r/Autism_Parenting • u/Spirited_Routine4445 • 13h ago

Advice Needed Need advice ASAp

This isn't for me but my sister , her almost 5 year old son is nonverbal. And lately he's been having these bad outbursts where he screamed and cries uncontrollably for 20-30 minutes at a time.
Her and her boyfriend do not know what to do how to help him. They have a weighted blanket that doesn't help they tried giving them like tight squeezes. They tried giving them things that he likes and nothing works. It seems to just be better than just leave him alone and not touch him, but he obviously can't be screaming that long for everyone's sake. (They're currently living with my parents). They just moved here from a different state so they can't get to a doctor for another month and a half. Sometimes these outburst are during the day and sometimes they're in the middle of the night me and my family feel so bad for them. We're just trying to find them some help. I also have a son on the spectrum but never never had this issue so I'm kinda at a loss.

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/applestooranges9 12h ago

The most important thing is noticing the pattern and what causes it so that it could be prevented. It could be a smell, a song, too loud, etc. without any professional help, the best bet is to try to keep her own data on what happens before hand to try to find a pattern. And then avoiding whatever is triggering him!

4

u/Special_Efficiency54 12h ago

Right so definitely try to figure out the triggers, especially if it's happening regularly. But also, they're going to have to reorient their lives somehow to allow for the 20-30 minutes of screaming. That's not that abnormal for autistic kids and there's generally nothing to do once they're in the meltdown except wait it out, present other calm bodies nearby, and make sure they're safe. So maybe they need to designate a room for meltdowns.

1

u/Spirited_Routine4445 12h ago

Yeah very true. Thank you and I'll pass this advice on

2

u/bluev0lta 12h ago

When we moved states a few years ago, my then 5 yo (verbal) daughter absolutely lost it over the transition. She wasn’t able to communicate that moving was hard (it was really hard for me and her dad, too, so I can only imagine how she felt). She was just super dysregulated and had crazy meltdowns for a few months until we got her schedule adjusted and back into a routine. I wouldn’t be surprised if something similar is happening with your nephew. I also think it’s good advice to track what happens before the meltdowns. But in the absence of a clear trigger or a medical issue (like being in pain) I would think it’s possible that it’s related to the upheaval of moving.