8/13/2023 0 Comments Kreed autism meltdownEven if the autistic person is usually fine with being touched, it may still worsen upset during a meltdown. Many autistic people have sensory aversions to being touched, and being touched during a meltdown can cause things to escalate quickly. Don’t make a sudden grab for the autistic person.*.A meltdown is not something an autistic person does, it’s something that happens to them. If you try to explain how embarrassing or hurtful or angering the meltdown is as the person is having one, it will only cause trauma and make things worse. It is critical that you do not center yourself or your own emotions when a meltdown is occurring. I covered some of this in the article I wrote for the embarrassed parent. Don’t center yourself and your feelings about the meltdown.Your autistic loved one is already at capacity for how much sensory input they can manage, and yelling at them will send them right over the edge. Yelling may release your frustration for a few seconds, but it can devastate the autistic person, and it will lead to a worsening of the meltdown. I understand how overwhelmed you must feel when a meltdown starts to happen, but do not yell. Don’t yell at the person having the meltdown. ![]() So here’s what NOT to do when your autistic loved one is having a meltdown: However, I’m here to tell you that if you avoid doing the following during a meltdown, things will go much smoother, and you will be far less likely to make the meltdown worse and/or traumatize your autistic loved one. Us autistic people are startled by neurotypical people all the time because we both see and process the world so differently. If you’re neurotypical, and a meltdown occurs in front of you, you may get scared, embarrassed, and worried, and you may have the urge to flee the scene with your screaming autistic loved one in tow.įirst, these are normal human responses to being startled like this. And, it’s a good idea to get that education from autistic people (like me–and my autistic partner who helped me come up with some of these suggestions based on her experience working with autistic children as a paraprofessional). That’s why it’s important to educate yourself on what to do before they occur. His name was Kreed, and he left a mark on my heart.When your autistic child, student, or adult loved one is having a meltdown, it can be difficult to know how to handle it in the moment. They still matter.ĭon’t let him become just another statistic. Most of all, his life and his voice mattered. Kreed’s death is a tragedy, but his life was triumphant. That is the price autistic people pay when people dismiss us and misrepresent comorbidities as being part of autism. Kreed should be tasting his first beer and looking towards what he wants to do with his life, but he’s buried in the ground instead. He died a needless death because doctors attributed his difficult pain communications (flopping on the floor, violent meltdowns, confusion) as autistic behaviors.Īutistic people like Kreed are the reason autistic advocates fight so hard for better and accesssible medical care that doesn’t focus on neurotypical able bodied cisgender white men. He died a needless death because doctors who tested his blood years before his death said his red blood cells were a bit big, but it was nothing to worry about. He had a rare mutation with the MTHFD1 gene that literally nobody else in the world had. He died a needless death because doctors didn’t figure out what was wrong with his health until it was too late. He also had a number of food intolerances, so he had to avoid gluten, soy and dairy, as well as other foods. He was nonspeaking autistic (he used AAC) and had a number of medical issues like hypothyroidism, epilepsy, SCAD (metabolic disorder), Adrenal Insufficiency (his adrenal system didn’t produce cortisol), CVID- an immune deficiency, POTS/Dysautonomia, hypercapnia, central sleep apnea and severe peripheral neuropathy. ![]() He liked to be loud and bigger than life, and his presence filled rooms with energy and excitement. His dimples were adorable when he showed them. He had fun exploring the outdoors and generally being loud. ![]() ![]() Kreed loved to eat at Five Guys and could move it to music when the music was good.
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