep any reaction to a minimum as much as possible… sometimes a very difficult thing to do.

We have tried every strategy in the book to help Zac to stop inappropriate throwing, but without success so far.

Key:
WHITE text is me, "speaking" as Zac
GREEN text is direct quotes from Zac
GREY text is background commentary or explanation