Unexpected Outbursts and Asperger’s – Audio
Sometimes a child with Asperger’s can have an outburst, tantrum or meltdown when a parent least expects it to happen. This edition of Kelli’s Audio Diary discusses one such situation where a pleasing, but unexpected experience caused unrest and outbursts from a child with Asperger’s. Kelli discusses what happened and provides some suggestions for how parents may handle the situation in the future to prevent it from happening again.
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How familiar was this scenario!!! Outbursts like this are such a part of life for us and Sam is nearly 18 years old. I have to admit things have got easier as he has got older but he has his moments even now. It always strikes when we are doing something out of routine, often something the rest of the family are excited about which makes it all the more frustrating. We’ve learned not to surprise Sam – we always give him “warning” of changes to routine, not too early or he’ll drive us crazy wanting details. We have also learned to remind him that we can never guarantee things going to plan -if someone is ill we may have to cancel or delay.
Thanks for the comment Ruth. Sometimes families feel so alone in these situations and I’m sure it is comforting to know that there are other people out there experiencing the same thing. I really liked your idea about the “warning” and sometimes for the children I see who have to ask every question about an upcoming situation…I like to give a number of questions they are allowed to ask. The “Rule of 5″ usually works for me. I tell my clients that they can ask 5 questions about the upcoming event, so to think about what is important. This also helps in working on those problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Thanks for the 5 questions idea. We’ll be trying that. Will let you know how it goes.