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Calling all MN's whose children have meltdowns!!!

19 replies

scoobyww · 07/02/2007 09:13

Hello all,

I am going to see a specialist this week to discuss the next steps for my DS2 (dx of AS and OCD, age 11). He has extreme meltdowns at home, which have been blamed on my 'poor parenting' because he 'is fine at school'!
I want to show that there are many other people who experience this and that I am not 'exaggerating' when I tell them that he is physically violent towards us and we are becoming extremely wary and scared of him. I wondered if anyone would be willing to share their own experiences with me, just so I can stress the point, that this is a common occurance?
Thanks in advance!
Scooby

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Muminfife · 07/02/2007 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

amynnixmum · 07/02/2007 10:24

Ds had meltdowns at home and at school so our situation is different but its not uncommon for children with ASD to act out when they get home. My Mum is a SENCO and she says that very often children like this are quiet at school but that they find the experience stressful and when they get home to a place where they feel safe they let out all the frustrations of the day. With ds I know that if he's had a really good day at school he's going to be a PITA when I get him home.

Flamesparrow · 07/02/2007 10:37

Another meltdowner here - only where she feels at home (home, psychomum's house, gran's - home is definately the most extreme). Also "fine" at school.

I am still unsure if my DD is AS or not, and my HV seems to be wanting to rely on the preschool's opinion more than mine . But meltdown-wise, yes, definately more likely and much worse at home.

scoobyww · 07/02/2007 10:59

Thanks to all of you who have replied so far - makes me feel less alone!

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scoobyww · 07/02/2007 13:21

bump!!

Please!!

Thanks!!

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emsiewill · 07/02/2007 13:27

Hi Scooby. My dd1 aged 10 has no special needs (that I am aware of), but regularly has meltdowns at home, usually when there is some other trigger - tiredness being the biggest one.

Have a look at my thread here which has examples of the kind of thing that goes on.

In fact, you could just do a search on my name, and see the number of posts I've made about dd1 since I joined in 2001 (and she was only 4 can't believe it's been that long)

tobysmumkent · 07/02/2007 13:34

Message withdrawn

DrumMum · 07/02/2007 16:03

My DD has meltdowns at home and is fine at school... (I'm sure the school think I'm a liar!) she is in year 6 and is doing sats practice papers at the moment and I think she is working so hard at school she just lets everything out when she comes in... We know they are going to happen.. but are powerless to stop them...

Daughter has aspergers tendencies...

scoobyww · 08/02/2007 13:10

Thanks for all responses.

Anyone else want to add one, please? .

TIA!

Scooby.

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Tiggiwinkle · 08/02/2007 13:27

I think it is very frequently the case that children with AS are "fine" at school, then explode once they get home!
My DS is 7 and has AS-he has always displayed far more AS behaviours at home than at school. He, like most children with AS, struggles so hard to conform at school, and finds his day so stressful, that he is often really wound up when he gets home. After a bad day he will literally be on the go until 11.00 or 12.00 at night; sometimes tearful and sometimes hitting out. It is very widely recognised as a problem with children like ours I'm afraid.

KarenThirl · 08/02/2007 13:32

Yup, you can count me in!

J is 8, dx with Asperger's last July, thrives on the classroom structure but falls apart on the yard/lunchtimes and frequently (until fairly recently) has a meltdown after school from the tension of holding it all in. Several professionals have told us that this is the norm for Asperger children - they attempt to conform during the school day and release their tension when they get home to a safe environment, where they can do so without being judged or punished. I know for sure that J is motivated by fear of humiliation, and holds himself together even harder because he doesn't want to break down in front of his peers. I can always tell when he's been picked on at school because his anger will be that much greater when I pick him up at 3.20.

I've been doing a lot of anger management work with J recently and he's now learning how to release this stress in more appropriate ways. Nowadays he'll come home relatively peacefully, read the Beano for ten minutes then spend another twenty bouncing on the bed playing The Killers at top volume (same track on repeat, natch). After that he's settled and ready for 'life' again, but without that outlet he's barmy and his irritability will continue till bedtime.

