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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Tips to Improve Hair Cuts For Children With Autism

For children with autism, getting a hair cut can be a difficult experience. For their parents the experience is often painful and full of stress, tears and frustration. When my son was first diagnosed with autism my wife and I struggled taking him to get hair cuts. We would often wait weeks past the time when his hair would look ragged and long, just to avoid the barber. After learning some small tips and developing a plan, we now are able to get his hair cut without issue. This process takes time and patience, but is worth the effort. As a father of a child with autism I have been there and understand how difficult it can be to take a child to get their hair cut. I have been slapped, scratched and my son has had a number of meltdowns that have left me on the verge of tears.

I recall specifically one time when I walked into a Circus Cuts and was relieved to not have any people there. As the hair cut progressed my son melted down and after thrashing, scratching and screaming I was blinded by hair, and the smock. As my frustration grew I began almost yelling " I did not sign up for this" and at the same time look up and saw two families just staring at us like we were from another planet. I was at the end of my rope and needed to do something. We decided to use skills learned from our Applied Behavior Analysis team. The first thing we did was take data on the events that led up to us going to get his hair cut and what scared made him lash out once was in the chair. We knew that his behavior had to stop, but first had to understand why he had these behaviors. Once we did that we were able to come up with a plan. This plan was to slowly get him accustomed to getting his hair cut buy taking it in very small steps. The steps included having him understand all of the steps of a hair cut, what it took to get to the barber and the tools used to cut his hair. Now that he had this information we could start shaping his behavior. We also had to lean what reinforcers worked best for Collin.

We already knew that clippers were a problem for him, so we discussed how he would not have to use the clippers and that he would only use the scissors. This discussion included picture cards, and actual scissors and clippers so that he could generalize what we were teaching him. At the time our son was non verbal and we needed to work on his receptive behavior and develop communication skills through pointing, and eventually verbal cues. Once he had mastered the skills of identification the hair cut process we could move on. The first reinforcer that he had in this process was that he did not have to use the clippers, a huge relief to all of us. After he was able to progress enough, we began to take the small steps to shape his behavior. We would take a step and then go home. Our first step was to talk about his hair cut and get him into the car. When he mastered that without a meltdown, we moved on taking small steps until we go him into the chair and finally able to get his hair cut. The amount of steps necessary will vary with each child, but whether it takes a month or a year, the end result will hopefully be that your child will get a haircut without a meltdown, or at least the bad behaviors will subside. Today we can go get our hair cut with out incident. He still tells the stylist "scissors only" when he gets in the chair. When he is done, he gets a lollipop (sugar free and organic) and we are off to our next errand or the playground.

Garrett Butch is the father of a 6 year old with autism and the founder of Maximum Potential Group.

Maximum Potential has developed courses created by two PhD BCBA's that train parents and school systems how to work with children with autism. To learn more about ABA and how to learn how to work with autistic children at home visit our web site.

http://www.maximumpotentialkids.com

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How To Deal With an Autistic Meltdown

