How do you handle tantrums in your autistic kids?

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

This is brand new to ds! Just the past 2 weeks or so he has had a marked increase in tantrums. I say increase because he is very sensitive and will cry easily when he doesn't get his way but now he is starting to throw things and hit people. That is NOT my boy! He is such a sweet, good kid. Dh and I were talking and we think its from frustration. How do we teach him to handle frustration better. We have been talking to him ALOT about appropriate behaviors when things don't go his way but it doesn't seen to be working. Any tips? This is new so we really want to get this under control now!! TIA

Edited April 14, 2012 by wy_kid_wrangler04

[Crimson Wife]

This is brand new to ds! Just the past 2 weeks or so he has had a marked increase in tantrums. I say increase because he is very sensitive and will cry easily when he doesn't get his way but now he is starting to throw things and hit people. That is NOT my boy! He is such a sweet, good kid. Dh and I were talking and we think its from frustration. How do we teach him to handle frustration better. We have been talking to him ALOT about appropriate behaviors when things don't go his way but it doesn't seen to be working. Any tips? This is new so we really want to get this under control now!! TIA

 

FWIW, I have heard that systemic yeast infection can cause emotional outbursts. I would look into getting him tested for yeast to see if that might be an issue.

[rafiki]

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[Jennifer-72]

I would try talking to him about times you have been frustrated and things that you do to keep yourself from getting really upset. Then I would guide him to come up with a list of things that make him feel frustrated and ideas that would help him calm down when he starts to feel that way. Maybe have him draw pictures of a few of the calming ideas he thinks will work best. Not sure if any of these tantrums have any predictable triggers, if so I would point that out to him and walk him thru how he could handle it with the ideas from his list. Finally, when a situation comes up I would try to catch it as early as possible so you can get him to use his ideas successfully.

 

He is probably experiencing a greater emotional awareness (which is a good thing:001_smile:) and is unsure of how to handle it all.

[Cortana]

Books from Magination Press - http://search.apa.org/publications?query=&facet=&pubtype=magination&section=subject&sort=title_asc

your library should have some of the titles.

 

Being "on" and nipping things at the first sign of frustration by redirecting attention elsewhere.

 

Encouraging things to go right.

 

When things calm down, pondering triggers so I can learn from the experience.

 

Rewarding or praising when things go smoothly.

 

I would try talking to him about times you have been frustrated and things that you do to keep yourself from getting really upset. Then I would guide him to come up with a list of things that make him feel frustrated and ideas that would help him calm down when he starts to feel that way. Maybe have him draw pictures of a few of the calming ideas he thinks will work best. Not sure if any of these tantrums have any predictable triggers, if so I would point that out to him and walk him thru how he could handle it with the ideas from his list. Finally, when a situation comes up I would try to catch it as early as possible so you can get him to use his ideas successfully.

 

He is probably experiencing a greater emotional awareness (which is a good thing:001_smile:) and is unsure of how to handle it all.

:iagree: It totally agree with both these ladies. These are all things we have used with ds and they have worked well for him. Nearly all of ds's meltdowns were due to his inability to express his anxiety, frustrations and feelings. It took him a while to learn to identify his feelings, that helped a lot. After several sessions with the child psychologist we saw at the time and talking with ds, we came up with a list of the things that helped him to calm down (giving himself hugs, having me rub his shoulders, playing with his Legos in his room by himself, etc). He had a list with pictures that we kept taped the the fridge and whenever he felt himself getting upset he would go to his list and pick one of the things to do. It was a HUGE step for him to learn to use the coping techniques on his own and that helped further that he could be proud of himself. We always make a big deal out of it when he handles a situation on his own, for him it helps reinforce that he has done the right thing.

[Kathryn]

No advice, just empathy. My first grade boy has had a very pronounced increase in the violence and uncontrollability of his tantrums.

[MomatHWTK]

I know it is not a first option, but sometimes medication helps. If things become too out of control, talk to your child's doctor about the options. :grouphug:

 

In the meantime, our therapist suggests that we have a control word or phrase to use that means we are walking away, taking a time out and will revisit whatever the issue is later.