Having said that, just last Friday he came home from school, 'bubbling' with a rage just below the surface and I didn't know why. Within a couple of hours he had escalated into full blown, hour-long meltdown and ended up ripping a banister spindle off the staircase, later telling me that he'd intended (in his rage) to use it against me as a sword. Once he'd calmed down he was able to talk to me quite easily about his intentions but he also knew how far out of control he'd been at the time. This is a fairly recent development - he now knows he's safe to talk to me about this because I won't judge - we talk about his anger in a matter-of-fact fashion so that we can come to terms with it and begin addressing it. Incidentally, the rage on this occasion came not from one particular incident but from a general feeling of unease and unsettledness that J couldn't put his finger on, it frightened him and that was what set him off.

The people who tend to blame the standard of parenting do so, IMO, from lack of awareness and understanding and how stressful it can be for our children to live like this each day, being bombarded by sensory and environmental stimuli which typical children don't even notice, never mind cope with. These things can be extremely unsettling for our children and those professionals who can't think outside the 'normal' box have a hard time grasping the extent of the problems. There's a tendency to think of autism (and especially Asperger's) as 'normal with a bit extra', when it really needs to be looked at with a completely different perspective to understand it fully.

Another thought for your 'specialist' - photocopy the relevant pages on anger/meltdowns from Tony Attwood or something similar - there's a great book called Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments - Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage and Meltdowns (Brenda Smith Mules and Jack Southwick) - and hand it over at your appointment as evidence that meltdowns are part and parcel of Asperger's in most cases.

Good luck.

scoobyww · 08/02/2007 13:46

Hi Karen,

Thank you so much! I have recently been presribed anti-depressants by my GP and it is all down to a so-called 'professional' who, like you so rightly said 'cannot think outside of the box'. Because home is the only place we see this behaviour, this person told me that I have to 'learn to love him', 'stop trying to make him live in our world' and 'go on a parenting course'. I was just devestated, but stumbled on for a few months - until two weeks ago, when 'dark' thoughts started to fill my head, such as 'perhaps my children would be better off without me, if I am such a poor parent'. This has all been compounded by the fact that my DS is now refusing any kind of intervention or therapy from DCAP, so they have discharged him, leaving us to just try and cope the best we can. They also told me that we should call for a police escort to take him to A&E, if he has a major meltdown, so that he can be assessed by a psychiatrist immediately. How they imagine we are going to get an 11yr old, in the middle of a meltdown, safely into a car, is beyond me! Do you know where I can find either of the books you mentioned, please?
Anyway, thanks to all of you who have replied.

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PeachyClair · 08/02/2007 15:27

Hiya Scooby

Ds1 (7) has put both of his brothers in A&E, more than once; he has placed acrriers over my head, gone for my throat with a coathanger, all sorts! He is fine in this way at school (has other problems) though.

We were taught restraint methods by BIBIC which have helped a lot

If you search on my name in special needs, there's a thread I started immedicately after one of DS1's most severe meltdowns over the Christmas / New Year period- titled something like I can't cope any more. That should be good evidence (she says with a wry smile)

HTH

PeachyClair · 08/02/2007 15:32

there it is

NAS say its normal for kids to do this, linked to them feeling safe at home.

scoobyww · 08/02/2007 16:35

Thanks peachy. I remember your thread - in fact I answered you and have also joined TTR - which another source of comfort!
Hugs to all!

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KarenThirl · 08/02/2007 17:03

Hi Scooby

I buy a lot from the Book Depository - they are usually cheaper than Amazon and you get free postage. Quick delivery, too.

www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/showbook.php?id=1843104954
for the Attwood one,

www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/showbook.php?id=1931282706
for the Difficult Moments.

Sorry, lousy at links so you'll have to paste them into your browser, or you could just go to bookdepository.co.uk and search.

Davros · 08/02/2007 19:22

I think you should try to video some of it, even little snippets in case it sends him wilder! If you and DH are around then one of you try to video it (even on a mobile phone or digital camera). Also try keeping a handwritten diary that describes the whole build up. My DS is not fussy where he has a meltdown but he does not have AS so I think has less complex feelings (is that a controversial thing to say?)

scoobyww · 09/02/2007 09:29

Thanks for that Karen.

Davros - I have managed to 'voice' record some of his outbursts but it would seem that this 'professional' disregards it, as she still thinks it is all down to me causing them in the first place!

Sigh! Will just plod on as usual!

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KarenThirl · 09/02/2007 16:20

I was told by the CAMHS nurse that they 'wouldn't advise' taping or videoing J without his knowledge, as it would 'violate his human rights'. I guess that would give the authorities the opportunity to accuse parents of abuse, if they were of such a mind (sigh).

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