When parenting a young child with autism one of the scariest places you can be is in Public! Anywhere which has plenty of people, activity in addition to noises might boost the probability of an Autistic meltdown transpiring.
For those who are bringing up a child a child with autism spectrum disorder I'm confident you could relate with the event associated with going through an autistic meltdown, and recognize how these differ from a tantrum.
An event connected with an autistic meltdown may be unsuspecting and tend to be certainly not timed well at all, simply because they often arise in a position or place where there are plenty of individuals to observe the event.
Just like, a causal visit to the video shop one particular Saturday afternoon left one mum absolutely unraveled. This particular mum had taken her child to the movie shop to pick out a DVD for that night. This specific circumstance had not been unique for the child, but the shop was really busy with people in search of films for the night time. To help with making matters a whole lot worse the shop air-conditioning had also broken on this afternoon so to help with the temperature they put in place massive fans around the shop. The child (approximately age of 13) was a little bit annoyed regarding the change in setting and additionally was evidently far more uncomfortable with the number of people along with the amplified noise aspect in the shop. It didn't take him very long to pick out a DVD mainly because he wanted to leave the store. The particular tipping point followed for the reason that they did not any of the DVD he picked out.
He uttered the words 'go pay'. His mum made an effort to clarify it's not in and he must find another. He maintained saying again 'go pay' only on this occasion becoming more noticeable and louder.
People's heads began to immediately turn and their lips begun to whisper the presumptions connected with a spoilt brat. This flustered mum made an effort to pry the empty video cover from her child's grip in addition to usher him outside the shop even while he was reiterating on 'go pay, go pay' and after this flapping his fists significantly. This specific tipping point had at this moment become reached. The very best this mom could implement at this time was get him securely inside the motor vehicle and simply wait with patience up to the point it all had passed before traveling home.
Recognizing the clues connected with a coming autistic meltdown can be handy to help in calming the matter well before it arises. Most of these signals will be typically based on your child identity. Possible signals for one child might not be precisely the same for any other.
A number of Signals connected with an nearing Autistic Meltdown:
· Dissociation: individual might 'zone out' of their surrounding.
· Increased muscular stress: this could be found in a more stiff style of moving, rigidity with legs and arms for example.
· Loss in focus: very closely connected with dissociation, though usually the individual might be struggling to address a task currently happening
· Loose the capability to think and also converse so the individual can start to script (repeat preceding dialog, portions of a DVD etc) a chat.
· Manually attempt to filter sensory stimuli, which include cover/close their own eyes, block their ears. Some might sometimes make an effort to position their hands over the lips of anyone chatting to try and force them to stop.
· Clenching fists
· Clenching from the jaw muscular areas
· Grinding of the teeth

Realizing the subtle clues ahead of an autistic meltdown will assist you in predicting this behavior and even avoiding it. As you start to notice some of these signals presenting themselves it really is beneficial to keep something 'stimmy' inside your hand bag; like an iPod. Whatever the gizmo might be, it may possibly aid your child get by till back in his or her's 'static' surroundings.
PS: I wouldn't provide a 'stimmy' gizmo for poor behaviors, defiance, for example as it will only anchor in even more connected with what that past actions had been.
Remember to visit http://theautismfactor.com/ and Get Your FREE copy of Charlene Proctors Autism-Where to Start help Guide. And learn helpful strategies to boost the potential of your loved one with Autism.

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How to Handle an Autism Meltdown

Having an autistic child can be quite challenging sometimes. My child will sometimes have what we call "nuclear" meltdowns. Sometimes when he does this, he can scream non stop for hours at a time and it's so hard to figure out if he's screaming because he is in pain or he's just not happy. I have done a few things that seems to calm him when this happens, so it might help some of you.

1. The first thing I do when he's having a screaming fit is I will give him some pain reliever like Motrin to see if it's a pain thing, or him being frustrated. If he calms down after 20 or so minutes, I know he must be hurting, like an ear infection.

2. If he continues to scream, I get a blow dryer and put it on the cool setting and blow it on his back. For some reason, this calms him.

3. If you have them, blow bubbles

4. Give them a newspaper or magazine to shread

5. Give the child a warm bath.(this method usually doesn't work on my son when he is screaming, as he will not sit still)

6. Take them outside to swing on the swing set if you have one.

The most frustrating part is trying to figure out what makes him so upset. There have been many times when I've had to take him out at 2am to swing. Sometimes if none of the above help, try and find something to distract the child. Usually the blow dryer method works best for us. When he does have a meltdown, it usually only last about 40 min. Before, it would last at least 2 hours.

For more info on autism treatment, please visit [http://www.overcomingautisticchallenges.com]

Shelley Ryan

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What is Meant by a Meltdown in Autistic Children? Find Out

The word meltdown has been used numerous times and has expressed different meanings relating to children with autism. What is meant by a meltdown and what causes the more common attributes of meltdowns?

The most common cause of a meltdown is an emotional response to stress or over stimulation. Most autistic children have a challenging time to understand where their stress level is and how to handle it, in addition, to over stimulation. Some children will express their relief by throwing things, running away from a situation, such as out the door, in an area that is not safe, such as a street, with cars coming and the child is not aware of the danger.

