Nicky get's stuck, he has narrow interests and once he gets an idea in his mind letting go and moving on is difficult. In print it doesn't sound like much, but it's rough for both of us. It's like ground hog day, he goes over and over the topic/issue with no clear end in sight. Once it starts I don't know if I will be able to redirect him, or if his frustration will escalate putting him in melt down. Depending on how bad it is, I can get as frustrated as he is, because I can't stop it. But I have to stay calm and firm, because if I get frustrated, he feels it, and he only gets worst. ABA training has helped to expand his interest and give me strategies to help him get "un-stuck". These 4 short clips all center around Nicky wanting a video, that he can't find, and I've never heard of. In this scenario he's given the video a random name based on something in it's content, not the actual title, which makes it really hard to help. It's just one more thing about living with ASD that those who have not seen it close up, can't comprehend.
Donna, thanks for catching this on video. It's something we all go through, but seeing is believing. I'm going to share this video instead of trying to explain.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing too. We consistantly seem to have the same issues and redirecting my son who has autism doesn't always work like it would if I tried it with my daughter. I think a lot of parents don't realize this and I am always getting advise when something like this happens- "just distract him with something else, give him a time out, etc.." once the meltdown begins and I am always finding myself trying to explain to them that those methods don't work and how a tantrum and a meltdown are 2 totally different things. My best explaination I have come up with for a short response to where I am not trying to be rude but just don't have the time to explain life with a child who has autism is "A kid with autism doesn't exactly think the same way as another kid, their brain doesn't exactly click the same, and so you cannot always use the same parenting methods as you would with an average child" and I leave it at that.
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