Chapter Four of AsperTools is an interesting chapter about meltdowns. As a mother of a child that used to have meltdowns so often and significant that I could not take Jacob out in public. People would stare and make comments either about his "behavior" and my "parenting skills". It was, quite frankly, easier to stay at home. Over the years of learning about Autism/Asperger's, I have concluded how to work with them and my son, rather than avoid everyone else on earth. I got to a point where I didn't care anymore if people stared at me; it was not going to affect my daily life nor the life of my child. He has every right to go on field trips and vacations as any other child.
Now that Jacob is 18 and about to graduate from high school, meltdowns are less frequent but are just as severe. The good news is that Jacob is able to express his side of meltdowns. I have always been observant of his meltdown symptoms but they have changed over time. This is one area that chapter four doesn't mention.
The main gist is that "an ounce of prevention is truly worth a ton of cure". **Source
#Autism #Aspergers #self-soothing of #meltdowns need to be taught to youth who experience them."
The author and his daughter are absolutely delightful in their remembrance of events such as meltdowns. The chapter shows the human side of the parent whose first respond is to get angry and yell (have to admit guilty here too). Unfortunately, that is not the way meltdowns work. They are a part of my son, not a temper tantrum that needs the kind of discipline that people in public will state he needs. Instead, I had to learn not only to be very observant of Jacobs' signs but also aware of my own responses. Once a meltdown starts, it is near impossible to stop it. From that point on, you are just along for the ride. I learned that the hard way too.
