So this is a topic that we get asked the most! What can parents do to reduce meltdowns at home? There are so many strategies that we could recommend depending on individual circumstances, however there are 3 that seem to work the best for most families. Therefore, in this article, we will be discussing these strategies, along with how you as a parent can implement these in your day-to-day life.

Need extra support? Why not book in to a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism Specialist by clicking here!

Social Stories

Social Stories have been a complete game changer for most parents with autistic children. The premise of a social story is to take a social situation and explain this visually to your child. In doing so, you are better preparing your child for the future and reducing their anxiety of the unknown in the process. For example, let’s say that your child is worried about going to an activity for the first time. Parents could sit down with their child and draw out a story of a character that is about to go to the same activity. You can then draw out what the child (or character) is to expect from this experience, along with what is expected of the child (or character).

The best part is, there are usually hundreds of ready-made social stories that you can access online for any type of situation. One reason for why this strategy is so effective could be due to your child having difficulties in understanding what to expect in a social environment. Remember, what may be seen as an unwritten rule to a neurotypical person, may need to be spelled out to your autistic child. So, if you know that your child struggles with trying new things and this always leads to a meltdown, using a social story may be a strategy that helps your family.

Visual Timetable

Now this one may sound obvious, but you would be surprised how many parents overlook this as an effective strategy. This is especially true with older children and teenagers as some parents may feel like this is too childish for their child. This cannot be further from the truth as visual timetables have been known to work for anyone at any age. The concept of a timetable is to ensure that you know what to expect from your day or your week. For someone with Autism, this is essential to make the world more predictable and manageable.  

A timetable doesn’t have to be visual in the sense of having colourful pictures or images on. Your child’s timetable could be sectioned off into different time-zones (often morning and evening) which also makes it less “childish”. What you’ll find is that it will not only reduce the anxieties of your child, but also reduce the feeling of uncertainty in the rest of the family. Everyone likes to know what is going to happen and what to expect, so by implementing this strategy in your home will hopefully reduce the feeling of uncertainty and therefore reduce the amount of meltdowns. 

Sensory Environment

This last point is something that most parents miss when trying to implement strategies. I always say to parents, there is no point in trying out any strategy if the environment isn’t right. What I mean by this is, if your child is not comfortable sensory wise then everything else goes out the window. Therefore, as a parent, you need to be aware of your child’s sensory needs. Do they dislike any food textures, do they pick up on smells that others may not. Having this information, will help to reduce your child’s stress levels and in turn, reduce the amount of meltdowns.

Look at it this way! Could you concentrate on a task if you were surrounded by rotting fish? What about if you had to complete the task in clothing that was super tight or itchy? You wouldn’t be able to concentrate as you would be too distracted or annoyed by your environment. This could be what is happening to your child. What I recommend to parents is to think about any possible difficulties they may have with their senses and make notes on any settings that your child may particularly enjoy or dislike. What is it about that setting that they enjoy/dislike from a sensory perspective? In most cases you’ll be able to identify key triggers to meltdowns in their environment, however if you are still struggling, it may be time to go to your GP and request a referral to an Occupational Therapist for further support. 

Need extra support? Why not book into a FREE Clinical Appointment with an Autism Specialist by clicking here!

In my nearly 10 years of assessing, diagnosing, and supporting people with Autism, there have been 3 key strategies that almost always work, when it comes to parents making their child’s life easier. In this article, we’ll break down these tried and tested strategies in the hopes that they will help you and your loved ones have a better quality of life.

Want to speak to an Autism Specialist? Book your FREE Clinical Appointment here.

Back Words with Visuals

I know all too well how frustrating it can be when your child is just not listening to you. When you feel as though you’ve told them to do something for the millionth time and they still aren’t listening. However, this could be due to several reasons, one being that your child may struggle with processing auditory information. This is where backing up what you’ve said, with some form of visual aid, comes in handy. This is due to this being a different type of information which reinforces what you’re saying to get the desired outcome. For example, if you’ve asked your child to grab their socks, you could back this up with a picture of their sock to support them in processing what you’ve asked them to do.

This seems to be the one strategy that most families find helps the most and reduces the amount of times you are asking your child to do something. There are also many resources that you can buy online such as visual cards for everyday things, so that you’re not scrambling to find a picture of different items.

