When the situation is resolved, the tantrum will end as suddenly as it began.A child who throws a tantrum will attempt to use the social situation to his or her benefit.A child in the middle of a tantrum will take precautions to be sure they won’t get hurt.A child having a tantrum will look occasionally to see if his or her behavior is getting a reaction.Here’s how you can begin to distinguish the differences.Ī temper tantrum is very straightforward: the child ddoes not get his or her own way and, as grandma would say, “pitches a fit.” This post will help you to distinguish the differences between tantrums and meltdowns.īelieve it or not, it really is possible to tell the difference between a tantrum and a meltdown once you know what to look for!
TANTRUM VS AUTISTIC MELTDOWN HOW TO
This is the second in a series about how to understand and work with severely challenging autistic behaviors.
Which do you think is a tantrum, and which is a meltdown? She is out of control, unsafe, inconsolable, and checked out. She has no regard for safety and complete disregard for her parent’s reaction. Olivia begins screaming at the top of her lungs and throwing things. I guess you know these sorts of days very well and you know what follows. One day, Olivia had not had enough sleep, she appeared to be getting sick, and she was not getting what she wanted. When she took a break from that, she would check for her mother’s reaction, gauging to see if her mother was going to give her what she wanted without using her PECS. She threw her bowl and banged her hands on the table. Periodically she would turn around and check to see if her mother was watching. She wanted more, so she simply started to scream at the top of her lungs. Olivia was sitting at her little dining room table her eating snack. The examples below may help to illustrate this distinction even better. The first are meltdowns that are caused by sensory overload, and the second is willful tantrums. However, could it be that not all episodes of screaming are the same? That they are not always trying to get their way? I think that there are two distinctions. We are becoming aware that behind the challenges of autism, many of these children are highly intelligent, are masters at using this intelligence to manipulate situations, and can use behavior to attempt to get their way. For the unknowing, non-autistic onlooker, it can appear that your child behaves badly and is probably in need of real parenting! One of the most widely discussed characteristics of autism is when your child becomes overwhelmed, inconsolable and totally out of control. Find out more about how Marci supports autism parents and professionals at Can you REALLY tell the difference between a tantrum and a meltdown? This blog is the second in a support series for parents by Marci Lebowitz, occupational therapist and autism specialist.
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