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Meltdown

Meltdown

There is a certain point and time when your child has what can be called a "Meltown", a time where the child becomes so emotional that they no longer see, hear or do anything logically. A lot of people consider meltdowns to be associated with just crying or depression, but in our sons case it can be:

1. Laughing when everyone is angry or serious
2. Laughing uncontrollably
3. Crying for anything
4. Angry when things are not done at the time he expects, which most times is immediately

How do you deal with meltdowns? Personally I find them one of the most frustrating things to deal with in a special needs child.

Meltdown

Tight hugs. Autistic children seem to respond very well to tight hugs, not sure why but something to do with touching. Remain as calm as you possibly can and read/make lots of social stories that can be repeated over and over that can describe the odd/bad behavior and what is expected.

Meltdown Health & Special Psychology

For some reason, with my brother, when he has a meltdown, hugging makes things worse. He would just try to squirm away and he would start laughing louder and louder. I was never able to handle him when he was like that. I usually had to drag him from wherever he was (ex. At the park) to home and put him in a quiet area. Since then, my brother has seen special teachers and somehow they have given my mother an exercise that she can do with him to slowly get him to focus and count to 10. It seems to snap him right out of it. It's incredible to see.

Meltdown

I have actually found the same thing sometimes with my son. In fact it is very difficult for me to have that kind of interaction with my son because he starts to laugh or become extremely hyper or kick.

Meltdown

Well my brother is not like that all the time. He does that when he is having a fit, but when he's back to his normal state, he never turns down a hug. He actually quite touchy, but I think that runs in the family, because I was like that as a kid. For example, when I eat dinner, he always has to have me there at the table with him and he likes to sit right beside me. Sometimes when we're sitting watching TV, he'll lean on me or put his hand on my arm.

It's strange, because I was never that attached to my brother since he was born. I don't really like kids or babysitting. Maybe he is more affectionate with me, because it's part of the unconditional love that kids have for their family. I'm not sure.

Meltdown

My son is just like that, he loves hugs and other physical expressions of love. He needs it as he has quite a low self esteem therefore makes him feel better, reassured and loved.