that time of the day | Autism PDD

Ali's bad time of the day is the 1st hour after she wakes up (she is grouchy and more likely to tantrum) and then 10-11pm (she is SUPER HYPER).My ds has a hard time after school because he is overstimulated and
every little noise bugs him. He likes to deal with that by talking non-stop
without any interrupton. If his sister makes any noise he has a fit
becauseit interrupts his train of thought.
His other hard time is before bed - he gets sad and weepy and the best
way to describe it is 'weltscmerz'. He says he feels like 'part of my heart is
missing'. But since this happens every evening it is more likely
physiological than psychological.No question, getting home and waiting for dinner to be ready is THE worst!

I work full time and get home between 5 and 5:30 every day. All of us at work lament about what we call the "evil hours of the evening" and how our day care providers / nannys get to enjoy our kids at their best and when we come home from work we get to deal with them at their worst time of day! This is something all the moms at work bitch about - and I'm the only one with an ASD kid in the group. I think this is a rough time of day for most kids, and with ASD kids it can be even harder. (Though in my case, my ASD son isn't as off the wall in the evening as my NT son.)

The evenings weren't always bad. When the kids used to nap they were much better in the evening. Just the last 3 years since they gave up the nap have made for some rough evenings.

Isn't there a poem called the Poison Hour? foxl39286.4904513889 [QUOTE=brnire]

Bn's worst time of day is between 4-6:30 p.m.

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This is also Skylar's worst time of day. I usually end of in tears, just begging him to stop.

Thank goodness for his Clonodine. He gets it at 6:30-7 pm and within 30-45 minutes its lights out. Oh man that sounded way more horrible than it did in my head.
But I am sure that you guys know exactly what I am trying to say. (I hope)

mandyanthony39286.3778819444The worst time a day for us is from 7 to like9 pm he runs the house like crazy.. Every night same time.. Unless we have him outside.. But he has this rountine he runs upstairs then down stairs.. He likes to run espcially around the table

Zach has problems from 10:30 am until 5:30pm. We finally realized a few years back that he was hypogylcemic, and making sure he has snacks every 2 hours during those times of day has made a huge difference.

It may be worth trying to give her a small meal earlier than everyone else. Zachary will go into a full meltdown, but will always calm down after a few bites of food.

His Ped. doesn't think it's worth testing him, but it's obvious to us and his teachers, that not eating when his body needs it, always sets him off.

Good luck.

My School Autism person suggested I make cards about five of them with special things on them my child likes to do, and show him the cards when he gets home from School and let him pick what activity he wants to do, they have to be something he really enjoys, After School is the worst time of day for my son, anyway when they get to pick activity it helps take some of the pressure off. cause it's their choice. If your DD can't read you could use pictures on the cards. Also I try to start Dinner at lunch, I use crock pot a lot and then when it's rough at 4-5:30 I already have dinner cooking and can sit and read to my son his favorite activity. The earplugs sound like a good idea (haha).

The trigger could very well be the cooking smells. It took me a long time to realize that my son had a major problem with these.

Otherwise, like you said, the explanation is being tired and hungry and overloaded after a stimulating day, without you to have her regulate herself. Many say that it helps to give the kids some undivided attention for a short period rather than rushing into the after-work chores.

Good luck with everything.

This is the worst time of the day at my house also,No real advice but I feel for you(((HUG))).

I am going to try a activity chart with my ds,and structure his after school time ,Maybe this could help you.

Linda

Do any of your kids have a rough time of day? Bn's worst time of day is between 4-6:30 p.m. This is when she is tired, hungry, whiney and oversensored. And when she picks on her brother the most. I absolutely dread this time of day. Its when I am getting dinner ready and multi-tasking like crazy. Today, I put crafts on the table and it helped a lot . But today was also the first time in a year we have been trying out a new babysitter. She is great by the way. She is also one of BN's camp teachers at her special needs summer camp. And BN adores her. Anyhow, after she left BN had a meltdown and started throwing her bags of chex mix and threw a toy at my back. She had lost her fidget and was overwhelmed and she said she was hungry. I calmly told her to pick up the bags of chex mix and told her not to throw at me. I then went and helped her find her fidget. She got frustrated again and threw another bag so no chex mix. Then she spit toward my husband. Not a good idea! My husband got mad, she got in trouble and started to cry. So much for rest and relaxation to come home to this conflict! So, I took her upstairs to calm her down. But my point is what was the trigger? Why is it this time of the day is the worst? Somedays I just want to hide in the bathroom with a good book and a pair of ear plugs! Ugh!