Autism also is known as the autism spectrum disorder is a group of conditions which include a deficit in the social relations, vocal and non-vocal communication and sometimes language difficulties. This disease differs in occurrence and severity. Autistic children are unique, although not lesser than a non-autistic child. They, however, often have meltdowns, and this can be attributed to their over sensitiveness to certain things such as loud music, colors, and television. These are known as triggers, and they can be peculiar to each autistic child. Parents of autistic kids have a lot of jobs to do while learning how to calm down an autism child. Managing the meltdowns and trying as much to protect their kids from triggers takes much time and patience. Parenting an autistic child is a difficult task, and it requires a lot of patience and dedication. Here are some ways to calm down an autistic child.

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How To Calm Down An Autistic Child

How Can I Calm My Autistic Child When He is Having a Meltdown?

Remove triggers, massage, comfort, silence, distraction. These are some valuable was when wondering how to calm down an autism child.

  1. Remove triggers: Parents should be proactive in protecting their kids from triggers. They must try to identify what makes their kids have a breakdown, and endeavor to avoid it.
  2. Massages: Massage has helped quiet some autistic kids. This can be done by gently massaging and rubbing their body, preferably with a warm towel. The feet, thighs, neck, and the lower part of the back are good spots to focus on. This calms them down.
  3. Clear the environment: For autistic kids that are restless and battering around, it is best to remove delicate and dangerous objects in order to prevent injuries.
  4. Make the child comfortable: Try to remove the child’s clothing, if it’s alright with the child. Sometimes, jackets, cardigans, mufflers make the kids angry. However, the parents should ask if it’s okay, before proceeding to remove the clothing.
  5. Silent environment: Removing any form of noise or taking your child to a tranquil place is an excellent way of calming the child down.
  6. Scented ambiance: Aromatherapy has been reported to help with autistic breakdowns. Scented rooms or candles do bring some tranquility to the child.
  7. Entertaining distractions: This includes making funny sounds. Hilarious gestures most times gladden the child, hence removing the meltdown.

Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew

Child, sensitive, thinker, capable, frustrated. The following is a list of ten thing things your autistic child wishes you knew while while learning how to calm down an autism child.

  1. Understand that he/she is a child: The difficulties and stress associated with caring for affected kids might make parents forget, sometimes momentarily, that they are just kids. It is important to know that Autism is just a part of the child, and not their total being. There is more to these kids than just autism. There are examples of autistic children who grew up to become amazing musicians, scientists, actors. A shining example of this is the genius music composer “Mozart.” There is no limitation to what children affected with autism can achieve, and they should be treated as such.Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew
  2. Understand they are overly sensitive: From the little music coming from the speakers in the city center to the light in the room, or the pungent smell of the decontaminants in hospitals that we do not even pay attention to, can be downright agonizing to autistic kids. People must know that they have a defect in their reception of sensory stimulus, be it sound, light or even smell. Everything is overstimulated, and this might make them lose balance because it affects their sense of proprioception.
  3. Dealing with me requires patience, dedication, and assertiveness: It is important to know that you have to be very assertive and patient with autistic kids. These children have difficulty taking instructions from teachers and parents. Their guardians must break down instructions so that they can assimilate information being passed to them.
  4. They are deep thinkers: Autistic kids are deep thinkers, and they also give direct interpretations to language. These kids would have problems interpreting idioms, proverbs or complex sentences. Words should be broken down into straightforward sentences for them so they can understand.
  5. Pay attention to their body languages: Autistic kids sometimes have difficulties with vocabularies. Even though they might know the words, they do have problems expressing exactly how they’re feeling. So it’s best for guardians and teachers to pay attention to these children, most especially when they show signs of discomfort, uneasiness, and withdrawal.
  6. Pay attention to the positives rather than the negatives: It helps the kids when their strengths are focused on and emphasized, rather than magnifying the things they are weak at. This builds confidence in the children and makes them want to take part in more activities.
  7. Their visual sense is very sharp: Even though language might be a hassle for them, their visual sense compensates this. Kids affected with autism are very sensitive to visuals. Guardians and teachers should focus more on this. The children should be shown how to do things many times. You can be assured that they’ll learn quite well.
  8. Assist them with interpersonal interactions: It would help the kids greatly if they are regularly exposed to other children.. Although they might not particularly like to interact, continually exposing them to other kids would significantly improve and sharpen their social interaction skills
  9. Recognizing and removing potential triggers: Autistic children have some things that can cause them to have a breakdown. This could be in the form of noise, lights, smell, even clothing sometimes. Parents, guardians, and teachers should identify and remove these triggers to prevent any avoidable breakdowns. If possible, a note of triggers can be kept around so people around the house are aware of what might precipitate a meltdown.
  10. They need to be loved regardless of how hard it is to deal with them: Autistic children understand that it’s difficult managing them. However, the over sensitiveness they often display is not their fault. They just can’t help themselves. Parents need to know that they must show these kids an unwavering love. They do and fare better when they realize that they are loved.

How Do I Discipline A Child With Autism?

Self control, patience, assertiveness, positives, no shouting, routine. The following is an explanation answering the question of learning how to calm down an autism child.

