There's no Such Thing as a Safe Restraint.

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With respect Autie, aspie and adder children ALL exhibit signs of a meltdown. Maybe you are not sure what to look for. I hope these signs help. It is not up to the child to let YOU know, it is up to YOU to OBSERVE! Note................we call meltdowns Tsunamis. Those of us on the spectrum no matter where, we call jellybeans! Simpler than the alphabet soup of titles we get landed with!

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP - WITHIN THE FIRST 20 SECONDS

1. Speak to us and tell us firmly and in a single word that we are getting out of control.

2. DON'T TOUCH US!! !! !! Touch puts us into even more overload.

3. Don't give us a lecture - we can't HEAR.

4. Leave us alone, let US have the last word.

5. LET US RUN, if necessary, out of the door, upstairs to the bedroom or to lock ourselves in the bathroom.

6. When we emerge SAY NOTHING about it, ignore us when we reappear, we are probably a bit sulky still so let us be. We will communicate with YOU when we are ready.

WHAT CAN THE TEACHER IN THE CLASSROOM DO?

1 Don't Panic. Speak clearly and firmly - just one word is best.

2 Distract the jellybean with something that they are good at. SUBTLY

3 Remove the jellybean from the classroom with one adult to a quieter more private area.

4 Allow the child to STIM and don't crowd them, just be kind and keep them SAFE.

5 Allow the child to let off steam physically, allow them to RUN and run and run, the playground being preferable to the school car park.

6 Reassure and stay in the background. The child will wind down.

7 Don't threaten with anyone or anything.

Finally on Tsunamis, DON'T TOUCH. Unless you are invited to, try and avoid the temptation of hugging a distressed jellybean, even when you think its safe, it MAY NOT BE!

Jelibean, I agree 100% on that list!! I wish my parents had had it when I was younger!!


Who else has major problems with those harness leads parents walk their children around on... that'd do my head in if I was the child. You put dogs on leads, not children!!

Thanks LeKiwi, it is very simple really. Just tender loving care for jellybeans everywhere!

Ooooh those leads are awful but I confess to having to use them on my ADHD son when he would not do anything we asked of him. Even jumping off a wall into the sea seemed an adventure! Soooo for some of us sometimes it is the only way to keep them safe! But I agree I am not fond of them AT ALL!

I can see the need for them, but uuugh... I always feel so sorry for the kids I see walking around on them. I can understand it if the child has ADHD or something that might mean they put themselves in the line of danger more than others might, but most people who put their kids on them have kids perfectly capable of learning right from wrong and not experimenting anyway. Yick!