ASC meltdowns -avoidance

Oscar17

Hi, my son n has ASC/ Aspergers is 9 and an extrovert in a mainstream school. He has reduced TA support in his new setting and since the Summer/starting his new Middle school his melt downs have become more frequent and he is aggressive with them- tries to hit out. Always very apologetic and remorseful afterwards. How best is it we deal with these episodes and how can we help him to not get to the state where he wants to be physically agressive. we are approaching AWM and trying to see a Paediatrician at present. Aware he could be going through changes at his age but he looks like a 12 year old with the  mind and sometimes behaviour of a 7-9 -12 year old. I would appreciate any advice.

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Oscar17

Thank you Danny, 
He communicates relatively well but yes there may be other invisible pressures that He faces that I am unaware of. He can be very Boack and White with things and especially if anxious.  Will take a look at the google dicumentary.

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Sam_Alumni

Hi @Oscar17 welcome to the community! 

@VioletFenn do you have any experience of this? 

VioletFenn

Hi @Oscar17 ! Was there a specific reason for the reduction in TA support? It sounds like your son would benefit from it being increased again, at least for a while. My own son (also an Oscar!) is 12 and has improved greatly over the last year (a lot to do with trying new meds), but whenever there's any other change in his situation he needs extra support for a while. His TAs joke that for every three steps forward, they take two back. But he does always eventually make that incremental improvement. 

Re the actual meltdowns and potential aggression, I would push for reassessment of the situation. Does he have a formal diagnosis? If so then it would be well worth talking to CAMHS and seeing if they would see you both together and talk things through. You mention AWM - if by this you mean 'Autism West Midlands', then absolutely yes, chase them and make an appointment. They are HUGELY helpful, in my experience. 

EducationalPsychologist

Hi, in order to prevent emotional outbursts the school staff must identify and take action to minimise triggers. Understanding what causes a difficulty is crucial to bringing about positive change. If I was advising the school, I would suggest they record the following after each incident:
place
time
people
activity
communication
After a few records they can look at patterns. This is when you can then ask what can be done? And how/who by?
Usually schools are great at discussing triggers and strategies for support, but their difficulty will be allocating resources. The school should also be accessing any local authority support services available to them, so ask about this and request (assertively) that they seek advice re your son's behaviour.

Oscar17

Morning, thank you for your advice, I think they are partly doing this with an ABC strategy of recording the moments during the school day. He had 1 TA to himself previously in the Primary school and now has 3. 
It is at home that we are seeing outbursts and the triggers are hard to spot- he becomes aggressive and has tried to kick and hit even when we are calm in responding g to him. I am concerned that he is just coping in school and we are getting the backlashes, some hormones possibly adding to this too! 
I am concerned that he will eventually react severely at school and that could lead to exclusion. He is 9, looks 12 and has the emotional state that flits between 7-12. 
We have recently been in touch with AWM ( Autism West Midlands) and are looking to get support for him socially and us as parents.  Wondering if we need a more up to date observation/ assessment as we are still using some of the information from when he was 5 and Ststemented. There was an observation carried out in year 3 but he was happy and settled and coping well. Full diagnosis may also help us. 
I would have liked more support in place as he started hus new setting and to slowly retract the Support as he settled. It seems he has been 'thrown in the deep end' which is having its impact at home.
grateful for any advice.

EducationalPsychologist

Hello again,
Yes an up to date assessment would be helpful to ensure the interventions are the most appropriate. Its good that you are reaching out to services for support. What do you mean by full diagnosis? Has ASD been confirmed? Do you have other areas of concern? When there is lack of clarity children pick up on this and it can affect them emotionally (anxiety).

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