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Neurodiverse Mumsnetters

Use this forum to discuss neurodiverse parenting.

ASD Calm Home Help

6 replies

LifeWithTheCrazy · 23/06/2023 21:54

Parents with ASD children, I need your help.
What things/rules/plans do you have in your house that let your child run off steam??
What do you do to manage meltdowns, keep the house calm?

We have 2 kiddos with suspected ASD and one parent with ADHD so lots of emotions all over the place.

Help a Mumma in need :) 🌈

OP posts:
DinosaurOfFire · 24/06/2023 01:24

Neurodivergent house here- 5/5 of us!
Things we do:

I manage the kids A LOT when they are hyper emotional. If they start to fall out over something, I coach them through resolving their conflict, and if they can't resolve it I suggest ways they could go and calm down.

Lots of computer time/ special interests encouraged. My 3 kids special interests include minecraft, so they spend a lot of time playing it and watching youtube videos about it. They are encouraged to deep dive into their other special interests as well (dinosaurs, dolls, trains and horses feature heavily in our house!)

Managing meltdowns- we do a lot of time-ins. Whichever child is having a meltdown gets an adult with them when possible, just sitting near them to be available when the child is ready, and also to male sure they don't hurt themselves or other people. I will physically get between my children if one has melted down and fixated on a sibling as the cause, and ask the not-melting-down sibling to leave the room for a few minutes to help X calm down, explaining they aren't in trouble but X can't control themselves at the moment so they need some space. I tend to keep an eye out for triggers, and either help the child navigate the trigger or find a way to avoid the trigger depending on how emotionally heightened the child is at the time.

We have relatively unlimited screentime in the daytime as it calms mine down BUT if an adult says its time for tech to go away, it goes away. All screens must be in a communal area- no tech in bedrooms or bathrooms, and no tech after the bedtime routine starts. The only exception to this is my youngest watches youtube in bed if he wakes up too early as he will not go back to sleep, and the kids have a Kindle Paperwhite each so they can read in the dark without disturbing each other.

Running off steam: we aren't precious about our furniture. The sofa cushions end up on the floor as lava/ as forts/ as trampolines, we have a wobble board that lives under a sofa, my main rule is no throwing inside. If they want to throw things, they either go throw soft toys at their beds or they go outside. I'm looking at getting a trampoline for the garden too.

If someone says they need to be alone we honour that, and that goes for adults too. If someone says they need 5 minutes, then they get 5 minutes- they have to go to a seperate space though, they can't expect everyone to leave a room they were in already.

And finally, lots and lots of grace! For everyone including the adults. We have to live together, we love each other, and so we have to be gracious to each other. Having said all that, things can be pretty loud and chaotic but for the most part its positive chaos (playing, shouting etc) rather than melting down or arguing chaos.

DinosaurOfFire · 24/06/2023 01:24

Argh that was long, sorry!

AshGirl · 24/06/2023 07:21

@DinosaurOfFire You sound like you have a brilliant set-up, which is really focused on supporting everyone's needs 💕

I would highly recommend a trampoline for the garden, and opportunities for water play as this is great for regulation. Simple things like extra cold drinks with ice cubes, or ice pops can also help regulate because of the change of temperature.

Dance parties and opportunities to get the wiggles are great. We also do counting with breathing - eg counting back from 10 with a big breath in between.

AshGirl · 24/06/2023 07:22

DinosaurOfFire · 24/06/2023 01:24

Argh that was long, sorry!

Never apologise for a long post on this board! We are proud Info-dumpers! 😁

LifeWithTheCrazy · 24/06/2023 07:32

DinosaurOfFire · 24/06/2023 01:24

Neurodivergent house here- 5/5 of us!
Things we do:

I manage the kids A LOT when they are hyper emotional. If they start to fall out over something, I coach them through resolving their conflict, and if they can't resolve it I suggest ways they could go and calm down.

Lots of computer time/ special interests encouraged. My 3 kids special interests include minecraft, so they spend a lot of time playing it and watching youtube videos about it. They are encouraged to deep dive into their other special interests as well (dinosaurs, dolls, trains and horses feature heavily in our house!)

Managing meltdowns- we do a lot of time-ins. Whichever child is having a meltdown gets an adult with them when possible, just sitting near them to be available when the child is ready, and also to male sure they don't hurt themselves or other people. I will physically get between my children if one has melted down and fixated on a sibling as the cause, and ask the not-melting-down sibling to leave the room for a few minutes to help X calm down, explaining they aren't in trouble but X can't control themselves at the moment so they need some space. I tend to keep an eye out for triggers, and either help the child navigate the trigger or find a way to avoid the trigger depending on how emotionally heightened the child is at the time.

We have relatively unlimited screentime in the daytime as it calms mine down BUT if an adult says its time for tech to go away, it goes away. All screens must be in a communal area- no tech in bedrooms or bathrooms, and no tech after the bedtime routine starts. The only exception to this is my youngest watches youtube in bed if he wakes up too early as he will not go back to sleep, and the kids have a Kindle Paperwhite each so they can read in the dark without disturbing each other.

Running off steam: we aren't precious about our furniture. The sofa cushions end up on the floor as lava/ as forts/ as trampolines, we have a wobble board that lives under a sofa, my main rule is no throwing inside. If they want to throw things, they either go throw soft toys at their beds or they go outside. I'm looking at getting a trampoline for the garden too.

If someone says they need to be alone we honour that, and that goes for adults too. If someone says they need 5 minutes, then they get 5 minutes- they have to go to a seperate space though, they can't expect everyone to leave a room they were in already.

And finally, lots and lots of grace! For everyone including the adults. We have to live together, we love each other, and so we have to be gracious to each other. Having said all that, things can be pretty loud and chaotic but for the most part its positive chaos (playing, shouting etc) rather than melting down or arguing chaos.

Thank you so so much. This was really eye-opening for me. Lots of fab ideas.
Thanks for sharing. I am going to take these on board for sure.
P.S- your house sounds epic xx

OP posts:
LifeWithTheCrazy · 24/06/2023 07:33

AshGirl · 24/06/2023 07:21

@DinosaurOfFire You sound like you have a brilliant set-up, which is really focused on supporting everyone's needs 💕

I would highly recommend a trampoline for the garden, and opportunities for water play as this is great for regulation. Simple things like extra cold drinks with ice cubes, or ice pops can also help regulate because of the change of temperature.

Dance parties and opportunities to get the wiggles are great. We also do counting with breathing - eg counting back from 10 with a big breath in between.

Thank you. We love our trampoline too.
Our youngest loves water play and I can see the benefits from the temperature change aspect too. Thank you for sharing. Xx

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