Published on 12, July, 2020
So my son is autistic (I am too btw) and he is currently dealing with a lot of change that he is struggling to process. It's causing him to start becoming irrationally angry and lashing out and shouting about every little thing.
He has just finished nursery and he is really struggling to process not going back there ever again or seeing his friends there. He is also starting school for the first time in September and is really anxious and struggling to process that change. In addition, I have started working for the first time in 4 months when he is used to having me home all the time which has changed a lot of his usual daily routines
I just want to know 2 things. Firstly, is this normal behaviour for an autistic child facing a lot of change?Secondly, what can I do to help him process and cope with all the change and manage his emotions better? What techniques or ideas help with this?Any help would be greatly appreciated
Billy87 said:I just want to know 2 things. Firstly, is this normal behaviour for an autistic child facing a lot of change?Secondly, what can I do to help him process and cope with all the change and manage his emotions better? What techniques or ideas help with this?
Yes, emotional dysregulation can be perfectly normal for us autistic people (whether as children or adults) when faced with any kinds of change, with educational / school transitions being a classic example during childhood. More info:
Dealing with change
The NAS has some great advice and tips about switching and starting school here:
Starting or switching school
(The above link applies to England - for other areas of the UK see the menu links here).
There's also info about anger management, distressed behaviour and meltdowns.
I hope you find something helpful there.