My Aspergers Child: Is there a way to stop aggressive behavior...?

25.7.10

Is there a way to stop aggressive behavior...?

Question

Is there a way to stop aggressive behavior when a young child with Aspergers is in the middle of a meltdown?

Answer

It is not uncommon for kids with Aspergers to become aggressive. Aspergers causes a youngster to struggle to understand how their behaviors affect other kids. The many symptoms and characteristics of Aspergers can cause extreme frustration. This frustration can lead to anxiety, depression, anger, and aggressive behavior. Here are a few specific reasons for aggressive meltdowns:

• Change of routine-Inability to handle unexpected changes in the daily schedule, such as a substitute teacher or a cancelled class period.
• Communication problems-Inability to recognize humor, sarcasm, or slang during conversations with peers.
• Sensory issues-Inability to handle the discomfort in his environment due to sights, sounds, smells, or other sensory dysfunction.
• Social struggles-Inability to understand social cues and gestures or to make and keep friends.

Aspergers calls for a direct approach. Therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, social skills training, and occupational therapy will help with levels of frustration and also touch on self-control, a necessary skill for all of us. However, there are several things parents can do at home to lessen the impact of aggressive meltdowns.

• Redirection can sometimes be used during the beginning stages of a meltdown to reduce the escalation.
• Removal from the situation is necessary once a meltdown has developed.
• Role-play appropriate responses to tricky situations with your youngster. Role-playing is an excellent option for teaching all types of social skills to kids with Asperger’s.
• Social stories are excellent for teaching young kids about problem behaviors. These should be used during quiet moments and not during any stage of aggressiveness or frustration.
• Teach youngster to recognize red light/green light behaviors, red being a poor choice and green being a good choice.

My Aspergers Child: Preventing Aggressive Behavior in Aspergers Children

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Victoria Conroy Jones Strong-willed & aggressive! Feeling so fortunate that we are not dealing with violent too.
about an hour ago · Like
Shelly Hugs Holder You are very lucky !! My son of 17 is very aggressive and violent ..you can have the plassed or the aggressive typ ..
54 minutes ago · Like; August 20, 2011 11:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Jackie Wall Fields We just completed 1st week of kindergarten and this article is dead on. One violent meltdown over his regular teacher leaving and an aide watching the class. Another one because playground equipment was wet from rain and had to change recess routine. We are working with teachers to figure out ways to avoid or deal with them in the future.
21 hours ago · Like · 1 person; August 21, 2011 10:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Lewis Holder
Mum yeah I may be aggressive but I can't help it. I need someone to try and understand me, understand me but at the moment I don't have that! There are many people with Aspergers Syndrome that are like me and all we need is a bit of support. Yeah we are smart unique people but we find it hard to control who emotions. People may find it hard to understand perhaps because we have a different view and perspective on the world and different environments we live in. It can benefit us to have that but also there are lots of downfalls. I am very sorry for the stress that I may have caused you.
17 hours ago · Like
Shelly Hugs Holder
Lewis I am getting help for you ..NAS they have groups for you its set in place I'm waiting for the forms to arive ..also im hoping for someone to come in the home and work with you and help you with day to day living ...I'm not given up on you helping you ..you need help that i can't give you ..also I'm tryin to get you a place to live were you get help with your inderpendants ...I haven't given up on you I love you .....but this behavor has to stop its upsetting all of us Lewis thers only so much I can take xxx
17 hours ago · Like; August 22, 2011 7:49 AM

How to Prevent Meltdowns in Aspergers Children

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and the Asperger’s child are totally exhausted. But...

Don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

If your child suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, expect him to experience both minor and major meltdowns over incidents that are part of daily life. He may have a major meltdown over a very small incident, or may experience a minor meltdown over something that is major. There is no way of telling how he is going to react about certain situations. However, there are many ways to help your child learn to control his emotions.

Click here for the full article...

Parenting Defiant Aspergers Teens

Although Aspergers is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, the challenges parents face when disciplining a teenager with Aspergers are more difficult than they would be with an average teen. Complicated by defiant behavior, the Aspergers teen is at risk for even greater difficulties on multiple levels – unless the parents’ disciplinary techniques are tailored to their child's special needs.

The standard disciplinary techniques that are recommended for “typical” teenagers do not take into account the many issues facing a child with a neurological disorder. Violent rages, self-injury, isolation-seeking tendencies and communication problems that arise due to auditory and sensory issues are just some of the behaviors that parents of teens with Aspergers will have to learn to control.

Parents need to come up with a consistent disciplinary plan ahead of time, and then present a united front and continually review their strategies for potential changes and improvements as the Aspergers teen develops and matures.

Click here to read the full article…

Aspergers Children “Block-Out” Their Emotions

Parenting children with Aspergers can be a daunting task. In layman’s terms, Aspergers is a developmental disability that affects the way children develop and understand the world around them, and is directly linked to their senses and sensory processing. This means they often use certain behaviors to block out their emotions or response to pain.

Although they may vary slightly from person to person, children with Aspergers tend to have similar symptoms, the main ones being:

=> A need to know when everything is happening in order not to feel completely overwhelmed
=> A rigid insistence on routine (where any change can cause an emotional and physiological meltdown)
=> Difficulties with social functioning, particularly in the rough and tumble of a school environment
=> Obsessive interests, with a focus on one subject to the exclusion of all others
=> Sensory issues, where they are oversensitive to bright light, loud sounds and unpleasant smells
=> Social isolation and struggles to make friends due to a lack of empathy, and an inability to pick up on or understand social graces and cues (such as stopping talking and allowing others to speak)

Click here to read the full article…

Living with an Aspergers Spouse/Partner

Research reveals that the divorce rate for people with Aspergers is around 80%. Why so high!? The answer may be found in how the symptoms of Aspergers affect intimate relationships.

People with Aspergers often find it difficult to understand others and express themselves. They may seem to lose interest in people over time, appear aloof, and are often mistaken as self-centered, vain individuals.

A person with Aspergers may have trouble understanding the emotions of their partner, and the subtle messages that are sent by facial expression, eye contact and body language are often missed. Because of this, a person with Aspergers might be seen as egotistical, selfish or uncaring.

These are unfair labels, because the affected individuals are neurologically unable to understand other people's emotional states, and they are usually shocked, upset and remorseful when told their actions were hurtful or inappropriate!

Click here to read the full article…

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