Meltdowns are reactions to severe stress, when a child with autism, is not taught or is unable to redirect his or her stress in a positive way by understanding that the situation can be changed and managed.

Every individual is different in their own unique way. Many children come from families that react differently to their stress and in their culture, which may influence a child with the disorder of autism in a particular family.

The more common attributes of meltdowns in children with autism, are for example, too many people all at once, frequent changes, asking too many questions, change in topics too quickly, going to unfamiliar places and appointments, with no explanation and going from class to class, with new teachers.

Most of the of meltdowns are caused by the fact, that the individual is autistic and is taken by surprise, given too many choices, does not understand the reason for all of the sudden changes, emotion overload, sensory overload, given too many tasks to do and is unable to process all the information.

You can observe with meltdowns, that there are warning signs. These many include repeating words or phrases over and over again, having difficulty understanding and answering questions, not wanting to stop repetitive rituals or routines, pacing back and forth, and flapping hands.

The meaning of meltdowns are uncontrolled reactions to overwhelming stress. They are not temper tantrums, but they can lead to meltdowns. Furthermore, there may be a high risk of self-injury during meltdowns. For instance, banging their head, and some individuals with autism gravitate towards running water, near lakes, creeks or dams, which can be dangerous and cause drowning.

After defining and understanding what is meant by a meltdown, many individuals with autism will grow up in our environment and try to adapt to our society, that does not understand what a meltdown is, in the people with autism. The individuals with autism, will try to develop coping skills and redirect their struggles to manage their every day challenges.

Remember, people with autism will always have autism, so they too will experience their off-days of not always being able to cope with their struggles, which might catch them off- guard and cause a meltdown.

It is imperative to realize, individuals with the disorder of autism have meltdowns, due to the fact that they do not always know how to direct their emotions in the proper channels. Be patient with them and learn about their disorder and meltdowns, to gain a better understanding of what they are experiencing.

"Discover more useful topics on this subject and other imperative topics about autism. Enter at ===> http://www.autismintoawareness.com to download your updated e-book and receive bonus products, You and your child are worth it to receive this crucial information. Bonita Darula wants you to gain the knowledge you need, that break the silence of the many levels of autism. Do not delay."

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Asperger's Syndrome Treatment - Six Therapies That Can Help Solve Your Child's Sensory Issues

Perhaps one of the most important kinds of treatment for kids diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, is sensory integration therapy. What is sensory integration therapy? Well, kids with autism have a lot of sensory processing issues. This means that every kind of stimuli seems too extreme for them. While most people have some kind of filtering system, kids and adults with Asperger's syndrome have a very hard time filtering out extraneous sensory information.

What does a sensory overload look like?

Your child may not want to put on the clothes you laid out for him because they are too scratchy or there's a tag in the back. He may refuse to go into many public places because they are too noisy, or the lights are too bright. He may suddenly have a tantrum because the smell of someone's perfume is overwhelming him.

A Child Who Is Under-Sensitivity To His Surroundings May Also Have Problems

Conversely, there are also kids who are under-sensitive to sensory stimuli and are constantly seeking and craving it. They are the kids who will be tearing around your house, crashing into things and generally on the move all the time. They want to touch everything and experience everything, and can never seem to sit still.

What both of these categories have in common are deficits in the sensory processing system. And there are ways to treat them.

1. Auditory Integration Therapy

An occupational therapist who is trained in helping kids with sensory issues will have a number of tricks up their sleeve. One is auditory integration therapy (AIT). Studies have shown that listening to special CDs of music that have certain frequencies and pitches can actually change the way that the brain processes information. With this therapy, it's changing the way sounds are processed.

The person who is getting AIT listens to a CD made for them for two sessions of 30 minutes each per day, using headphones. Over a period of time, the music can actually change the way the brain hears the music, and make a person less over-reactive to loud noises, and more able to process sounds and language effectively.

