damp syndrome-tantrum

Hi blast - I hope some of these ideas help, altho please remember I'm no expert on d.a.m.p. syndrome, so good luck with everything.  An OT should be able to assess + come up with some suggestions if you think a referral would help.

dear Crystal

many thanks for taking time to answer quickly and in detail. That is very helpful and I will try the squeeze, calm voice/ body language and buy book about anger. I am a bit short fuse too and don t have a calm demeanour so it only add fuel to the situation, hopefully all your ideas will work.

Hi - as you know meltdowns can be v difficult to handle.  What do you do at the moment?  The 1st thing is to try to avoid them if poss. Situations which you know will cause problems, dark chocolate + perhaps other cocoa-related products?  If you think she's getting agitated you can try distraction.  Also making sure she gets enough sleep.  Obviously all these things help but there comes a point where a meltdown is on the cards.  This is just my personal experience but the 1st thing to do is not to inadvertently make it worse by adding to the pressure/stimulus she is under.  However difficult it may be it's best to appear calm + that includes body language included/voice.  Has she an object she can take her frustration out on which won't cause her any harm + somewhere quiet she can be to do it?   Does she liked squeezing?  If so has she got something she can squeeze, even if not upset, that will help to calm her?  I'd have a look on the home pg for info relating to meltdowns.  Also OTs can assess a child + recommend things, some of which I've mentioned above.   Let us know how you get on. 

you are right , dark cocoa is very strong and sometimes people may be unfair or she feels so so that is important to recognize it and not dismiss it. however if it happens again, how am i supposed to handle the situation, leave her alone for a while or try to comfort her or anything else?

hi blast - thanks for explaining.   Going to try + suggest a few things, even tho I don't know about d.a.m.p. syndrome!   Just a thought - is it poss she's getting a bit hyper with the dark chocolate because it's stronger than average choc?  How is she if she has milk choc for example?   Also is there anything that happens after she's eaten the dark choc that might set off a tantrum regardless of whether she'd eaten the choc or not?  Just another thought!  My son can get upset if he thinks someone has been unfair to him.  To be fair, he's often right.  So, have some people been unfair to her?  If so, can anything be done about that so it doesn't re-occur?  bw

Hi Crystal

thank you for your answer

sorry i meant, she eats some dark chocolate then a bit later she will get very emotionnal and get in full tantrum, destroying objects, screaming and sobbing. It happened usually too is she thinks someone has been unfair to her. does that make more sense?

Hi - I had to google DAMP syndrome (Defecits in Attention, Motor control + Perception) as I'd never heard of it.  When you say "chocolate is a killer" relating to meltdowns is it eating the chocolate that brings on the meltdown or not getting the chocolate or something else to do with chocolate?    If you can expand on the meltdowns a bit then posters will be able to give you more tailored advice.  bw