1.Discipline with kids can be complicated, as it is known that kids would always be kids. This simply implies that kids are expected to behave like kids. They can be restless and often don’t listen to instructions. This can be more emphasized in autistic children. However, they should not be given a free pass. They should be taught self-control and corrected constructively

How Do I Discipline A Child With Autism

2. Patience and assertiveness: Parents must understand that it might take a while before they understand what make the child tick. However it’s important to know that they will improve over time if the tips listed here are duly followed.

  1. Pay more attention to the positives rather than the negatives: It’s advisable to focus more on the strengths of the child and the things he does correctly rather than overemphasizing his weaknesses. It’s best to seek the support of a behavior specialist if the child is repeatedly showing bad character.
  2. Do not shout at your child: Showing excessive control and yelling at your kids might in most cases make the situation worse. Yelling at your kids should be avoided, especially when the child is having a meltdown. Your voice should be lowered, coupled with soft touches that can calm the situation. It’s okay to tell your child “I’m going to need some time to think about what to do about this.” You should request the help of an autism specialist  should the child be inflicting harm on him/herself.

5. Have a set routine: Having a routine and well-structured day to day plan makes it easy to monitor and identify whatever might be the reason why the child is misbehaving.

How Is Raising A Child With Autism Possible?

Doctors, groups, communication, patience, love. New parents to autistic kids are always confused, and usually, do not know how to handle and manage their child. Below are a few ways to learn how to calm down an autism child.

  • You should request the help of behavioral specialist: Since autism is a neuro developmental defect, it’s imperative to seek  assistance from specialists who can contribute to improving the child’s communication skills, social interactions, and sensory perception.
  • You should look for clubs and groups of parents who are taking care of autistic children. You can learn a whole lot by speaking with other parents about how they manage their autistic child. They may be able to refer you to the the best autism specialists near you.
  • In kids that have problems with vocabulary and languages, it is best to limit your communication to few words. Examples of these include: “Sit down” “come eat”, “get dressed.” The use of many words confuses autistic children.
  • Lots of patience: Raising a child with autism requires a lot of patience. Once it is understood that they are overly sensitive and can easily have meltdowns, it is best to talk to them with care, and to take the necessary time, no matter how long it takes, to understand them and the way they react to things.

What Are The Signs Of Autism In Children?

Poor communication, avoids, physical contact, uninvolved, no interest in other children. If diagnosed early, autism can be easily tackled, although autism symptoms would only start showing between the ages of one year to 18 months. Below are some of the signs associated with autism in children. These can help you while learning how to calm down an autism child

Signs of problems with social interaction

What Are The Signs Of Autism In Children

  • Poor communication skills: finds it difficult to make friends and interact with people.
  • Avoids any form of physical contact
  • Shows no interest in what other kids are doing
  • Has a hard time talking about how he feels and does not even understand it
  • Does not involve him/herself in games with other kids

Signs of problems with vocal and language

  • Does not understand when many words are said.
  • Takes whatever is said literally. Does not understand idioms, puns or proverbs.
  • Uses words in the wrong way
  • Often answers questions by repeating the question instead of providing the answer.
  • Repeats words and sentences without making any sense.

Signs Of Non-Vocal Difficulties

  • Does not maintain eye contact
  • Makes use of expressions that do not go with what he/she is saying.
  • They sometimes act like a robot. They are poor at making gestures.
  • Overreacts to sound, light and even smell

What Are Some Signs Of Autism In Babies?

  • Does not respond to his/her name when called
  • Does not follow objects when they are shown to him/her
  • Does not cry to attract attention
  • Does not play or even show interest in playing with other people
  • Does not make eye contact, especially when being fed

What Are Some Signs Of Autism In Babies

How To Calm A Screaming Toddler With Autism

Distract, make comfortable, massage, routine, remove triggers. These will help you while while learning how to calm down an autism child.

  • Create a distraction: If it happens you can provide what the child is crying for at the moment, you can divert the kid’s attention by making funny faces, or funny sounds. This would gladden the child and might stop her from crying, momentarily forgetting why he/she started crying in the first place.
  • Remove whatever might make them uncomfortable: There are some certain triggers that make them uncomfortable, such as noise, light, smell. All these triggers should be observed and duly avoided to protect the baby from crying and having a meltdown.
  • Having a well-structured routine: It’s easy to monitor them and notice whatever might be wrong. Most autistic kids enjoy and perform better with routines.
  • Massages: Rubbing the feet, back of the child helps in stopping the cries.

What Is An Early Intervention For Autism?

Infant brains have high plasticity and have the huge possibility to learn. Starting the response early significantly reduces the debilitating effects of Autism. This works best for children below two and a half years. Autism becomes harder to manage if not diagnosed and tackled early.

How Common Is Autism?

1 in 65 American children have autism.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded that about 1 in 65 American children have autism. This record is ten times more than what was filed about 39 years ago. This can be attributed to the improvement in diagnosis and various awareness. It has also been recorded that autism is more predominant among boys, In fact, the number of documented cases in males is about five times more than in females. Approximately 1 in 40 males and 1 out of 190 girls have been diagnosed with the disease in the United States of America.

Now, that you know a lot about autism, applying this knowledge accurately is the best gift, you can give to any child diagnosed with autism. Love, and care is all they need. If you notice any unusual signs and symptoms, contact the nearest doctor that specializes in autism.  This will be extremely helpful while learning how to calm down an autism child.

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References

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DUIGNAN, M. and CONNELL, J. (2015). Living with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Families, Homes and the Disruption of Space. Geographical Research, 53(2), pp.199-210.

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