Worst in a while... | Autism PDD
Awww, I'm sorry you two had a rough night! I can totally relate - when
Donny's at that point, it seems nothing calms him down but time, and
being left totally alone. If I can catch it quick enough, I can get him into
his bed, where he's less likely to hurt himself or break anything.
Have you ever tried plopping Sharlet onto a beanbag chair with some
pillows and blankets, dimming the lights, and then just leaving her be
when she has a meltdown? Beanbag chairs give really good deep
pressure sensory input, which it seems most ASD kiddos like and are
calmed by, without the demand for social attention that comes with hugs,
etc. There also relatively soft, which makes it safer for her to thrash,
bang her head, etc.
Just a thought.
and like everyone else said - don't sweat it - Sharlet's doing GREAT 
Hi Allegra,
I'm sorry that you had a rough time with Sharlet. It is very hard to deal with. I think that the best you can do is just what you're doing, and let her "blow off steam".
My son (5 years 7 months) has horrible meltdowns, especially in public (those are the BEST)
. I just LOVE how everyone stares while he is scratching and biting me while throwing things around. I just take him to the car and leave. If he does this at home, I have learned to just put him in his room until the behavior diffuses.
It usually takes about 10 minutes till he wares himself out.
(((Hugs))). I hope you see fewer of these as she continues to develop language.
nakama
Allegra
I wanted to second what everyone said - this probably may just be a precursor of some new good developmental leap - and you may be amazed again by her in the coming weeks
Sending you mega hugs
She has a bean bag car bed, I will try that next time thanks Donny's mom.
Thanks for your suggestions, unfortunately I have tried everything when she is that way. She just gets worse and violent toward me if I offer her any toys or videos or anything really. The only thing I can do is sit quietly in the room so if she tries to harm herself I can restrain her. Other than that she will not accept anything from me until the meltdown has run it's course and she is already beginning to calm down.
I will have to film it so I can show people what I'm talking about. The way she reacts if I try to give her something or sing, or help her in any way, it actually just makes her lash out at me.
I see what you mean then about the baths. my two love them so much I know they would stop to go in the bathroom. One of mine is a headbanger and has meltdowns everyday because the other one does a screaming noise on purpose to get her going. It is rough I know.I wonder if you got a couple of toys or items she would really love and just take them out for a time like that to distract her.Or a special video,only use it sparingly to catch her attention when she gets like that. Just a few suggestions.
Sharlet had the most hrrible melt down last night. Not sure exactly what triggered it. We got a new ball pit and I think she was a bit too obsessed, so when it was time for bed she lost it. She was so tired, we have just gone back to standard time after daylight savings time, which means it's an hour later than tthe clock says. I think this has really messed her around.
She screamed and cried so uncontrollably that she couldn't breath properly. She wouldn't let me get close to her or even take a bottle. She just thrashed around for a long time Then she got up off the floor and started to hit herself in the head and body. I tried everything I could think of but everything I tried just fueled the fire.
I had to put her on her bed and restrain her while I used singing and brushing. She resisted and thrashed for a long time but eventually she stopped from sheer exhaustion. The meltdown lasted for over an an hour.
It's been about a month since we have had one this bad. I guess I was beginning to think that they wouldn't be this bad again. This was worse han usual in regards to the hitting herself. But at least she didn't vomit this time. Meltdowns are so hard sometimes, I feel so drained afterwards.
Just needed to vent...
Allegra,
It seems that Sharlet has been making some huge developmental gains recently, by watching your videos. It seems that when Brandon is making huge gains in other areas (speech or social interactions) that we see more meltdowns for awhile. It almost seems like he is working so hard in one area that it sort of leaves him with no extra energy to deal with frustrations.... and thus he meltsdown more for a period of time, and then evens out again.
Hugs Allegra. I hate bad nights. Have you tried any cream rubs, like aromatherapy almost, when she has a bad time?
She's been doing great lately. I'm sure this is just "one of those days". Even us NT grownups have them.
My dear, my heart goes out to you. BTDT so many times, I can't count that high. Meltdowns come and go over the years as children reach different developmental stages, with the accompanying frustrations. It's clear Sharlet was overstimulated and excited by the ball pit. That's a good thing in some ways, since it means she's interested and ball pits can be great tools to encourage social interaction or at least parallel play. You have excellent skills and I'm certain you'll know how to get past this behavioral hump. But I just want you to know that meltdowns are not necessarily signs of regression or signs of poor handling, etc. Meltdowns are sometimes signs of PROGRESSION. It's just that with every new developmental step comes frustration for children who are not developmentally equipped to communicate and socially interact. As hard as it is to deal with tantrums (believe me, if anyone knows, I do), they can be a sign that the child has reached a new level. (((HUGS)))Thanks everyone, your words mean a lot to me
Tzoya is Right on about it indicating a surge in progression and worded it nicely. It always happens the worst right before a new skill is learn..usually a major one avoided till now
I was always in denial with Sarah having overloads and sensory issues but I have learned more about them and they don't always have to mean noise, taste, touch ect..it can be learning skills esp. hard ones and it overloads as well..I learned in this area they learn to cope over time...Sharlet still a baby to me just on a huge growth spurt in learning!
Allegra,
Sorry you had a rough night.
Karrie
It has been so neat to see and hear about all the progress Sharlet has been making. Hope she's feeling better today.
shannon
I am so sorry you two had to go through that ...I think the time change affects our kids..Sarah was fussy for a few days after we "sprung" forward..It is always a nightmare going through these and not knowing what caused them and totally helpless to help them...the only thing that helped Sarah when she was little was a teletubbies video and she would just snapped out of it. When Sarah had hard programs that were new she always had a major meltdown afterwards from overload. I was told to always expect some gains after meltdowns~not sure what the logic is but it seems to hold true for Sarah..she will protest with a vengence and then she will do it the next day like it was never a problem to begin with
Blessings,
If she likes a bath,I would try to distract her by saying lets take a bath,the bath will calm her down.It's not safe to try a bath, because she would fight me like mad to touch her and get her clothes off. If she's thrashing she could hurt herself in the bath.
She hates it if I sing during a meltdown unless she is beginning to calm down.
No melt downs with Andrew with the onset of Daylight Saving Time, but his sleep is off and his schedule is off for everything else too!
Hang in there! I hope this is the last one for a very long time!
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