Hello!

[house]

I'm gonna start hanging out here for some advice. I have an autistic son (5 yrs old) and his meltdowns are inconsolable. We used to be able to redirect him as we foresaw a meltdown but redirecting is no longer working as he is older now and gotten better about focusing on what he wants. Anyone have any suggestions? links to sources?

[jenna]

Jul 22, 2016 21:33:18 GMT -5 house said:

I'm gonna start hanging out here for some advice...

Is there a catalyst? 

My son does best with structure, and we try to keep his routines the same.  We try to go over the next day's schedule during bedtime routine. 

He also does better when he's fed, and rested. 

Loud noises really upset him, so he has a pair of noise cancelling head phones.  He uses them most often at school during their monthly fire drills.

[house]

The only thing I can think of is him as a catalyst is getting sleepy between 2-4pm. He quit napping at age 2 and haven't been able to nap since then. He just can't turn off his mind. It's so sad and frustrating. He keeps crying rubbing his eyes and saying "it's nap time it's nap time" but can't fall asleep.😞 We give him melatonin every night to help him fall and stay asleep. I have given him melatonin at nap time hoping it would help him take a nap but to no avail. 😖

Other than that we have structure established and always try to tell him the chain of events when we are not having a typical day. Specially on weekends if we are taking him to the aquarium or a park etc we let him know what to expect.

[house]

Aug 14, 2016 21:53:31 GMT -5 jenna said:

Jul 22, 2016 21:33:18 GMT -5 house said:

I'm gonna start hanging out here for some advice...

Is there a catalyst? 

My son does best with structure, and we try to keep his routines the same.  We try to go over the next day's schedule during bedtime routine. 

He also does better when he's fed, and rested. 

Loud noises really upset him, so he has a pair of noise cancelling head phones.  He uses them most often at school during their monthly fire drills.

My kid doesn't know what "rest" is. He runs to do everything he wants to do. Even during his routine he is always rushing through each step.
My son also has some loud sound sensitivity. Lawn equipments, loud vehicles etc. I usually give him his headphones when husband mows the lawn. But lately he has been refusing to let my husband even go outside. If he tell him Daddy is going to mow the lawn he immediately replies and repeats "daddy stay inside!" It's gotten to the point that if we ignore what we wanted and mow anyway, he runs himself to the bathroom and won't come out. The whole time he will keep demanding "Daddy stay inside"! So I have to take him to the park or somewhere so the lawn can be mowed.

[jenna]

auntie Paging auntie so that she may offer advice.

[auntie]

I'm on my way out for a bit.

What is your son's relative level of impairment and atypciality? Is he high functioning? Does he have language beyond scripts? What sort of placement does he have in school?