Once you have a clearer idea what may be triggering meltdowns, think about ways you might minimise that trigger. Every autistic person is different, but sensory differences, changes in routine, anxiety, and communication difficulties are common triggers.
Not all meltdowns look alike: There are a variety of behaviors that occur when a child has lost the ability to stay calm or regulated. 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.
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.
The most common causes of autistic meltdown are almost always sensory related, this could be being anxious in a new environment, the sounds are different and for those with sensory processing challenges they can be frightening and painful, there are different smells, different people, different lighting, different ...
During a meltdown, we found that most autistics described feeling overwhelmed by information, senses, and social and emotional stress. They often felt extreme emotions, such as anger, sadness, and fear, and had trouble with thinking and memory during the meltdown.
Sometimes, yes, adults with autism can become overwhelmed and have an autistic meltdown. It is often highly embarrassing to lose control of your emotions in front of others. As such, many adults with autism recognize when they are reaching their limit and remove themselves from situations that are becoming too much.
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.
Symptoms of High-Functioning Autism
They don't make much eye contact or small talk. People on the spectrum who are high-functioning can also be very devoted to routine and order. They might have repetitive and restrictive habits that seem odd to others. There's a wide range of how they do with school and work.
Asperger's syndrome is also known as high-functioning autism. People with this disorder have difficulty in a variety of situations and, as a result, they are prone to angry outbursts. These outbursts generally happen because the person has trouble identifying their emotions or expressing them.
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.
Meltdowns may involve intense stimming: Rumblings may include or progress to "stims" (self-stimulatory behaviors such as rocking, pacing, or finger flicking) or other signs of anxiety. Stims are self-calming techniques used by people with autism to help regulate anxiety or sensory input.
Aspies tend to express love through practical actions, whereas NTs are more likely to express love through words or symbolic actions.
Another characteristic of Asperger's Syndrome is sensitivity to particular levels of illumination, colours or a distortion of visual perception. Some people with AS report being “blinded by brightness” and avoid intense levels of illumination.
Verbally expressing love
They might see no need to vocalize emotions any further. “If their partner says 'I love you,' they may say it once and then they feel like 'I don't need to say it again because it hasn't changed,” Mendes explained.
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.
Risperidone (Risperdal®)
Risperidone is an antipsychotic and mood stabilizer medication and is also used for treatment of irritability of autism and tic disorders.
The come down from a meltdown can be very draining. It feels like your body went into fight or flight but it chose both and you just ran for miles beating yourself up along the way. A lot of autistic people are aware their meltdowns may not be so “typical” for most people. They might feel embarrassed at their reaction.
Common signs of a meltdown include hand flapping, head hitting, kicking, pacing, rocking, hyperventilating, being unable to communicate, and completely withdrawing into myself.
This book describes a model of positive behavior supports for preventing and responding to the cycle of meltdown behavior for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The model includes six phases: Calm, Triggers, Agitation, Meltdowns, Re-Grouping, and Starting Over.