In this section:
1 Meltdowns and shutdowns. What are they?
2 Managing anxiety can reduce/avoid meltdowns and shutdowns
3 Energy accounting to help manage anxiety
A ♥ indicates images that follow are hyperlinked
What do the key documents say?
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1 Meltdowns and shutdowns. What are they?
♥From National Autistic Society
♥From Neurodivergent Lou:
♥1 1/2 min. video of young people describing what it feels like to have a meltdown
A couple of slides from our ‘Challenging’ Behaviours session.
2 Managing anxiety can reduce/avoid meltdowns and shutdowns
Some slides from one of my sessions as an intro. A relevant point to remind folks of is that it’s the prevalence and intensity of anxiety in the autistic population we should focus on.
♥From NAS.
♥and also the following article which includes articles written by autistic people the end.
Love this! It’s a framework I try to keep in mind when times are tough. From The Incredible 5 Point Scale
3 Energy accounting to help manage anxiety
Socialising (with family, friends, clubs, parties, school/college/university) is typically enjoyable for most people. It gives them a ‘boost’ and recharges their social battery. The opposite opposite is usually true for autistic people. Being with people can actually drain their energy, even if they are motivated to be with others which can lead to a vicious circle. This visual explains what can happen:
The more people they are with the more quickly their social battery runs out. Another visual to explain …
♥Great information and advice from the Autism Discussion Page
Teaching learners to manage their social energy is a step towards self understanding, self regulation and independence skills. An ‘energy bank account’ example from Facebook is a good way of doing this. This could even be adapted for very young children using photographs or pictures instead of text.
♥For younger learners, the concept of a battery may be easier to understand.
♥Here’s Purple Ella talking about how she manages her energy bank account.
♥I came across this on Facebook. It’s a resource to use with learners to help them plan for when things are tough.
♥Really useful visuals from NLC Communication Friendly.
♥The more one understands a concept, the more one is able to manage and be in control of it. Here are a few videos to help learners understand anxiety.
