From Overwhelm to Ease: Techniques for Anticipating and Mitigating Meltdowns

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Ever felt like you're running on fumes while trying to manage your day-to-day responsibilities? We promise you'll leave this episode armed with practical strategies to reclaim some time for yourself and effectively support children on the spectrum during social situations. We'll explore why self-care is non-negotiable and how it can transform your ability to handle life's challenges. Imagine being able to anticipate and manage meltdowns before they spiral out of control—yes, it's possible, and we're here to show you how.

You'll gain insights on easing transitions for children, whether they're moving between activities at home or school. We highlight the importance of visual aids, minimal verbal prompts, and the magic of the two-minute warning. From creating calming spaces to using noise-canceling headphones, we dive into actionable steps to help kids feel more at ease in overwhelming environments. Tune in to discover how patience, gentle guidance, and smart planning can make all the difference in your and your child's daily life.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone.
I hope you're having a goodMonday.
I wanted to just do a quicklittle one from our Monday
morning time, but before we do Iwant to ask a question Did you
make plans or take that time foryourself A while back?
I put on there.
You know how summer got reallybusy and you need to be able to

(00:22):
take some time for yourself.
Put away a little bit of money,plan a little trip for yourself
, even if it's for the day.
Get away, go get your nailsdone, a spa day, go with some
friends, whatever the case maybe, just so you have some
downtime.
We need to do that every oncein a while for ourselves.
I know we get busy with ourfamilies and we are the last

(00:44):
ones that we take care of, andit's like on, you know, when
you're flying on that plane andthey say put your mask on first.
You have to do the same thinghere too Put your mask on first,
and then the kids, all right.
So I hope you're taking thatlittle extra time for yourself,

(01:05):
for yourself.
So today I'm going to talkabout a few situations that may
arise and maybe some ideas tohelp you power through those
situations, and one of them is asocial situation.
Sometimes our kids on thespectrum can get overstimulated.
And how do we handle that?
And one of the ways is to maybeto have them use their words.
If you kind of see a meltdowncoming or something kind of,

(01:28):
head it off right away and justtell them you know, I don't
understand that, please use yourword.
And if they are nonverbal, youwant to use social cues and you
want to have them available foryou and just tell them to say no
, thank you.
Or maybe they need to be aloneand so because they're getting
overstimulated, so maybe you canfind an area, wherever you're

(01:52):
at, and just kind of give them aminute or two to to calm down,
also prepare themselves.
You know, have them be okay.
This is what we're going to do,and there's going to be a lot
of people, a lot of noise, sosometimes you can take those uh
head canceling uh headphones andwith you too.
So those are some things thatyou can do.

(02:12):
But the thing is is that whenyou see them coming and not them
coming, but when you see thosebehaviors coming, then you want
to be able to get ahead of itand say please use your words
right away, and even you say it.
You say no, thank you, and havethem repeat it.

(02:32):
The other thing is transitioninggoing from one place to another
.
This is also can be used inschools.
It can be used if you'rehomeschooling.
You want them to do one thingand then they have to go do
another thing.
So what you want to do isprovide a two-minute warning and
use those timers or whateverthe situation is.

(02:54):
Is it a visual timer?
Is it a list?
You work then.
Then get the reward, somethingthat they're using.
Use that, but you should letthem know you have two minutes
and let them have that visualtill they know when the two
minutes are up, show them whatthey are working during the

(03:16):
transition.
So say this is what we're goingto do now, so they can see it
and they know what to expect,and that will help them to be
more calmer, to understand andprompt the schedule.
If you have that schedule, sayokay, you know, look at the
schedule, this is what we needto be doing to do next.
Okay, now let's say they refuseto transition.

(03:39):
Remember from my last um Ipodcast that I said keep the
door.
You know that's your first jobto keep that door open for them.
Keep them calm.
As much as you can, showvisuals, limit your verbal
prompts.
You don't need to keep sayingit, but just keep doing it and

(04:03):
not repeat a lot, but just givethem that wait time is what I'd
like to call it where you couldjust say you know, this is what
we're doing and give them thatwait time.
It may seem a little longer foryou, but it may be very short
for them.
Guide them a little bit, youknow, help, prompt them.
Maybe just put your hand ontheir back or something, or just

(04:25):
don't even have to touch them,really just kind of wave them
over.
If they say no to you, ignore it.
It may be something that is ahabit for them to do, or they
just want to say it in defiance,but just ignore it and move on,
just keep doing what you'redoing.
And you also don't say no, youknow, say let's try again or

(04:51):
something positive to them.
And then, you know, like I said, physically try to transport
them from one area to the otherand and then, as they're, if
they're coming to one situationto another and they're
transitioning, well, you know,fade out the prompts.
If the transition, if they didgood on it, then use your

(05:16):
reinforcements, you know,remember that you're going to do
this and then we get that kindof thing.
But if their behavior getsworse and they just melt right
down on you, then stop, you letthem melt down.
You try again later, but noreinforcements so they don't get
the reward if they completelymelt down.

(05:39):
And I know that some of thesemeltdowns they're not their
fault, but they still have to beable to listen and work through
.
If they're aggressive, ignore it.
No eye contact, move away.
No talking.
Physically block aggression.
You want to make sure thatthey're not going to harm
themselves or they're not goingto harm another person, another

(06:03):
if there's other kids in theroom, or something like that.
Uh, prompts be used with wordsinstead of aggression.
You know.
So hey, you did a good job here.
You can do this.
If they're verbally expressionanger, then that can be okay.
You know, if they're not beinghitting their head or hitting

(06:27):
the wall or hitting somebodyelse.
If they're verbally, you know,let them know.
Okay, you know, you got it outof your system.
Thank you for letting me know.
Thanks for using your words.
Let's see how we can solve theproblem.
What strategies can we use tosolve them.
So that's what I have for thelittle one that I do on Monday

(06:50):
mornings, just some ideas foryou guys to help a little bit,
because I know it's a struggleevery day and if you're
homeschooling and you're tryingto, you know, juggle many things
in the air all at once, it canbe kind of difficult and I hope
that in some way I can give youa little bit of insight that you

(07:11):
enjoy things that I've come upwith to help you every, every
day.
I really care about ourautistic kids everywhere, it
doesn't matter where you live,and that I've never met them.
I care a great deal for them.
They are amazing kids to me andthey should be appreciated a

(07:34):
little bit more than what we doin society today.
So anyway, I hope you have ablessed day and I will talk to
you soon.
Bye-bye.