Published on 12, July, 2020
please help!
my 8 year old ASD son and I are constantly falling out. I’m a single mum and also have a 10 month old daughter. I’m really struggling with him right now as he will not do anything he’s told and just argues with me like an adult. Simple things like putting his toys away, he says it’s not fair because his friend got some of them out, then it escalates into a full blown meltdown! I ask him to go into his ‘sensory tent’ to calm down but he refuses. I tell him to go to his room but he will not go. The only thing I can do is ignore him. Then He just follows me around screaming at the top of his voice that ‘I made it worse’ or ‘I’m not doing it until you apologise!’ Or ‘you need to take responsibility for your part’ when all I asked him to do was put his toys away. He will not do anything he doesn’t want to! He terrifies his baby sister when he’s in meltdown. He doesn’t seem to understand that adults have authority and he needs to do as he’s told. Has anyone else had similar experiences? What can I do???
A social story might help. They can be very effective with some children. You can find generic ones online but the ones that work best are personalised. The child usually likes them because it is a book about them. They end with a reward for the desired behaviour to positively reinforce it.