2. The Wilbarger Brushing Protocol

The Wilbarger Brushing Protocol is a treatment for Asperger's syndrome when kids have tactile sensitivity issues. In other words, they have problems with touch. Kids with this problem often can't stand the feel of their clothes, can't stand to play outside because they might touch something weird, or jump if someone accidentally touches them.

This method of treatment involves using a surgical brush to brush the person's skin in a very specific way. This is done several times a day at preset intervals. It needs to be done with a trained therapist's supervision. When it is done correctly, it can reduce sensitivity to tactile stimuli.

3. Other Methods

There are many different tools that occupational therapists will use to help a child with Asperger's syndrome who has sensory issues. Many of these will be different for each child. A lot of them may look like playing, but it actually has specific goals and focuses on specific sensory systems in the body to change the way that system processes information.

Here are a few other techniques:

• Weighted blankets: People with Asperger's often crave deep pressure, as it is calming to them. Weighted blankets provide this. This increases their ability to focus.
• Trampolines, swing sets, and rocking toys: These can stimulate the vestibular system in a person with Asperger's. This can help either calm them down or stimulate them, depending on their sensitivities. Any activities involving movement can be helpful in this case.
• Joint compression: This is a treatment an occupational therapist can teach you that can regulate a person's nervous system. It involves manipulating and pulling on joints in a certain way that acts to kind of reset the sensory system.
• Sensory fidget bag: A sensory fidget bag can be useful to keep on hand. This should include anything that you can find to fill a bag with that your child can fidget with. Some examples are stress balls, koosh balls, feathers, slinkys, and so on. These sensations will give the child something to focus on, thus also having a calming effect.

As you can see, there are many ways that sensory integration issues can be treated. Sensory integration therapy can be a very useful treatment for children who exhibit specific symptoms of Asperger's syndrome.

Hopefully these tips can make life a little easier especially for children with Asperger's and their parents. In addition to these methods, there are many other tips and suggestions that can help your loved one live a fulfilling and happy life. A great site to find information to help children with Asperger's syndrome is the web site www.AspergersSociety.org. There you will be able to sign up for the FREE Asperger's Syndrome Newsletter as well as get additional information to help your loved one be happy and succeed in life.

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Autism Anxiety Overload

The renowned autism expert Tony Atwood is fond of putting it this way: "Autism is anxiety looking for a target." Autism and anxiety go hand-in-hand. Autism affects a person's ability to communicate with others or to understand the world around him, and that's bound to cause anxiety and panic sometimes.

Anxiety becomes even worse when there is a change in the autistic child's routine. Even positive and "fun" changes, like a school field trip or a visit to the zoo, can increase anxiety and aggressive behaviors.

For parents, the best course of action is to anticipate upcoming changes and help your child prepare for them. Many parents find it helpful to use stories and pictures to prepare children for impending disruptions. If it's a field trip to the zoo, for example, use pictures to show your child what he'll see at the zoo, what the zoo will be like, and what sort of things to expect. Do this each day for three or four days prior to the trip. That way, when the trip actually happens, the child won't be entirely out of his element, but will already understand and appreciate some of what will be happening.

Other changes in the routine are less enjoyable but still necessary. Getting a new teacher can be traumatic, as can moving to a new house. If at all possible, try to spread out the major changes. If you move to a new house, try to do it during the summer, so that your child won't have to deal with the added anxiety of getting a new school and new teacher mid-year.

You can also introduce your child to the concept of "change" in a positive way by practicing with non-negative things. For example, just for practice, give him a little extra TV time instead of homework time one night, to show that changes in the routine can often be fun and good. Then practice with a neutral change (homework after dinner instead of before dinner), then with a negative one (changing play time into chore time). This process can help your child grow accustomed to the idea of change and learn to adapt without becoming anxious.

For continual, ongoing anxiety, many parents have begun using anti-anxiety medications for their autistic children. Usually, the medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and are also used for obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft and Anafranil are all common for anxiety in autistic children.

For behavioral problems, antipsychotics such as Haldol, fluphenazine and chlorpromazine can be prescribed. These can reduce aggression in autistic kids, but sometimes also cause sedation and muscle stiffness.

