Hugs please.

[1805]

My dd has just attacked me and I'm on my own. Dh is uncontactable at work.
Dd is ASD 10yrs old and can pack a punch. This was prob the most abusive attack yet and included trying to strangle me and trying to pull my hair out.
I never know what to do when this happens. I just sort of shut down and stayed calm. She is now in her room and seems calm but I'm not going in yet as she's probably destroying stuff and I'll get upset.

How do other people handle these kind of meltdowns please?

[shazzarooney99]

I try to restrain my son when hes like this, hes 8 and luckily his punches dont hurt that much, however when he yanks my hair out that does! and when he bites and gouges my arms, Tuesday he stabbed me twice with a fork and we diddnt get into school till 12pm with the kicking off, theres not much you can do but try to de escalate, but when it goes it goes and thats it, nothing much but restrain xxxxxxx i feel you pain xxxx i truly do xxx

[shazzarooney99]

Just make sure your childs not leaning forward when you do this xxx

[1805]

She is calmer now - I can hear her coughing upstairs and I can tell she's calm. ( you learn these signs don't you!?!)
I guess I was trying a new tactic of seeing what would happen rather than restraining her which I would normally do.
It won't be long before she'll be too strong for me to restrain her.
I'm going to go up to her now.
It upsets me so much to see her like this and destroying so much stuff.

[shazzarooney99]

Oh and try and dodge the flying crockery lol, i shouldnt laugh, if youd saw me the other day i was in tears! however ive just managed to get back into work as ive not been able to with him kicking off as hes been getting into school late xxx

[shazzarooney99]

I know what your saying about the destroying stuff, my son has broken quite a number of my others sons things including an iphone 5, so i stopped his spends for 6 months to pay for just that! has broke his tab, broke an xbox, torn the wallpaper off the walls, you name it hes done it.

[1805]

Shazz - sounds familiar ground. Dd often goes into school late too which messes up my work.
Do you guys punish them afterwards? I tend not to as she's so upset about it it seems like punishment enough, but should I be doing?

[1805]

Ds has gone to boarding school as it's safer there!

[shazzarooney99]

Uhmmmm I do punish my son, I probably shouldnt, however he still needs to know right from wrong, what happens when me and partner die? if he doesnt know right from wrong he will either end up in jail or in a mental health hospital?

[shazzarooney99]

You have sent your son to boarding school already?

[shazzarooney99]

You are probably right poulter, it is cruel, but how do they learn not to do that? because when they do get older and we are gone, what will happen to them if they lose control?

[1805]

she's still angry. now she won't get up tomorrow because she will be tired. I have a big day at work tomorrow, and it is my birthday. I could do without this.

yes. ds full boards.

Any others prepared to spill if they punish violent meltdowns or not? I can see both sides, which is why I'm not sure what to do. She can't go around strangling people whenever she doesn't get her own way.

[StarlightMcKenzee]

I don't punish meltdowns, but I might intervene with consequences if I see that a meltdown might develop from an escalation of behaviours. For example sometimes ds just needs to know his boundaries to feel safe. If he pushes and pushes to test and Ingive way, sometimes his demands can become extreme, just because he wants to know how far he can get, and the frustration he feels from being kind of 'let down' seems to increase alarmingly.

[BlackeyedShepherdsbringsheep]

what you do depends in the situations and the otherpeople that are liekly to get hurt. also how much out of control they are. (ie sometimes there is an element of deliberate naughtiness different from the out of control due to autism behaviour)

prevention is the key.

feeding, calm down strategies. plenty of fluids, warm not too hot or cold. quiet.

if it has gone pear shaped... sometimes he needs restraining if he is hell bent on beating the crap out of dd. this is likely to make it worse before it is better.

to separate dd and him, sometimes he can be persuaded to get in the bath and then calms while sitting watching the shower run for his bath. there was a memeorable occasion where I did not use the shower and had to restrain a naked body that was hell bent on standing up and punching/scratching and headbutting me while in the bath and was putting himself at risk of falling and drowning

computer time calms him. (much to everyone elses annoyance that I am pandering to him, sod them)

[1805]

v v interesting reading. Thanks everyone. Yes I agree avoidance of complete meltdowns is the desired result, but they do happen.

Last night shocked me as it seemed more like bullying me, and intention to hurt me rather than random flailing around kicking and spitting etc.

We haven't discussed last night yet, but I have said we need to.

Re keeping siblings safe - we are v lucky to be in the situation where ds can be removed completely (school holidays aside) from the danger. Rather extreme perhaps, but it was his idea and choice . Dd does respect him and cosset him more now when he is home. (she still attacks him, but much less often due to lack of opportunity to do so).

[Bananasinpyjamas1]

I don't think 'punish' - but there has to be a clear line for the child that this is NOT acceptable, and a consequence.

If there is no expectation that the child can control their behaviour, then we are never giving them the opportunity to control their behaviour. Anxiety and meltdowns are frightening for a child, but I do think that a clear 'NO' if expressing their fear is aggression. That said, you need to keep yourself safe, and get help quickly if they cannot keep themselves safe. Sometimes that is giving a child plenty of space. But if I were you I'd ask any of your most helpful professionals that work with you/your child how to prevent and manage these. Being punched is severe and don't hesitate to get help.