Description

1 session – 2 CPD/CPE points

Firstly what is a meltdown? A meltdown is a common autistic characteristic, not to be confused with a temper tantrum.

When a child is in the middle of a meltdown, she can no longer hear anything that an adult is saying. Reasoning doesn’t work. She is driven by inflammation or emotions or patterns set in the past. In a meltdown she does not care if those around her are reacting to her behaviour. A common cause of meltdowns is giving multi-step directions but often the meltdown will happen and it can’t be predicted or a cause is not found.

Causes of meltdowns:

1. Sensory, information or emotional overload
2. Task performance demands too many demands = panic
3. Sudden changes or shifts in expectation
4. Intense frustration resulting from RIGID needs
5. Lack of communication skills, for example if non-verbal
6. Inflammation
7. Generational

When a child is having a tantrum they will sometimes look to see if their behaviour is getting a reaction. In a meltdown, the child is burning up inside and the job of the parent is to let the heat die down without getting burned in the process.

About the presenter

Linlee Jordan is the Director of the research organisation The Aurum Project, and the Harbord Homeopathic Clinic, she has been in clinical practice for 33 years working with families on the northern beaches of Sydney. Her special interests are still in the area of developmental delay and child behaviour, and especially the impact of these on family dynamics.

Linlee is the author of Challenging Children: Success with Homeopathy and she is a chapter author of the book Homeopathy & Autism Spectrum Disorder: a guide for practitioners and families.