Talking to herself! Help!

[struggling]

MY DS is a 12 year old special child, attenting special school. Over the past few months, she has started gesturing and talking to herself silently. I found out that the gesturing was actually movements to a song ( whew!), but now she has continued the habit of talking to herself - in conversation with imaginary friends - amost every moment of the day and night! And the talking is getting louder, that sometimes I can hear her ‘conversations’.

It takes a lot to get back her attention to talk to anyone in the family.
I even have to shout at her and sometimes hold her tight / shake her to ask her to look at me / focus on me.
It has already started to interrupt her daily life eg. too engrossed to eat her food, dreaming when she in school, etc.

Anyone else experienced this and know what to do? I am panicking already!!!

[struggling]

Thanks for your sharing… So, she’s still doing it too? We’ve been telling her that ’ it’s not normal’ and threatening to take her to the doctor, which makes her stop temporarily, but then she starts again within 5 minutes… I’m at my wits end here…!

I’ll be taking her to see her specialist for her condition soon, to check if it’s anything to do with her medication or an extended symptom of her condition - IVA.
I wonder if its a lack of mental stimulation and friends that’s causing her to ‘make up’ her own friends…?

Anyone know where they teach art for special kids at a reasonable price?

[struggling]

Yes she does it in school too. Her teacher just spoke to me last week to say that she also noticed it, and her attention spam has dropped to … About one to three minutes…

Plus some of her actions seem ’ involuntary’ like slight movements of her head.
Is this a manifestation of something ?

How did you get your daughter to do less of all this?