What is a meltdown?
The meltdown is a common among children with neurodevelopment disorders and feared and dreaded by both caregivers and the children themselves. Not to be confused with a temper tantrum. A meltdown is caused by overwhelming emotions that are triggered by ...
When a full meltdown is in progress, it can be a hard to manage. Safety -- both for the person and the child and for others in the area is most important. It is the adults job to remain calm. Most often talking escalates the meltdown. There is no reasoning when the child has hit "the point of no return" as we called it in my house. I learned this one the hard way.
Always observe to make sure that the child is safe and that no one else in in harms way. If you observed that others are in the line of fire, remove them from the premises quietly while watching the melting child.
Often times older children tell us that they do not remember what happened. After a meltdown the child's energy is spent and the may need time to decompress and so do you! After the meltdown and things have calmed. It is the adults job to reflect. What was the trigger? What did we do right? What did not work? Was there any warnings and what could I have done differently to catch it before it hits full meltdown mode.
Often times, we can avoid a full fledge meltdown by watching for the "rumblings" that are often given off by the child prior to the full onset of emotion. In time we begin to know when we are headed to the "point of no return." And hopefully less meltdowns.
Anny
