Crying spells after school | Autism PDD

My poor guy! It is his 2nd week of school, and I really thought the worst was behind us as he says how much he like s school. But I know he has been picked on a few times & the teacher is working on that with a particular kid. Anyway, he still says how much he enjoys school. I noticed on Tues that he cried for about an hour & whined and threw things at me. It was NOT like him at all, but not totally unusual. Well, I thought OK must be tired or something. Well THEN he did it again yesterday right after school. Nothing has changed in our routine at all. He has had a bad cough for two weeks that he began taking Zithromax (antibiotic) for, but that is all! I dont think Zithromax would cause this? I think maybe it is a melt down from being at full school day. Last week they had an early release & a more relaxed curriculum. This week it is 9-3:38 and he is having to do his speech, OT, & PT also now. I think its starting to get to him. I am bringing my vid camera and I am going to try to discretely tape his meltdown, so you guys can give me your opinion. Also any advice for how I can make this better? I was thinking of having a new toy waiting for him in the car, but I cant do that EVERY day LOL But i just feel so bad for him! I know, I am one of those horrible moms that buys their kids toys if they got a shot or whatever LOL I cant help it I just feel do sad for him, he seems SO upset when it happens and it has lasted almost an hour!Does he enjoy music? Or some other activity. Adam was very overwhelmed when he came home from school. (he is a little better now) He preferred not to talk at all. If it was nice he would get on his bike and ride around the block for a while. If not he would swing or spin, those are all relaxing activities for him. If you son doesn't like those, I was thinking perhaps head phones with his favorite music, so he could tune out for a while. When things get overwhelming for Adam he tends to go into his own world. He can send himself there now. In fact I have a t-shirt that says, "I am in my own world, don't worry they know me there" He tells me that is very true. Another one says I have gone to my happy place. It is a coping mechanism for him now.

its stinks, we anticipate the kids going back to school only to have another host of problems. It will definately get better

In my house after school it is SNACK time!. they are hungry and can't wait to run in the kitchen. Last year we started mommies surprise after school snack. i made someting different everyday. Most days i would keep it healthy but creative, once in a while i would throw in some cupcakes which was a very pleasant surprise. My son loved this so much he would talk about it to the bus driver on the way home. Also its a good time to ask about the day and how it went.

Good luck TY for all your suggestions. He had anothers pell in the car on the way home. I just hate to see him go through this after he had such a wonderful, stress free summer at home! It really brings everything back into focus when you have to realize, OH YEAH he has Autism! I guess with his high functioning Autism, possible Aspergers, you can kind of "forget" how bad their symptoms are when you keep them in their comfort zone for a long time.
I will try the music & also doing a night bath. I think that is a great idea. Also, he has a new GameBoy from his Aunt that he got a few weeks ago, so maybe I will make the GameBoy off limits except when he comes hoem from school, that way he has something to look forward too. Right now he can just play it whenever he wants but he has to get off within 20-30 minutes. I mean I dont let him be on it all night! But if he could only use it afterschool, maybe it sould help him unwind if he plays the GB and listens to music.

Sometimes kids need 'down time' when they come out of school. I am one of those parents who likes to hear how the school day went but I have learnt to let Nicholas have some quiet time and he comes to talk to me when he is ready.

There is lots of extra sensory pressures at school (i.e having to listen to extended periods of time, lots of noise etc) so there may be an adjustment period.

Well, the girls have only had one day of school, but yes, Evie had two very long crying spells after school yesterday - one because she forgot her lunchbox at school (and thought that that meant that she wouldn't be able to have any food at school the next time) and the second (before really recovering from the first) was because the safety pin that held her name tag put a hole in her shirt.

My non-autistic son is usually grouchy after school and needs a bit of down time to get back to being in a good mood.

Abigail seemed indifferent to the whole experience.

We'll see if this changes as the school demands increase on them.

My younger son is making the transition to school now, and he's bursting out crying, flying off the hand, wetting his pants, etc. at home.

I think to some extent we just have to weather the storm, but it's good to do what you can to make the transition easier.

For my son, not eating his lunch is probably impacting his after-school mood in a big way (one time he even said that his arms were too tired to lift his sandwich at school!). Maybe your son isn't eating well, either -- many people with autism have trouble eating in a social and sensory-challenging environment. In addition to giving him a new toy or familiar comfort object/toy in the car, I'd try a snack right away.

If your son is toilet trained, maybe having his bathroom schedule thrown off is affecting him too.

Good luck with everything.

I agree with Shelley on the SLEEP. Many afternoons T would come home and fall asleep and we would let her sleep through!

OTOH, we also changed to bath nights from morning showers -- the sensory symptoms seemed to be less at night! It made the morning rush far less painful for her!

Crying ... extra sleep ... maybe even eating less ... pretty typical. I think even pretty NT!

Sarah was exhausted after all day kindergarten last year..she was a perfect angel at school but once she was home..she came undone!

This year so far is fine..she knows the routine from kindergarten and feels first grade is easier..I think it is because she knows what to expect which is less stress on her:)