Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, does anyone have any tips for dealing with meltdowns, my 5yo can be very aggressive , hitting kicking, throwing things and hitting you with things. It happens most when he is told no to something. Any advice would be great as i dunt want it to get out of hand. At the moment it is mostly directed to me as i am his main carer.
Hello NAS69981,
The NAS website has a page about meltdowns which might be of help: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/meltdowns/all-audiences
All the best,
Karin Mod
I would also say focusing on breath helps too for us. Reassuring I’m here and will help him through also can help with whatever comes up during this time.
Meltdowns are common. I’m surprised no one has responded before now...
Im married and have three kids, yet I am still the main’go to’ person for my son, who is now 17. Not an easy process to deal with at any time.
I found that remaining calm and creating a safe environment for during that time is all I can offer some days. Also distraction of any kind can help... even acting like I’m focused else where... like ... ‘wow look at this... and find some thing to just distract from that moment. I do ignore what some may consider as ‘bad’ behaviour... for us it’s swearing and we are called all the names under the sun... again, remaining calm seem to help.
I have, however, just came across compression blankets that can apparently help alleviate some of the stress/energy from the situation.
Only day one today and as he came in his energy did shift alittle after I convinced him to try it. I try to distract in various ways and have tried lots of different perspectives/angles. Each child is different so I’m sure different techniques and ideas will work for each child/person. we’ll see how it goes with the blanket... . Thought it was worth noting though since I’ve had years of wondering what I could do to help.
im sure there must be other ways to deal with meltdowns as they can be common. Would be good to hear from others.