Managing aggression - help!

My 6 1/2 year old with HFA is having a lot of tantrums when things don't go the way he wants or when he cannot have his own way. To an extent he's always done this but he seems to be going through a particularly bad patch and we haven't been able to work out why. We are trying various things to manage this e.g. working on him recognising his feelings and trying to teach him what to do when he starts to feel angry etc. (see post on other thread).

Because he is so violent while he is having a tantrum, (attacking myself, his Dad and his siblings) we take him to his room until he has calmed down. However for 10 mins or so he throws, rips and breaks things and if anyone goes in to try to stop him he physically attacks them.I don't like to just let him do this because he could injure himself. Also he shares the room with his brother and will often target his things. Our house is quite small so there is nowhere else he could go. I have tried the garden but he throws things at the windows!

I have told his brother I will replace anything he breaks and am thinking of going into the room armed with a large cushion to protect myself (!) while I keep an eye on him until he calms down! After a few minutes it's over and he's back to being his normal lovable self.

Please can someone give me some advice on how to handle this?

Parents

Zoe Thompson over 14 years ago

Hello legomum
Yes, social stories are a type of 'social script' - another example would be 'comic strip conversations'. Anything scripted is very limited because although people with autism can learn the social rules exemplified in the scripts, they haven't got the capacity to apply what they've learned in a situation that is ever-changing and dynamic (which makes them feel even more of a failure - they know the rules but are instantly thrown when they cant apply them...no good for promoting competence and developing resilience)
All social conversations are dynamic in nature, roughly following a pattern (my turn, your turn) but for which a script isnt possible (people are too unpredictable for scripts).
The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service (ADDISS) has the franchise for 1-2-3 Magic training in the UK and they run parent courses from time to time
http://www.addiss.co.uk/
Might go to it myself at some point - we often have to visit re-limit setting in our house.
Zoe

Reply

Zoe Thompson over 14 years ago

Hello legomum
Yes, social stories are a type of 'social script' - another example would be 'comic strip conversations'. Anything scripted is very limited because although people with autism can learn the social rules exemplified in the scripts, they haven't got the capacity to apply what they've learned in a situation that is ever-changing and dynamic (which makes them feel even more of a failure - they know the rules but are instantly thrown when they cant apply them...no good for promoting competence and developing resilience)
All social conversations are dynamic in nature, roughly following a pattern (my turn, your turn) but for which a script isnt possible (people are too unpredictable for scripts).
The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service (ADDISS) has the franchise for 1-2-3 Magic training in the UK and they run parent courses from time to time
http://www.addiss.co.uk/
Might go to it myself at some point - we often have to visit re-limit setting in our house.
Zoe

Children

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