Coping With Autism Spectrum Disorder Meltdowns and Behaviours

What is an Autism Related Meltdown?
A child with Autism can be very prone to meltdowns in public and unfamiliar places. Meltdowns can be described as a tantrum or fit of rage as the child may be confused or stressed due over loaded sensory inputs or an unfamiliar place and situation.

An Autistic or ASD meltdown can be difficult to control and can be a very emotional trauma for both the ASD child / person and the carer. It can also put the ASD child / person and carer in danger of personal injury purely from a reaction to a situation, event or even emotional vibes.

To add to the drama of a meltdown in public places there is always the onlookers and concerned individuals. It is only human nature to be concerned if a child / person is acting in a manner which may be perceived as if the person is in danger or in trouble. It would be a sad world if this wasn't the case, as in a recent event in China where a small child was hit by a vehicle and ignored on the street by passers by.

I recall when Isybee was just 3 or 4 years old, one of the first outings we had in a busy shopping center, the surroundings, lights, noise and crowd was too much for her to handle and she had a meltdown. For passers by it would have seemed as if we were trying to harm her or kidnap her, people were trying to intervene and looked upset and concerned, we felt like we had to try and explain that our daughter was Autistic, however at the time your focus is on calming the child. Some even went as far as commenting on what terrible parents we were. We ignored them however it still affects you.

Coping with an Awkward Situation
So how do you go about coping with these sort of situations? Everyone would have their own way of dealing with such an event, and you have to quickly learn to not let others perceptions bother you. You could try and avoid outings, social gatherings or anywhere where there might be a chance of the ASD child having a meltdown, however at some stage you will have no choice and at some stage you will need to accustom the child with Autism to everyday living situations and slowly modify their behavior by making them feel comfortable and understanding what is going on around them.

One clever way we found to handle onlookers and concerned citizens when a meltdown or perceived disruptive behavior occurs by your miss-understood child with Autism, is to hand out an Autism Awareness card that gives in brief, an explanation of why the child is in this state. It can be a very effective way of communicating without having to go into verbal explanations and allows you to focus and deal with the task at hand - calming your child!

Print Your Own Autism Awareness Cards
We made up the Autism Awareness cards into a template which can be printed out into business card style and size cards. These can be printed out directly by any home Ink Jet or Laser printer using the IJ39 Business Cards format which matches most word processor software formats. Printing sheets are available at any Office Supplies outlet. This template will print 10 business style cards per sheet. See link below.

Below is a link to the Autism Awareness Cards Template Free Download page:

http://isybeeautism.com/autism-asd-insights/coping-with-autism-spectrum-disorder-meltdowns-and-behaviours/

Hi, my name is Henry, I am Isy Bee's father

My wife and I originally started Isabella's Autism Pages and Isybee Autism web pages to help other parents in similar circumstances, and to give recognition to other people and organisations who have helped them help me.

We hope to cover a lot of ground writing articles and providing information and resources for families and persons affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Please visit our website for more information and resources:

http://isybeeautism.com - Autism information and resources.

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3 Common Behaviors of Kids With Autism

Children with autism vary greatly in their symptoms of the disorder, now more commonly known among the autism community as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. Symptoms of ASD can range from very mild, such as a person with high functioning Asperger's Syndrome, or very severe such as a child who is totally non-verbal and has very little ability to care for him or herself.

Here are three common behaviors in children with autism.

Behavior Number One: Children with autism have an extreme need for routine and structure. Despite the severity of a child's autism, most have an extreme need for routine, order and structure in their daily lives. They do best when on a routine schedule, preferably one that is posted visually with words and/or pictures.

Children with autism frequently want to eat the same types of food and drinks, some becoming very picky eaters. Perhaps more common than a picky eater is that the children will come to expect a certain food associated with a certain event. For instance, if the class always has pizza on Mondays, and pizza is not offered on Monday, a child with autism might get upset at this change in routine.

In the same regard, children with ASD can become upset when people change, such as in the case of a substitute teacher, a change in seats, or even visual displays changing from one day to the next. An example would be that all year the eight basic colors have been displayed on a bulletin board in a classroom. Very little reference has been made to the bulletin board but one day the red one falls down as the custodian in cleaning. No one notices but when the child with autism walks into the room, he says, "Red!" Being unable to communicate what he is talking about, he gets upset until finally someone is able to figure out what he is talking about.

