Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi. Normally my high-functioning 12 year old is good at staying near us when we are out and about. If he's stressed he'll take himself off but not far, so we can still see him. Today we were in a town he doesn't know well, along with his younger brother who has ASC too, when he had a melt down. At first it looked like he might physically lash out at me but instead snatched my bag and walked off. I assumed he wouldn't have gone far and couldn't leave my other son anyway. However this wasn't the case. To cut a long story short, I eventually found him hiding behind my car about a mile away from where we'd been. How he managed that I don't know as his sense of direction is rubbish. Dad and me have agreed he needs consequences, especially as this will affect our trust in him. We can't decide on what those consequences should be but want them to relate to the issue. Does anyone have any good ideas?
If he had a meltdown, it wasn't his fault, so imposing consequences could be unhealthy and damaging for him. Instead of punishment, perhaps together you could find a way to deal with such occurences in the future, possibly some kind of signal he can give you when he's starting to feel overwhelmed, so that you can all find a safe place until he has calmed down.