They might fall down, act out, cry, swear, scream, throw things, hit themselves or others, run away from you, or bite. Meltdowns can last from minutes to hours. Meltdowns are not your child's way of manipulating you: Meltdowns are emotional explosions.
The best thing you can do is to train yourself to recognize a meltdown before it happens and take steps to avoid it. Example: Aspergers kids are quite possessive about their food, and my "Aspie" will sometimes decide that he does not want his meat to be cut up for him.
Many autistic people will show signs of distress before having a meltdown, which is sometimes referred to as the “rumble stage”. They may start to exhibit signs of anxiety such as pacing, seek reassurance through repetitive questioning or physical signs such as rocking or becoming very still.
In addition to difficulties with understanding emotions, individuals with ASDs may become angry quickly and may have difficulty calming themselves effectively. They often need to be taught skills to cope with an increase in irritability once they have been able to identify these emotions.
Two types of reaction are typical of autism meltdowns – an explosive reaction or a withdrawal. Explosive reactions may involve screaming, shouting, aggressive behaviour or crying. On the other hand, less explosive reactions may include refusing to communicate or interact, withdrawing themselves or shutting down.
The model includes six phases: Calm, Triggers, Agitation, Meltdowns, Re-Grouping, and Starting Over.
What is an Asperger's meltdown? An Asperger's meltdown is when the person with Asperger's temporarily loses control of themselves because of an emotional response to environmental factors. This is not something that is caused by one specific thing.
For people with Asperger Syndrome (AS), this stress can be particularly difficult to manage. On a daily basis people with AS must fit into a world that seems totally foreign to them and this can increase feelings of alienation and anxiety, making life's challenges especially hard to cope with.
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.
People with Asperger profiles absolutely do have feelings, although they may have difficulty identifying and discussing them. In fact, many feelings – such as fear, anger and joy – seem to be experienced more intensely by those with Asperger profiles than by average people.
People with Asperger's can miss social cues that can be obvious to someone that doesn't have the disorder, like understanding what body language is, or even understanding facial expressions.
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.
This is similar to what some people with autism experience when they get overwhelmed—a shutdown. Shutdowns are related to meltdowns. In both situations, an autistic person's brain becomes so stressed that he/she can't control his/her reaction. In the case of a meltdown, he/she may cry, scream, hit, and kick.
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.
Aspies tend to express love through practical actions, whereas NTs are more likely to express love through words or symbolic actions.
Most Aspies: are able to easily forgive others.
When someone has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) such as Asperger's syndrome, they will experience far greater anxiety in their daily life than the vast majority of people.
Adults with Asperger's syndrome often have difficulties with initiating, maintaining and ending a conversation, and show a lack of reciprocity or conversational balance and a tendency to be pedantic with excessive and tedious detail (Attwood 2006).
Difficulty regulating emotions and anxiety, such as, being quick to anger, easily offended and upset, displaying tantrums and sulking. brooding and holding grudges over small incidents, often for extended periods.
How do people with Asperger syndrome see the world? Some people with Asperger syndrome say the world feels overwhelming and this can cause them considerable anxiety. In particular, understanding and relating to other people, and taking part in everyday family, school, work and social life, can be harder.
Some of the effects of unaddressed or untreated Asperger's syndrome may include: Social isolation. Difficulty making and keeping friends. Challenges in finding and maintaining steady employment.