Anxieties over EVERYTHING | Autism PDD

A lot of autistic kids have a fascination with the weather. Andy had three kids in his class of five (all autistic) this past year! His teacher had the kids take turns giving the daily forecast as a way for them to learn more about the weather, and better handle their anxiety of it.

Andy still turns on our local weather radar station any time the skies get dark, and the wind starts blowing.

He's also terrified of any kind of flying bug--even craneflies, which are one of the least offensive.

When Tony starts getting anxious, just try to speak calmly to him, and reassure him that he's safe. Eventually, their reactions to these high-stress situations will lessen. But, they may find other things that trigger their anxiety.

Good luck!

Kim

I just wondered if any of you have problems with your kids' anxieties over just about EVERYTHING? It started raining here...we're getting the remnance of hurricane Dennis, but we've been in near drout conditions, so this is a GOOD thing, anyway my Son Tony (9 y/o HFA) is scared to death of rain, wind, almost everything to do with weather. I LOVE the rain, so I'm kinda in a "catch 22", if you know what I mean. I KNOW his fears & anxieties are very real to him, I have a few myself that people think I'm strange when I talk about, so all I can do is rock him & sing to him. Just wondered what all YOUR kids have anxiety attacks over.

God Bl;ess you all & your Families & keep you all safe!

Linda...aka Tony'sMom...aka MWN64

When Bell’s anxieties seem “out there” I try to remember my own very real fear of cockroaches <SHUDDER>. Those of you who have ever had a run in with a Texas Tree Roach know exactly what I mean.

Anyway, my point is-it’s sometimes hard for me remember that the fears are very real to Bell and I often have to remind myself that it’s not as easy as simply saying “That can’t hurt you honey.” –which is exactly what I’d say to my other children.

Most of Bell’s anxiety stems her fear of what will happen if something does or doesn’t happen a particular way. Does that make sense? Some of her doctors have compared it to obsessive compulsive disorder, but I don’t believe that’s what it is for her.

For example, Bell eats oatmeal every morning. There is something that terrifies her about putting the spoon in the bowl when I serve it to her. It MUST be placed on the side of the bowl. She will put the spoon in the bowl when she’s ready. I don’t know what it is about the spoon and she is not able to verbalize it, but she is absolutely terrified of that happening. Some mornings she skips breakfast and I believe it is solely because she is not prepared on that particular day to handle the anxiety associated with the whole “spoon in the oatmeal” issue. I’ve found that it helps to discuss it a bit when it is NOT occurring. Perhaps talking about the rain while it’s pleasant outside. Bell and I have lined bowls containing various things on a table and take turns putting spoons in all of them. It’s become a game that we all play in an effort to demonstrate that it won’t hurt her. Perhaps you can try a similar tactic.

Modelstitcher-you mentioned the fascination with weather, and my jaw dropped. I had no idea that this was common. Bell doesn’t have a fear of weather conditions, but she is fascinated with it and she spends hours watching the weather channel. It’s funny, sometimes she will overhear a city mentioned while I’m chatting with friends and she will tell me what the forecast is for that city.

At any rate, constant reassurance has been the model we’ve followed. Good luck to you, and I hope the skies clear up soon in your neck of the woods.

We used to think Bryce would be a weather forcaster! My boys are obsessed with the weather. I think the anxiety comes from it being so unpredictable.....at least here in ND! We have a saying , "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes. It is sure to change!"

Jacob gets uncontrollable if he even suspects it is going to rain! Luckily he slept through a really bad storm the other night that uprooted many trees here. He obsesses about any cloud he sees in the sky and questions if it is going to storm a million times a day! bonnie
For us,.... many times fears can be reduced by doing somethign similar by making it a game. For example... being afraid of the rain. Allow him to play witha hose and Make his own rain. Look for the rainbow.... take aluminum pans outside and spray the hose on it to make a storm sound sometimes when THEY can make a similar sound or rainstorm it lessens their fear. Let them spray the windows of the house or the car and then check it with them to show they see its still dry inside, have them use the hose to "rain" on plants and pretend the plants are talking Im so how I need a drink then the "rain" comes and the plant feels better. I know it wont work for everything, and it could take MANY times of doing this, but it might help relieve SOME fear if they can create the same sounds and things and learn themselves what the noises are. Try to make it FUNLuke is afraid of descending the stairs in our home. He has no problem being downstairs and he has no problem ascending the stairs ... nor does he mind descending stairs in other places. However, at home he screams with panic whenever we try to get him to walk downstairs. He's now almost 35 pounds and getting too heavy for me to carry comfortably, so we really need to address this issue, but we're not sure how! We help him everyway we can, up to actually carrying him. He still screams and cries hysterically.

Luke enjoys stormy weather and he loves watching the Weather Channel (especially seeing the radar screen). He doesn't really have any other fears that we can tell.

Kellie

I agree with Michelle here, we do the same thing when the rain starts...looking for rainbows, talking about how the trees and plants "need to drink too", putting a can out to see how much water we collect...on and on. It has made it a little easier, but he still covers his ears once the rain gets too heavy and especially with thunder...we usually end up hanging out together for those storms. It is tough, because what so many of us are used to truly scare them...and try to comfort them however they need to be comforted...it's funny...singing works for us too!!!

Kim mentioned the fear of flying bugs...actually Riley is afraid of all bugs (afraid puts it mildly) but I had a conversation with his OT about it, and she says that most are afraid of flying bugs, and it really made sense....explained that at least when they crawl, you can predict where they're going, watch them go there, but with flying bugs, they can go sideways on you in a second and once again, it's that "unpredicability" that makes them something that so many ASD children afraid of. Made sense to me! I tell you - I learn something new everyday...I certainly suppose applying that to the weather makes a lot of sense. (we're in Chicago Bonnie - we have that same 5 minute weather rule!)

Love and comfort and patience is all we can do sometimes...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes it never changes. I guess I've learned to accept defeat as much as victory in some situations...
~Lesley