Meltdowns are similar to the fight response. When an autistic person is having a meltdown they often have increased levels of anxiety and distress which are often interpreted as frustration, a 'tantrum' or an aggressive panic attack.
Meltdowns can last from minutes to hours. Meltdowns are not your child's way of manipulating you: Meltdowns are emotional explosions. Your child is overloaded and is incapable of rational thinking.
There are generally three stages to a meltdown; the build up, the meltdown/shutdown and recovery. This is also known as the anxiety and defensive stage. It usually consists of physical, verbal and behavioural signs. This is the best stage to intervene.
What is a sensory meltdown? Sensory meltdowns are what I consider to be extreme temper tantrums that have a sensory trigger to them. These typically involve extreme aggressive behaviors (head banging, hand biting, scratching or pushing others), and require a lot of assistance to recover.
A meltdown is a condition where the youngster with Aspergers or High Functioning Autism temporarily loses control due to emotional responses to environmental factors. It generally appears that the youngster has lost control over a single and specific issue, however this is very rarely the case.
Meltdowns are often more severe and emotional, more long-lasting and more difficult to handle than tantrums. As mentioned, tantrum often happens in younger children and as the child grows up, they become less and less frequent. However, autistic meltdowns are not age-related and they may happen at any age.
Being completely silent. Not being able to communicate in any way. Withdrawing to a quiet, dark space to get away from the cause of their shutdown. Not being able to move from where they are because they're thinking too much about the cause of their shutdown.
Children with autism are often unaware of their behaviors and struggle with reading the body language of others. Yelling at a child with autism can cause chronic levels of stress in the child and is not helpful in working towards a solution or strategy for change.
Level 3 is the most severe level of autism. People with level 3 autism have limited ability to speak clearly. Difficulty with both verbal and nonverbal communication makes it challenging to interact with others. This level of autism requires a higher level of support throughout life.
For individuals with ASD, overstimulation can feel like an overwhelming flood of sensory input. This can manifest in a variety of ways, including physical discomfort, anxiety, irritability, or even physical pain. Some common signs of autistic overstimulation include: Covering ears or eyes.
Trainers will teach the need for scheduling and routine. However, there comes a point where none of these suggestions is helpful, and a meltdown still occurs. Like a seizure, it can happen out of nowhere, and it can be very frightening and traumatic for the autistic person (as well as others around them).
Tantrums, rage and meltdowns can mean different things for different individuals but they usually occur in three stages which are rumble, rage and recovery (diagram below).
Angry outbursts or crying fits may erupt when an Aspie's emotional reservoir overflows. Perhaps in part because Aspies cannot easily access our emotions, we cannot easily regulate them.
Masking may involve suppressing certain behaviours we find soothing but that others think are 'weird', such as stimming or intense interests. It can also mean mimicking the behaviour of those around us, such as copying non-verbal behaviours, and developing complex social scripts to get by in social situations.
While meltdowns are a common occurrence for autistic folks due to being overwhelmed, overstimulated, or both, Jane says that meltdowns aren't inherently an autistic trait. Some aspects of a meltdown could include: feeling more annoyed by a situation than you generally would.
Symptoms of PTSD include re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoiding triggers related to the event, negative changes in mood and thinking, and hyperarousal and reactivity (DSM-5, APA, 2013).
Use the rule of one when a child is deeply stressed, anxious or in the middle of a meltdown. Have only one person talk to the child with autism and ask them to do only one thing. Unfortunately, most school models of crises call for bringing in lots of people, lots of people that start talking at once.
Strategies to consider include distraction, diversion, helping the person use calming strategies such as fiddle toys or listening to music, removing any potential triggers, and staying calm yourself.
Stimming actions can vary in intensity and type and can occur due to various emotions. Autistic people of any age may stim occasionally or constantly in response to excitement, happiness, boredom, stress, fear, and anxiety. They may also stim during times when they are feeling overwhelmed.
Autism characteristics can change significantly from ages 3 to 11.
ASD Level 1 – Level 1 ASD is currently the lowest classification. Those on this level will require some support to help with issues like inhibited social interaction and lack of organization and planning skills.