Behavior Number Two: Children with Autism often engage in some type of obsession with an activity, thing or even a person.

Autistic children frequently develop obsessions with people, places or things to the point of not wanting to engage in anything unrelated to the obsession. Typical obsessions involve things such as Thomas the Tank Engine, zoo animals, a certain music C.D., or even vacuum cleaners. A typical scenario is that a peer who is unfamiliar with the child with autism asks, "Hi, what is your name?" The child with ASD who is obsessed with zoo animals responds, "Jonah and I went to the zoo yesterday. We saw lions. Did you know lions are carnivores and that the male lion is the dominant one in the pride. Groups of lions are called prides. Did you know that? Lions are known for their ability to hunt in a group. Usually it's the females that do this."

On a positive note, an obsession might be used to a person's advantage. A child who is obsessed with lions might one day grow up to work at the zoo and be the one totally responsible for the lion's habitat, or even become a lion expert, do research on lions, etc. Obsessions can change over time or be static.

Behavior Number Three: Children with autism usually have some type of difficulty communicating with others. Children with autism frequently have a difficult time maintaining eye contact. They can be non-verbal but most are verbal. Autistic children who are verbal typically had a difficult time answering "W" questions, meaning who, what, where, and why questions. If a child is asked, "Do you like ice cream?" they might be able to easily answer but if asked "What kind?" or "How much do you want?" it ,might be difficult for them to ask.

Some children with autism also demonstrate echolalia, which is repeating what others have said, either immediately after another person, or sometime later. Children who exhibit echolalia can imitate words and phrases, but also sounds such as bird calls, or repeat entire passages of words from a cartoon or movie. There are cases in which a child is non-verbal yet can repeat an entire television program, using the correct inflections and pitch.

There are many characteristics of autism but the above are three common ones.

Kristin Whiting is an adoptive Mom, Special Needs Preschool Teacher, and a regular contributor to Associated Content, Ezine, Squidoo and Hubpages. She has varied interests in such topics as family life, domestic adoption, foster parenting, healthcare, education, working with children who have special needs, social issues and GLBT parenting.
She can be reached through her two blogs - Amazing Family Life or My Special Needs Classroom - or her email at kwhiting644@yahoo.com

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Infant Signs - 9 Autism Symptoms and Behaviors to Look For in Your Infant

Infant signs of autism can include a variety of behaviors that can tip off parents of potential development issues. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder where the infant, child, or adult has difficulty with social interaction, behaviors different from others of the same age group, and have challenges with communication skills. Some specifics include:

• Prefer to play alone
• Unwilling to share or take turns with others
• Develop language skills more slowly than peers
• Lack of verbal communication
• Repetition of words or phrases
• Difficulty understanding the body language
• Inability or desire to listen to people
• Become upset and angry with change in schedule or routine
• Unusual organization skills

The above checklist is far from complete, but it will give you somewhere to start your investigation of this neurodevelopmental disorder in your child. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that 1 in 150 infants are born with autism. And if you have a boy you should know that your boy is four times more likely to have autism over girls. This is a staggering number of children that are affected by this disorder. Every parent should know, at minimum, the basic checklist of infant signs of autism to watch for as early detection of autism is critical. The earlier the detection the earlier the diagnosis and the sooner treatment can be administered. Treatments, not cures, are more effective the sooner they are administered, so every parent should know the symptoms.

The exact cause of autism isn't known, but the disorder appears to have a strong genetic component. Researchers report if autism is present in one identical twin, there is a 75 percent chance the second twin will also be affected. Parents who have one child with autism have a 2 to 8 percent chance of having another child with the disorder.

Infant brain imaging has shown that some children with autism have bigger brains than children of the same age. This has been show to start in infants at the 12 month age. This is great news as the sooner a diagnosis of autism is reached the more effective the treatments will be at reducing the symptoms.

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Home-Schooling Your Autistic Child

If you have an autistic child, then you are aware of the many challenges you face raising your child. With the behavioral problems that many autistic children suffer from, raising an autistic child may feel like two full-time jobs at times. Educating an autistic child is also a difficult task that must be fully thought out.

