We all know that meltdowns can be debilitating for the person undergoing the trauma, and for the caretakers who desire the best for their ward and their environment. Sometimes the meltdowns blow over to eventual exhaustion and inability to function for a long time. Here are a few suggestions, collected from people living with ASD, to help you in your most distressing phases. Hope this works…
1. Gentle music, gentle talk with trusted individual, gentle lighting and four walls…the room in my house that feels the safest to me.
2. Laying in bed while my room is dark… Sometimes I play music, other times I lay in the quiet.
3. I get under all my blankets (The Cocoon) and stim until I fall asleep.
4. I guess I use naps as therapy for everything…like when I am depressed, sick, nervous, and obviously when sleepy.
5. Rest, rest, and more rest…
6. A dark, cool, quiet room, and playing music that calms me…in my noise canceling headphones.
7. After a meltdown, I am usually drained of energy so depending on the situation – headphones and video games or cartoons.
8. Singing…Also, I have what I call ‘my safe media’. I usually have specific albums, YouTube videos, etc. that I watch to calm me down.
9. Food, meds, specific movies or television shows, activities that are fiddly and keep my brain and hands busy (creating)…
10. Sometimes I need food because my meltdowns are sometimes triggered or made worse by blood sugar fluctuations
11. Weighted blanket… and when the meltdown is really bad, I need my stuffed animal that I have had since I was two.
12. I always get cold after a panic attack so a blanket, water, a soft friend to hug.
13. Hydration, ice packs…
14. My cats… If I can’t be with my cats, then pictures of cats.
15. If I am with a specific person I find comforting, I welcome deep hugs or holding hands or some form of closeness, quiet conversation or even silence… comforting gestures such as running fingers through my hair…
16. Talking to someone I trust, about what happened, and being reassured that I am safe now, to be told I am loved and cherished no matter what!
17. Hugging a favorite stuffed animal and talking to it to get things off my chest that I don’t feel comfortable saying to a living person. I am in my 30s but even my counselor sees this as a good therapy for dealing with meltdowns.
18. Loud music in noise cancelling headphones, no talking and no people. Then walking in the woods in silence for as long as it takes.
19. I lock myself in my room and blast my music and do sorting of cards or play with my familiar games…while I cut all the other sounds that are going on in my environment.
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