How to Manage Your Autistic Child’s Meltdown with Something Easy

MartinRaymondo

〰️

〰️

MartinRaymondo 〰️ 〰️

The school had this area they called the “Blue Room.” 

I had never heard of this before, but it’s a space to relax if someone is having a difficult situation. It’s a room with toys and padded walls to prevent people from hurting themselves. It’s also all done in blue, so it’s supposed to have a calming effect.

One day, while he was in grade 6, the school called me. His mother was there trying to calm him down, and nothing worked. There was panic in their voices, so I left work and arrived at the school to see what was happening. 

They said he had a meltdown because the teacher cleaned his desk and threw away the little things he kept. 

He’s a bit of a hoarder, and that’s due to his autism spectrum disorder. 

Considering his high functioning, you might not immediately pick up on some quirks.

The councillor and his mom explained that he didn’t want anyone entering the room. I decided to try, as I’ve always been good at calming him down and reassuring him.

I open the door to the blue room, and there he is, mad as ever and unwilling to talk. 

I asked him what was up, and he shut down immediately. 

Now is the time to forget everything everyone has ever told me about how to deal with him and do it my way.

I look at him and ask, “How many purple polka dots are on an elephant?” 

He turns and looks at me and says, “What?” 

I then ask the question again. This enabled his brain to shift focus from anger to confusion. Within 30 seconds, he’s talking to me and much calmer. We discuss the situation, and he understands why he can’t get upset about little things. 

These seem like big things for him, but we are trying to teach him how to react better.

He also mentioned he wanted to hurt himself, which is one reason they put him in this blue room. It was for his safety and others. 

When upset, people’s brains tend to shut down. 

With my son being autistic, it’s a much quicker process, and it lasts longer. If you don’t know how to deal with that, it isn’t easy to help them. 

He doesn’t like to deal with things that he isn’t familiar with. Neither do I, so I have always wondered if I am autistic to some extent as well. That’s likely why I’ve always understood him better than most. 

Years later, he’s now finished his level 1 electrical course, and I’m trying to help him get a job as an apprentice. 

Getting him to apply for jobs isn’t easy, but once he’s in, he will do great.

Now, the only thing left to teach him about life is everything else.