Lip Biting

This is something new.  Either Dane is licking his lips and chewing on his bottom lip or he may be biting his bottom lip very hard when he gets mad.  He has a sore mark under his bottom lip from his top teeth chomping down.  I have seen him suck in his bottom lip and give a little bite.  He is doing it more lately.  When he's frustrated he growls and bites down hard.  I tell him about the sore mark he's leaving and wants to look in the mirror.  Now, when I tell him "No" he bites down on purpose. 

We needed to get some supplys from Wal-Mart and we were'nt ready to go.  He jumped over the seat, started biting down on his lip and hitting the window.  After he settled down and got into his seat he buckeled his seat belt by himself.  I tell him what a big boy he's getting to be and that he did very good buckling his seat belt all by himself.  Praise the good things he does and try to blow off the naughtyness.  Negative behavior and negative attitude at him makes things worse.  Redirection is the key.  It's hard but bad behavior needs to be reinforced with a positive attitude. 

Explanation in slow, short phrases help when he wonders about something.  I do not want him to go on the road by himself.  He will try to run out with his dump truck and stay to the side of the road.  He has plenty of driveway and yard to play in.  I think he's pushing his boundaries with me.  He knows it is wrong and yet he does it.  I tell him, "Danger, no road!"  He looks at me confused and says, "Cars go on road?  Cars can hit me?"  I say, "Yeah.  And that's bad."  "Oh."  Dane says.  Does he understand?  I think so but he's pushing the limit or its in one ear and out the other.

Dane has been asking about a watch with hands on it.  One of his friends at school must have one.  We let him pick one out at the store and that made him happy.  I bought him a cheap set of legos with Lightning McQueen from Disneys "Cars."  I helped him put it together by showing him where the pieces went and him pushing them into place.

At grandpas Dane is always scooping up caterpillars, worms and toads.  Tonight, as I am writing this, he brought in a dead baby grass snake.  Yuck.  I thought it was a worm and he knew it was a snake.  I had to double glance and look for myself.  I have never seen a grass snake ever around here.  I told him to wash his hands and he flushed it down the toilet.  For some reason he is getting his obsession flushing the toilet again.  Same with him lining up toys and pinwheels.  I need to redirect these stims or they will take control over him again.