Routine Routine Routine!

This is going to sound strange but if you’ve said that you are going to do something at a specific time, then make sure that it happens. Often, as parents, we say things like “we’ll go in 5 minutes” and then end up leaving 30 minutes later. To your child, 5 minutes means 5 MINUTES! At 6 minutes you may get a few comments like “you said 5 minutes” or in some cases, a full meltdown. For your Autistic child, the world is already a confusing place but by sticking to a routine, you’re introducing stability and predictability to your child’s life.

Couple this strategy with using visual aids to show your child what is going to happen on that day. I know so many families that use visual timetables in their homes and it has completely changed their lives. I remember supporting one family and after a few weeks, they thought their child wasn’t even looking at the timetable, so they took it down. About an hour later, they found their child actively searching for something, he found the timetable and put it back on the fridge.

Time to Process

This is probably one of the most difficult strategies to implement but will most likely have the best returns. Have you ever had it where you’ve asked your child a question and they haven’t responded or look like they are thinking? The natural response in this situation is to rephrase the question, however this is probably the worst things to do. Imagine you’re on an assembly line and you’re trying to figure out how to put something together. Now imagine that as you’re trying to figure it out, someone gives you more items to figure out and keeps adding to your workload. Eventually, you would either become distressed or completely shut down. This is exactly what happens when you overload your child with different information without giving time to fully process.

Try this, the next time you ask your child something, sit back and wait. See how long it takes for your child to respond to you. You’d be surprised as to how many parents find that their child just needed a few extra seconds, and they were able to respond appropriately. Once you have done this a few times, keep a mental note of how long it takes for your child to process information in different environments. Reason for this is that your child could process information much quicker in a relaxed environment, however might take a little longer in a more stressful environment.

Want to speak with an Autism Specialist? Book your FREE Clinical Appointment here.

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Ok, so the number one question that I have been asked by parents in my nearly a decade of Assessing, Diagnosing and Supporting people with Autism is, “How do I know if my child needs a referral for an Autism assessment?”. This can be very confusing for most parents who want to know how to better support their child. So, in this article, we’re going to help clarify some key areas that you should be aware of if you think you require a referral for an Autism Assessment. 

Warning: This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be used as a diagnostic tool.

Don't have time to read this article? Don't worry, here's a quick 2 minute video that you can watch. 

Want a FREE CLINICAL APPOINTMENT? Why not book onto one of CareGen’s free appointment with a Trained Autism Specialist by clicking here.

Social Communication Difficulties

So, the first thing to look out for is., how does your child communicate with you socially? This doesn’t necessarily mean verbal communication but also non-verbal communication.  Do they initiate conversation with you, or do they ask you follow up questions on your trail of thought? These are examples of verbal social communication and if you have noticed that your child may not be engaging in this, then it may be time to seek further support. In addition, when they do communicate with yourself, do they use non-verbal communication skills to show that they are engaging in the conversation? Examples of this are things like giving eye contact or nodding their head to show that they are still participating in the conversation. If this is something that you’re worried about, then why not book to speak to a trained Autism specialist FOR FREE by clicking here.

Social Interaction Difficulties 

Now this could mean a lot of things, however in my experience, parents usually notice if their child is having difficulties developing and maintaining friendships at an early age. Some concerns could be that your child isn’t particularly interested in other children their age and much prefer being left alone. However, other parents may notice that their child attempts to make friends but struggle to develop these friendships further which leads to these relationships fizzling out. If this is something that you are experiencing with your child, then it may be time to seek further support.

Rigidity and inflexibility of thought

We could write an entire blog post about this section; however, we’ll give you a quick run-down. Examples of difficulties within this area could be that your child likes things done in a specific way and can become quite distressed if this isn’t done. This also expands to your child having a set routine and may get very upset if this is changed suddenly. Again, if you notice that you’re child has a strong need for things to be the same, then it may be time to seek support to better understand how to support them.

So, the question now is, “What do I do now that I think my child needs a referral”. If this is you, then why not book onto one of CareGen’s FREE CLINICAL APPOINTMENTS to speak with an Autism Specialist to see how we can help you.  You can do so by clicking here.