What to make of this behaviour? Similar to a meltdown but a happy meltdown?!

[ZooCreeper]

DS is 10 and diagnosed with ASD. He has episodes of challenging behaviour (not naughtiness) which I can’t make sense of. I will try to describe as best I can.

It usually happens on the way to school where he’s shouting random noises, bouncing about, jumping, giggling and hugely overexcited. He is really difficult to engage with and he shouts over the top of me, laughing, throwing himself on the floor. None of it is in anger, it’s all a big laugh to him, but it’s exhausting for me to deal with and I end up getting cross.

When we get to school, his mood can flick in a second and he can become instantly angry or upset. The change is a shock. This happens at other times when he’s not at school too, but it’s mainly school days.

He also has “typical” ASD meltdowns which are are easy to identify, but this behaviour, I have no idea.

Thoughts?

Sounds dysregulated. If this happens routinely before school is it anxiety?

I wondered about anxiety but he doesn’t seem worried in the moment, he is very excitable . I guess it could be dysregulation. Could anxiety contribute to that?

Yes, anxiety could contribute to it. As could the anticipation of the sensory and social environment at school even if it isn’t strictly anxiety about it.

@OvertakenByLego thanks that makes a lot of sense and has helped me understand it a bit more.

My son is a lot younger and not diagnosed (but we strongly suspect ASD) and his disregulation and anxiety present exactly as you've described: silliness, sensory seeking, over excitability.

We've been told to try calmly vocalising what we think he might be feeling ("I wonder if you're worried about going to school today?"). An OT also suggested heavy work, movement, squashing to help get the feelings of anxiety out of his body and meet the sensory need.

You've just described my son! He does this when he's dysregulated, and it becomes especially intense when he's tired - very loud and physical, crashing about, shouting and sensory seeking (running into me/furniture, headbutting me or pressing his head into me), he does this a lot after school (I think after holding himself together all day). He can flip like a switch into being upset/angry, he was like this this morning before school and then as soon as it was time to leave he started running away from me then burst into tears saying he was "just so tired". He's not diagnosed but has several traits, though I question whether he can be autistic as he's very sociable and seems to cope socially (at least superficially), though I know it's not always that clear cut. I want to try and encorporate "heavy work" into his routine, I hoped a weighted blanket might help but be didn't like it!

What kind of things do you use when he’s disregulated? Fidget toys, spinny things? That might help.