Hello! I was yesterday at the playground with my children. There was an autistic child playing with them. I always encourage my children to play with children with disorders and I teach them to accept them the way they are. But, an unpleasant situation happened. His mother went to the shop for few seconds and I stayed to pay attention to all children. Suddenly, the autistic child got some kind of seizure and I didn’t know what to do. How to calm down an autistic kid?
Hello! It is difficult to say what can calm an autistic kid. All kids are different (autistic and non autistic) and there is no general recipe. Some calm down when they hear their favorite song, the other when they see their favorite toy, or something like that. I had a friend with an autistic child who developed many tricks that calmed her kid down. She used to carry out bag full of small toys that occupied the boy’s attention each time she took them out.
hello claire well im not really sure how to calm down one but i think maybe you could by showing them thier favorite things or like a waterfall kids with autism have a difficult time having eye contact so maybe try not to make contact well i really dont know what else to say maybe you could tell me the result after :D
]Well As said it depends on Music and toys....My little sister is also autistic and i put her favourate music to calm her down...but food also works since children love ice creams and chips thier attention can be diverted by such junk foods....Apart from that do not try screaming or shouting at them since autistic kids get really hyper and become violent a cool and calm approach is necessary to make them feel comfortable....Well i guess that's it from what i found out.
Autistic people generally don't have any filters for their senses. Imagine that you're being offered 1 million dollars if you can remember 10 digits that are being called out. All your heightened attention is focused on this one thing; your hearing. But it also includes your memory and mental focus. Now imagine that dedication put towards every sound that's occurring at that moment, every breath someone takes, the wind, the clock ticking, the fan on the computer, cars going by, birds outside, the shuffle of clothing, the tapping of keyboards/mice, the sound of the air conditioner... everything is dominating your attention.
But this clutter of information isn't restricted to your ears.. it spreads to all of your senses. Each sensation, from your shirt pulling against your arms as you move, to the smell of paper in your printer tray dominates your attention. And through all this, someone's talking to you, the sound is mixed in with everything else. It's hard to look up and listen at the same time; the more information in your field of view, the harder it is to focus on this one sound that's more important than the other sensations. They say 'look into my eyes when I talk', but that act makes it so much harder to separate their words from their image.
Some days are worse than others, some autistic people suffer this effect more, some less. At times, the mess of sensations becomes so great that they try to supersede all the sensations by creating one that's larger than all the others. If one sensation trumps the others, it gives the mind a reprieve. So they yell, they hit things, they jump about, bang their heads, fight against being held down, they do what they can to create this one sensation that drowns out all the others. And they're smart enough to know the effect this has on other people, but are unable to do otherwise. Some are unable to express themselves verbally, to explain what is happening. Some don't understand the benefit of talking, so they don't.
Autistic people generally become fixated on one item/concept/activity as a method of controlling these sensations. If their emotions are primed and respond to certain things, then it helps them control their sensations. You'll see this with parents of autistic children, because they know what toy to pass over to help the child. They know what activity needs to be done to help calm down an episode. Strangers are unlikely to know the specifics of the child, but your best bet would be to communicate with them in a way that caters to their condition. But sometimes, things are just bad and they just need to do things their own way. Ideally, you'd have them performing in routine activities in an environment that is free from most stimuli; parks are not likely a good choice, which is why this child reacted the way they did.
But this clutter of information isn't restricted to your ears.. it spreads to all of your senses. Each sensation, from your shirt pulling against your arms as you move, to the smell of paper in your printer tray dominates your attention. And through all this, someone's talking to you, the sound is mixed in with everything else. It's hard to look up and listen at the same time; the more information in your field of view, the harder it is to focus on this one sound that's more important than the other sensations. They say 'look into my eyes when I talk', but that act makes it so much harder to separate their words from their image.
Some days are worse than others, some autistic people suffer this effect more, some less. At times, the mess of sensations becomes so great that they try to supersede all the sensations by creating one that's larger than all the others. If one sensation trumps the others, it gives the mind a reprieve. So they yell, they hit things, they jump about, bang their heads, fight against being held down, they do what they can to create this one sensation that drowns out all the others. And they're smart enough to know the effect this has on other people, but are unable to do otherwise. Some are unable to express themselves verbally, to explain what is happening. Some don't understand the benefit of talking, so they don't.
Autistic people generally become fixated on one item/concept/activity as a method of controlling these sensations. If their emotions are primed and respond to certain things, then it helps them control their sensations. You'll see this with parents of autistic children, because they know what toy to pass over to help the child. They know what activity needs to be done to help calm down an episode. Strangers are unlikely to know the specifics of the child, but your best bet would be to communicate with them in a way that caters to their condition. But sometimes, things are just bad and they just need to do things their own way. Ideally, you'd have them performing in routine activities in an environment that is free from most stimuli; parks are not likely a good choice, which is why this child reacted the way they did.
Hi,
I have found that a quiet corner where the child can go to and relax can be a very good calming technique.
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Sharon
Wow! I must say this post was well written and right on point. My sons is autistic and as his mother I know what makes him calm and what excites him. This post will help other people who have friends or family memebrs with autistic children.
my brother has autism and its really hard to take him out with out him throwing a tantrum and he will start hitting people and breaking things, if there one thing i learned is that every time i find a way to calm him down eventually it will stop working. try to find out what the child is interested in or if you can personally communicate with the child then tell them that if they behave they will get a reward. but dont all ways rely on it, autistic child are very clever and its hard to keep up with them. the best way is to make a strong bond and NEVER let them get their way if they know they cant win against you then they will give up and behave, having a strong personal bond will make a child want to behave around you.
What can I do to calm an autistic kid down?