While public schools are funded to handle children with special needs, these locations are not always the best arenas for autistic children. One of the reasons that home-schooling your autistic child is a good idea is because special education programs may lump autistic children in with others who have maladaptive behavioral problems.

Remember, autistic children have behavioral problems due to their developmental inability to properly function normally in social situations. If they are placed in with others who have emotional problems they may regress instead of progress. However, if home-schooled, parents can control the social influences that are likely to either help or hinder the progress of their child. They can keep them away from insensitive teachers, bullies, and have greater control of their education.

Due to their obvious differences, many autistic children are treated with cruelty. This horrible fact of life can undo much of the progress that your child may have already made. Most autistic children function best when routines are set. Home-schooling is the best way to ensure these routines are established and followed.

In addition, home-schooling is a good choice because many autistic children are sensitive to sound. If they are in a classroom with a bunch of other children making noise, it can be difficult for them to focus.

The home-schooling setting is normally more quiet and conducive to learning, besides, it offers autistic children a typically 1:1 teacher to student ratio. Plus, if you're following a GFCF diet it's much easier to implement this at home and you can be sure that your child is only eating what you're giving them.

Furthermore, research has demonstrated that autistic children who are home-schooled score better on problem behavior assessments.

In order to make the most out of your child's home-school experience, it may be a good idea to keep a journal. Write down anything about your child's behavior and performance that is important. For instance, you can keep track of when your child is most productive, when he or she learns best, and what are the potential distractions. Remember you'll need to adapt your teaching style to suit their learning ability. Trying to make them learn 'your way' will just lead to a lack of progress and frustration all round.

As a parent and a teacher it is important for you to read up on recent literature involving the education of autistic children. There are many resources that provide information on teaching strategies, learning methods, and the different types of intelligence. Knowing this information will enable you to tailor a home-school program that will meet your child's needs.

The beauty about home-schooling is that if one approach doesn't work you can adapt your style until you find an approach that does work.

Home-schooling is fast becoming a common educational choice for parents of autistic children. The research involved clearly outlines the benefits of home-schooling. However, you must ensure that you will have the time and the dedication to follow through with home-schooling. Simply keeping your child at home is not going to do any good if learning is not occurring. It is important that you address academic, behavioral, and social needs.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans's free Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you discover more on how to go about teaching a child with autism at home and also more information on autism schools. You can also visit Rachel's blog at http://www.the-essential-guide-to-autism.com/blog

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Tips to Handle Behaviours of Autistic Children

Caring for autistic children can be difficult, yet there are steps and actions that can be taken by parents of autistic children to help them deal with the situations that will arise. Children who carry this autistic disorder can start showing signs as early as age 2, and if caught early, caregivers can learn to better cope with the disorder, as well as helping the child. Autism affects social skills and communications skills, among other areas, so getting an early diagnosis will help in implementing steps to help the child learn to express themselves better and to deal with the people around them and their surroundings.

Everyone has seen children who behave badly on purpose, and children with autism may exhibit some of these same behaviors, but most often they will do so unintentionally. The bad behaviors that autistic children exhibit may actually be a product of what is going on around them.

If they become startled by someone or something, then they may act in a way that seems inappropriate. While each child with autism will handle situations differently, being calm and directing the child away from the situation will most often work well. It is important to have a routine to calm them when autistic behavior arises.

It is important to understand the cues that each autistic child will give out, as these children may act a certain way when someone approaches them. They may become excited or exhibit certain behaviors when they are in stressful situations. Do they have a sensitivity to bright lights?

An autistic child will most likely have patterns that will show when they are put into some specific situations, so understanding these patterns and cues will help you to advert otherwise stressful situations for the child. Little tips like learning the autistic child's cues can make everyday life easier for the caregiver and the child.

Early diagnosis of autistic children can aide in the increased development of their social skills and the ability to better take care of themselves on a daily basis. This can be extremely important to an autistic child and their family. A child with autism will exclude certain behaviors that may be inappropriate or considered as bad.

These behaviors are normally not on purpose, but can be controlled to some extent by having routines in place and being very calm when the child starts acting out. Knowing how to handle situations that come with autism can be extremely helpful for the child and those who are caring for them.

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