Is It Just a Tantrum?

Autistic children frequently display behaviors, including tantrums, which are confusing and upsetting for parents. Added to this, other people may see these behaviors as the result of poor discipline, and often blame the parents.

But is the tantrum the result of poor discipline, or could the cause be related to their disability?

It's a tantrum...or is it?

When an autistic child is screaming or throwing a tantrum, this child has very likely been over-stimulated in some way, whether it is too much noise, too many people touching him, too much visual stimulation, etc. They can only focus on one thing at a time, and unlike non-autistic individuals, they cannot filter through all the stimulus and focus on only one item while ignoring all others. For example, think of being in a department store. You see a friend, you stop, and you start a conversation. While the two of you are talking, a lot of people are walking past you, carrying on their own conversations, announcements are coming from overhead speakers, a child shouts for a parent, a cart with a squeaky wheel rolls by. As a non-autistic individual, you will be aware of much of this happening around you, filter it through your senses, catalog it as unimportant to you, and continue to concentrate on your conversation with your friend. For an autistic person, this can be impossible. Their brains get too confused from all this input, and it results in overload, a blow up. Thus the tantrum.

Helping your child regain control.

Your child will need to calm down, regain control. As parents, we can often help. There are several approaches to helping our children regain control. One of the more effective methods is providing a quiet spot away from the sensory stimulation. This can be a room, a quiet corner, under the blankets in bed - any place that will afford your child the quiet place he/she will need. My youngest son, when he became overwhelmed at school, had a small room he could go into, shut the door and stay there until he was able to regain control. My oldest son, who is 20, will occasionally have episodes where he feels overwhelmed. He doesn't throw a temper tantrum, though he has perfected his growl, but when these times hit, he will go to his room, pop in a CD and wrap himself up in his blankets in his bed until he feels better.

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