With my older son, I found ages 5-8 years to be very difficult and exhausting, because he lacked impulse control. He would be standing in line at school and if another child accidentally bumped into him unexpectedly, his first reaction was to punch the child. The light or unexpected touch felt like an attack to him. I received many phone calls from school in 1st and 2nd grades.

If we were around other children at home or someone else's house, I had to be constantly on guard to watch for any signs from him that he might lash out. I had to intervene several times. I had to remove him from the situation before anything happened. Sometimes he just wanted to see what would happen if he did X.

I found that if I explicitedly told him the behaviors that were acceptable and which ones were not acceptable, he did much better. Before going into a restaurant, I told him (and my younger son) that I expected walking feet, quiet inside voices, hands to himself, no running, no climbing, no hitting. Every specific behavior I could think of. When I did this, they behaved better.

He always did better if I talked to him beforehand. If I knew there would be loud noises, I told him that. I warned him before I turned on the vacuum cleaner. If there were going to be a lot of people where we were going, I warned him about that and that someone might accidentally bump him.

I also encouraged physical activity at home. Swinging, jumping on our trampoline, riding his bike or scooter. We'd have him do jumping jacks, help him with wheelbarrows down the hallway.

Things started getting better for us when he was in 3rd grade. He gained some maturity and his sensory sensitivities weren't as bad (or he was finding ways to cope better).

He's 11 now and in 6th grade. His sensory issues are much better. His social skills are so much better (after 4 years of social skills group). He also has anxiety and that is our main focus now.