Being prepared for autism

Although I had read a lot of books and talked to different people and had some knowledge of autism myself, nothing prepares you for the sheer effort and consideration and determination that you need when your child is on the spectrum.

One of the things I knew I would have to do was behave differently with Johnathan than I had with hundreds of other children I had looked after, or helped look after.  I knew he would need stability in his childhood (never dreaming or anticipating Covid happening, but there you go).

Not only did I know that I would have to be calm and patient with Johnathan and be prepared for meltdowns, I knew that not many people would understand that or that it would “seem” like he got away with things, because the way of dealing with him was different to anything you would see or hear with a child not on the spectrum.

And yes, there was a time that I didn’t let him go to his grandparents alone because I knew they didn’t understand his meltdowns and weren’t able to deal with them.  But I’d like to tell you something – it’s not important.  Because quite honestly, not everybody can understand autism and deal with it, while others don’t understand the particular stage they are at in life.

There can be a lot of things that cause stress and lead to a meltdown.  Fact is, it’s hard to remember what is a temper tantrum or meltdown because when your emotions are involved you cat cross and anger yourself   The BEST (and hardest) thing to do is be calm and help your child out of the meltdowns.  Sounds simple, but I can assure you, it’s not!