All patients are different. You and your doctor should monitor your child's progress very closely, using the lowest dose of medication possible, to see if what improvements it makes and whether there are any adverse reactions. Medication should be the last resort for autism, not the first one. There are a number of natural remedies available if you don't want to go down the drug route. But try behavioral and dietary modifications first, to see what improvements can be made naturally.

Rachel Evans writes a Free Autism Newsletter. You can sign up here: Free Autism Newsletter. To find out more about the the autism spectrum and for more information on mild autism symptoms.

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Meltdowns And Tantrums Can They Be Dealt With? Find Out

You are in the grocery store making a purchase and suddenly your child who has autism, displays the loudest tantrum you ever heard. There you stand in shock and with embarrassment from this outburst. Your child needs a meltdown. But how?

Has this ever happened to you? You know you must deal with this tantrum and give your child a meltdown.

Having a child who has the disorder of autism is extremely challenging, when an outburst of a tantrum occurs.

If you have other children or are aware of other children, who are not autistic, a high percentage of those children who are under five years of age, usually have tantrums and outbursts. But, these tantrums usually can be stopped or corrected.

When a child with the disorder of autism, displays tantrums, you want to calm him or her down with a meltdown.

It can be difficult and challenging to calm your autistic child down and control his or her behavior.

Before you decide to take your child out in public places, prepare yourself that tantrums might happen and you must give your child a meltdown to stop the aggression and frustration.

In addition, you need to understand why the tantrums are happening.

If a tantrum happens when you are in public, I found the best thing to do is to solve it. Try and communicate with your child by making firm eye contact and say the word "NO." Be very firm with that word.

If your child does not understand what "NO" means, try to use visual cards with pictures on them or create visual meaning, use expressions of signs and symbols, signals for your child to relate to. Such as the word calm down, quiet, not so noisy, do not push or shove, do not throw objects, no screaming, etc.

I have discovered if you know your child will have an outburst, try to distract your child from that problem.

There may be times when you will want to carry pictures, certain toys, music, books, stuffed animals to offer a diversion from the tantrums and outbursts.

I knew a mother who had a cart full of groceries and her child had a tantrum. She had no choice but remove her child and herself from the premises. She had to discipline and give her child a meltdown.

To solve tantrums and outbursts, you may have to stop what you are doing and let your child know, enough is enough, you as parent(s), caregiver(s), are in charge. His or her behavior must come to a halt. It must stop. A meltdown should be given.

In the future, if you find your child is having the tantrums and meltdowns when you are planning the same routine, evaluate what is causing his or her tantrums?

Try to analyze the cause and solve it before the meltdowns are needed.

Bonita Darula's informational web sight==> http://www.autismintoawareness.com is where you SIGN up and RECEIVE your FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with updated topics. Meltdowns and tantrums can be dealt with. Find out how you can solve this challenging problem. Read your New Updated E-Book that is crucial for you and your child. You can order it when you receive your newsletter>>> http://www.autismintoawareness.com

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Autism and Meltdowns: What Does the Person Experiencing the Meltdown Feel?

Does a person with autism know, that is understand what is going on during a meltdown? Note: This scenario is very close to my heart so to personalize the experience "G" represents a person with Autism.

When G is upset she goes into her own little world, (a corner so to speak). She is so overstimulated or angry or mad that she is unable to feel anything at this point. She feels no pain (this is when G can pull out her toe nails and not even be aware of it). This is why aggressiveness happens, she has to get feeling back, The accepted terminology to "slap out of it", by doing self-injurious things, (slapping own face, beating head, pulling out toenails, punching self). At this same time if another person gets in G's face she may slap, push, or punch that person not even being aware that she is doing this.

My experience is that she does know she is out of control and is unable to regain a grasp on reality, without intervention. During the meltdown itself, I am of the impression that she possesses no knowledge of her surroundings or of pain. As the parent I take steps to intervene and stop the meltdown before self-injury occurs.

