meltdown

Meltdown: Informal. An emotional breakdown.

Bede had one tonight, and it was a doozy. We were getting ready to leave my parents’ house and he fell apart. Wouldn’t get dressed. Couldn’t tell me what was going on. He did manage to say “I DON’T WANT SHOES!!!” but nothing more specific. He sobbed, he wailed, he flailed, he moaned.

It was exhausting for everyone involved.

He kept scripting from his current favorite alphabet video, “Richard Scarry’s Best ABC Video Ever” “Oops, sorry Miss Honey! T is upside down! Waaah (sob!)” so maybe something was wrong like that. I don’t know.

He cried nearly all the way home. But when we got home, he was fine. He fell asleep about ten minutes later and is sleeping soundly on the futon.

I’m still a bit shaken. Whew.

8 thoughts on “meltdown

  1. Jaden did that constantly. We have had to buy a new pair of shoes, wear bob the builder sweats that he wouldn’t take off instead of his care bear costume so the screaming would stop, and just hear him scream all the way home from town because …I don’t know?
    I hope I can say it will get better. I know Jaden has ….about most things
    big hugs…I know how frustrating it is to not understand, why?

  2. This might have been the worst I’ve ever seen Bede get as far as being upset. And that’s saying a lot! He used to scream at us for an hour or more on any given day, but it didn’t seem so upsetting to him as this was.

    Sigh.

    Thanks Christy.

  3. (hugs)
    I remember those as my drinking days.

    Just remember, there wasn’t much you could change about it, you and Sean are the most respectful parents I know.

  4. When Jaden started out with the seizures it was when he would get upset. He would stop breathing and seize …I did whatever it took for him not to throw a fit or get upset about anything, and it didn’t work. He got upset at not getting upset? I suppose?
    Thank the lord no more seizures now *knock on wood* but the upset part continued although decreasing. Now it has started back but is based mostly on *others* getting upset or in trouble. Rob and I are not allowed to even slightly firmly say anything to a kid because Jaden just flips out and starts acting like the parent getting up in our face (or gut rather) and telling us to leave _____ alone. He does the teeth clenching grunting turning red thing and it doesn’t matter if the one getting in trouble is even bothered or not. Jaden is bothered for them.
    I don’t think I will ever “understand” what makes Jaden tick, and I definitely won’t understand what is going to make him go into an uncontrollable rage, but he has gotten a lot better in the last few years..really.
    Bede is around Ashtons age, no? so I’m thinking a couple of years younger than Jade. The last couple of years are the ones with the most progress. Hopefully that cycle will continue with bede.
    You know I think you are the most incredible Mama I’ve ever met, and there is no one on earth to live and learn with Bede than you.
    I’m always here even if you need to scream and get it out.
    ps look at the pic on my blog. typical Jaden faces

  5. For us, the 16th was stressful around here too, for no reason apparent to us. When we went to Heartsprings, she mentioned that a lot of the kids were having really bad days (they have a residential school) and they have noticed over the years that a drop in barametric pressure sets a LOT of autistic kids on edge and not able to handle things as well. I know Zane was on the edge of a meltdown most of the day, wasn’t able to focus and communicate, and had a doozy of a meltdown over (we think) a video game, of all things. He was scripting distress as well, but mostly just sobbed uncontrollably.

    It is SO draining to see them that upset and not only be at a loss of how to solve the problem, but how to even figure out what the problem is when they lose what little language they have.

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