Can Meltdowns be Mistaken for Anger Issues?

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I just wondered, whether before you knew you had autism, if you had meltdowns, people accused you of having anger management problems? I mean because they didn't know you had autism either, so they just presumed the anger issues?

My thoughts on it are this. Your mind is running all over the place, making you upset. A lot of meltdowns occur because of your mind racing. So it can be easily said that meltdowns occur because you are angry. Think of all the times someone got you angry and you just meltdown as a result. At least from my perspective, I do have anger management issues.

But isn't a meltdown when you feel overwhelmed? It is for me, and although the end result might be an angry display, it's driven by a sort of panic.

My nephew, who is nine years old, is going through this right now. He has just recently been diagnosed with Aspergers, but it has been a long process and there have been a lot of difficulties. His melt downs, which are largely related to anxiety, were interpreted by his teachers as anger and aggression. I believe that it is more probable that the adults around him did not know how to help him or did not have the resources available to do so.

I also believe that because of his age and temperament he doesn't understand what he is experiencing and has not yet developed the coping skills to deal with it. He is starting to be more aware that he is different from his peers and his frustration and anxiety are extremely high as a result. He has been moved around between three schools this year and is presently home schooled.

In my own experience as a teacher I have seen many students on the spectrum that had very intense, but non aggressive melt downs in adolescence. As they matured and developed coping skills, they seem completely different as teens and young adults. I wonder if this is a common pattern related to age/temperament/environmental support.

I actually had counseling for anger management issues when I was 14 but it was for my outbursts and actions at home only; I only lost it a few times in school. I mean, they were meltdowns, no doubt about that but I'm not sure how it'll end up relating to my diagnosis.

Yes I had a lot of amateur psychiatrist/psychologist diagnoses from co workers and almost had one go to HR because of my meltdowns.

People thought I was weak emotionally, because I cried all of the time (only a few years before diagnosis(age 12) though, I haven't always been like that).

I would cry at the smallest things, I don't think that it was that one small thing making me feel so upset, I think the bad was just building up over time, and one small bad thing just sent me over the edge. My brother is the same.

So people just assumed I was emotional in that sense, not angry though.

It took years for the adults in my life to realize that I wasn't
Disobedient
Defiant
Delinquent
Evil/possesed
Future criminal
Insane/disturbed
Not being disciplined at home

I got abused because of it, which lead to more meltdowns and subsequently ore abuse. I will never get over it.

I threw things as a child and yelled an screamed and I just thought then I was upset. Well I was upset but they could have been meltdowns. I remember getting frustrated in class and start to yell because I had a hard time with something. I just thought I was too sensitive. I am sure my school thought it was behavior issues because they said i had behavior problems.

I also had to learn to take deep breaths in therapy to learn to calm down. I just assumed I had anger issues and to me they are the same and anger can lead to meltdowns.