Because she is unaware of what she is doing, I distract her by making a very loud noise; a whistle or striking two metal pan lids together works very well. Another effective way is using a gentle spray of water landing in such a way that the mist is felt, but she is not drenched. Other tricks that have worked for me to stop a meltdown is to start laughing out loud at something, not her. I like to use a comic or magazine ad, my laughter piques her curiosity and the meltdown stops as she joins in the laughter. As a last resort, I throw a tantrum, the shock of my behavior and that spark of interest in my silliness will stop her quite quickly. Once the meltdown stops it does not resume.

Without a doubt the best strategy is to prevent the meltdown in the first place. Although it is not always possible, when I first notice that she is tuning me out, and getting agitated I need to take action. One method I use is to start singing-she does not like my singing, but it moves her attention from whatever was bothering her to my singing which short circuits the meltdown. Another method is to ask her a question such as what in the world is that on her arm? Of course she looks and sees nothing abnormal and then I will say that it must have been a shadow but I was sure that I saw a dog on her arm, she then will tell me how funny I am, but the meltdown stops.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor or a licensed therapist. I am the mother of a child with an autistic Spectrum Disorder. Although I have spent many hours doing research and could cite many authoritative research papers, I am using my own personal experience in dealing with my daughter and the many, many other children I have met during the past 25 years.It is from these encounters that I am basing my article.

Patricia M. Hines invites you to visit her blog at http://www.luckyandhappyblog.com. This blog is about motivation, positivity and information about Developmental Disorders (Autism, Rett Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Childhood Distegrative Disorder and Aspergers Disorder), other Neurological Disorders plus my own personal reflections on life. Please feel free to add comments or suggestions on the blog. Thank You.

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How to Control Anger and Rage When You Are Upset With Your Autistic Child

Controlling anger and rage when you are upset with your autistic child can be a challenge. But, there are healthy ways it can be done. How, you are probably asking? You as an adult, want to become a powerful and respectful parent(s), or caregiver(s), who acts, thinks, talks and makes decisions that are good choices.

One way to help you after you have anger and rage, is being aware of the attention that is involved. Attention, is quiet, it can be on the border of being intense. Attention is the solid ground the person feels comfortable with. It makes you aware of what is happening or going on in the present. You want to be aware of how you are acting, or responding to your child with autism and yourself, by giving attention to the matter at hand.

Empathy, is another important element. This allows you, with the anger, rage to feel the attention. Empathy builds self-awareness. The more open you are to your own emotions, the more skilled you will be in understanding, or having an inkling of how to read feelings in your child.

Remember, to take time that allows heated emotions to cool down. When you find time to cool down, then you and your child, can act and talk on a common ground level for both of you to understand.

You as parent(s), or caregiver(s), must try to take a walk, a drive, a stroll, go to another room, find some quiet time, or turn on some soft music and just sit in silence. If you do not find a way to cool down, you may regret it. When I become angry and sometimes I have rage, I find it comforting to cool off, by looking at my colorful flowers or plants. By doing this for myself, I see and feel new positive energy and peace.

I have learned from my own experience, that most people who get angry, or are in rage, are trying to make a connection, with another person. The type of connection you are trying to make is with your child who has the disorder of autism.

Some of the healthy connections you can make with your child to help you, with anger, and rage, is, eye to eye, face to face, hand to hand, side by side, connections. This can be done by using soft verbal words in a calm voice to make these connections. Coming out of anger and rage, can be rewarding, beneficial, if you are diligent in remembering, to give attention to the situation and follow through with, empathy, time and contact or connection, with your child. In time, your emotions will cool down, and you will be able to communicate on common ground with your child.

Anger and rage, from being parent(s), or caregiver(s) can escalate into something serious if you are not aware, of how to control it, and what causes it. We all lose our temper and become angry. It sometimes could be more trying when you have a child with autism, and it affects his or her siblings and other family members.

If you are aware of anger and rage that happens often with your child, and you find it is hard to understand why it is happening, or it becomes out-of-control, then it is best to acquire some help, or talk it over with an autism specialist, who has a better understanding of how you can cope with this issue and correct it. Your child and you are worth it to have a healthy relationship.

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