Autismkids
Member
The other day my son was on top of my daughter just pounding on her. As I walked over to get him I was very quickly debating my options. I will not say the final act, because it was rather mean, but both kid's safety were being compromised by his behavior.
What do you do when something has to stop, RIGHT NOW, and you know you have to go for the "shock factor?"
In my case, the options I had considered- Picking him up; He was likely to kick daughter on his way up. If I had yelled; It would have just made him even more mad. It wasn't safe to ignore this one. daughter wasn't in a position that she could go lock herself in my room. Any of these options would have ended with him destroying the bedroom, screaming for who knows how long, and kicking the walls.
In the end, DS was quietly crying on his bed (for maybe a full minute) then he played his nintendo ds for 15ish minutes, and came out of his room fine. So in the heat of the moment, protecting everyone's safety, my choice "worked." He didn't destroy his room, he didn't trantrum anymore. But it wasn't nice and not something I would choose had I been able to sit down and think about my options!
Separate situation but sort of related- During an occupational therapy evaluation when DS was about 2.5 he started having a tantrum. I tried holding him on my lap, but didn't do that great of a job and he managed to wail his head on the side of the table. That knock stopped the tantrum immediately. The Occupational Therapist (OT) even noted it in the report. He didn't cry, didn't get mad at me for holding him "wrong," just simply stopped and had his snack.
When he was 19 months old he was having a tantrum because he couldn't ride in his little car (with no language, I'm assuming this is it). We were walking out the door for work and daycare. He started screaming. He threw himself down on the ground and hit his head, and stopped cyring. I just ushered him back up without giving any thought to the head smack, as this wasn't the first time. So he starts walking in front of me and blood is pouring out of the back of his head! He required staple closures and didn't cry during the procedure.
Knwoing he has severe sensory problems, and sensory has to be takken into account even if the behavior is "brat-driven," what would you suggest for stopping a behavior in the heat of the moment?
What do you do when something has to stop, RIGHT NOW, and you know you have to go for the "shock factor?"
In my case, the options I had considered- Picking him up; He was likely to kick daughter on his way up. If I had yelled; It would have just made him even more mad. It wasn't safe to ignore this one. daughter wasn't in a position that she could go lock herself in my room. Any of these options would have ended with him destroying the bedroom, screaming for who knows how long, and kicking the walls.
In the end, DS was quietly crying on his bed (for maybe a full minute) then he played his nintendo ds for 15ish minutes, and came out of his room fine. So in the heat of the moment, protecting everyone's safety, my choice "worked." He didn't destroy his room, he didn't trantrum anymore. But it wasn't nice and not something I would choose had I been able to sit down and think about my options!
Separate situation but sort of related- During an occupational therapy evaluation when DS was about 2.5 he started having a tantrum. I tried holding him on my lap, but didn't do that great of a job and he managed to wail his head on the side of the table. That knock stopped the tantrum immediately. The Occupational Therapist (OT) even noted it in the report. He didn't cry, didn't get mad at me for holding him "wrong," just simply stopped and had his snack.
When he was 19 months old he was having a tantrum because he couldn't ride in his little car (with no language, I'm assuming this is it). We were walking out the door for work and daycare. He started screaming. He threw himself down on the ground and hit his head, and stopped cyring. I just ushered him back up without giving any thought to the head smack, as this wasn't the first time. So he starts walking in front of me and blood is pouring out of the back of his head! He required staple closures and didn't cry during the procedure.
Knwoing he has severe sensory problems, and sensory has to be takken into account even if the behavior is "brat-driven," what would you suggest for stopping a behavior in the heat of the moment?