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Smokingfilla
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01 Jan 2011, 5:49 pm

Well I personally don't have autism(atleast I don't think)BUT my younger brother does and he's starting to have serious tantrums lately and i was wondering what can be the cause?Yesterday our parents took him to the doctor to see if we could get any medication which was a success but it just doesn't feel right having him medicated you know.Plus he's actually one of the nicest kids you'll ever meet it's just happened up till some weeks ago he'll have a serious fit every now and then.We thought it may be sugars and caffeine since he's simply in love with chocolate so mom pulled him off but it just didn't seem like it was the solution.So all I wanna know is how can we help him if he goes through a fit and what causes a fit.I'm also curios to know how does it feel to go through a moment if it isn't asking too much



ben10scotland
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01 Jan 2011, 6:12 pm

Hello

are you talking only about temper tantrums or when you say fits do you mean epileptic seizures? [which can occur in some autistic people unfortunately]

read up on low GI foods, and try see if you can make him start eating them,

try him with something which releases sugar slowly in the morning, cereal or porridge [you can add raisins or whatever you want to that]

try limit his intake of milk chocolate, and keep him off caffeine especially if he is young.

the other thing is does he ever feel unwell after certain foods or does he have anything like eczema which may suggest food allergies

if he has started eating a food recently be it corn starch, wheat or any gluten containing food [or milk[ then try take him off them and see how he gets on - but don't cut out too much at once.

you could look at his diet more closely, keeping a food diary

options are

gluten free foods though these can be expensive
replacing chocolate with fruit eg banana, kiwi fruit etc
replacing milk with rice milk [I have "Rice dream., its about £1.30 for a 1 litre carton -its refreshing when cold, usually on a special offer in Tesco. [its in the long life milk section], doesn't need to be refridgerated until opened and when unopened keeps for a year or so.

Id be interested to find out what the medication was [Im a healthcare pro], send me a PM on here if you wouldn't mind -but your younger brother has a right to some confidentiality so don't identify him or be nosy.



Smokingfilla
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01 Jan 2011, 6:27 pm

yeah there trying to cut back on some of his treats but he isnt really too young if you mean kid wise he is 15 years. and when I said fit I meant like his tantrums.



pensieve
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01 Jan 2011, 7:03 pm

People with autism do not have tantrums for no reason. We have meltdowns that is caused by sensory processing issues or emotional stress.
Cutting sugar may help but will not get rid of the problem. It may be impossible to get rid of the problem. But to decrease them you need to find out what may be causing him emotional stress.

I still have meltdowns. I'm 25. The cause is usually stress from what people say about me or others like me. The exact same misunderstanding you have about your brother. So forgive me if anything I say here sounds insulting. The autistic brain thinks a completely different way to an NT brain. Many areas of the brain are affected by it. While you can probably rationalise your feelings an autistic person may not be able to. That's why I go for making noise and hitting things instead of saying 'what you're talking about is hurting me, please stop.' You realise that young children, especially those that can't communicate properly do the same thing.

So, in summary, your autistic brother is not having tantrums or fits. He is having meltdowns triggered by emotional stress or sensory processing issues. The stress can also make sensory issues worse. In fact stress can make autism symptoms worse. There's no harm in trying a healthy diet and exercise because I find certain food can have a bad reaction on me which also increases my stress.


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Smokingfilla
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01 Jan 2011, 11:07 pm

pensieve wrote:
People with autism do not have tantrums for no reason. We have meltdowns that is caused by sensory processing issues or emotional stress.
Cutting sugar may help but will not get rid of the problem. It may be impossible to get rid of the problem. But to decrease them you need to find out what may be causing him emotional stress.

I still have meltdowns. I'm 25. The cause is usually stress from what people say about me or others like me. The exact same misunderstanding you have about your brother. So forgive me if anything I say here sounds insulting. The autistic brain thinks a completely different way to an NT brain. Many areas of the brain are affected by it. While you can probably rationalise your feelings an autistic person may not be able to. That's why I go for making noise and hitting things instead of saying 'what you're talking about is hurting me, please stop.' You realise that young children, especially those that can't communicate properly do the same thing.

So, in summary, your autistic brother is not having tantrums or fits. He is having meltdowns triggered by emotional stress or sensory processing issues. The stress can also make sensory issues worse. In fact stress can make autism symptoms worse. There's no harm in trying a healthy diet and exercise because I find certain food can have a bad reaction on me which also increases my stress.


So you mean we can give him his sugars back?and yeah he's getting a brain scan this week anyway to see what is causing them.whats the difference between meltdowns and tantrums?


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wavefreak58
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02 Jan 2011, 12:27 am

Smokingfilla wrote:
So you mean we can give him his sugars back?and yeah he's getting a brain scan this week anyway to see what is causing them.whats the difference between meltdowns and tantrums?


This is oversimplifying it, but a tantrum is an outburst that is an attempt to manipulate. A 5 year old will scream in the store for a candy bar because they figured out that screaming in the store might actually get them one. A melt down is an outburst that is rooted in an inability to communicate what is actually bothering the person. The 5 year old is communicating "give me a candy bar or else I'll scream". An autistic episode is "I have no other way left to communicate but to scream".


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DandelionFireworks
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02 Jan 2011, 2:19 am

You have to figure out what's causing him. And meds aren't really the best idea in this situation. They're not even a good idea. Actually, they're one of the worst things you could do. (Murder would be worse, so, uh... yay for you, you haven't hit rock bottom?) It'll be something that's really hurting him. So figure out what it is. Sensory issues can occur any time with anything-- food, clothes, particular sounds (does one person speaking tend to precede a disproportionately large number of them? Or something like crinkling paper or the phone ringing?), sights (strobe lights, the color orange, bright light?), smell. Just being in people's presence can hurt, so you might try leaving him alone more. Particular people might be worse than others. Autistics might be better than NTs. Actually, maybe find a local adult autistic and see if they can come look through your house and point out what they think is overloading, or watch this kid's behavior and see if they can see the reasons more easily than you.

Mostly what you do while a meltdown is happening is... well, that's very individual. What works for one person may be the worst thing possible for another. But generally being left alone in a comfortable place and letting it burn itself out is a good idea. But not for everyone.

Wait, though. If this started a few weeks ago, what changed? Did you paint the house? Buy him a new toy, take a toy away? Move a chair an inch to the right? Hire a new gardener? Start serving something else for dinner?

What times of day do these occur?

I'd err on the side of assuming he's very upset and that it's reasonable. However, if these really seem random, it's actually possible that they're seizures.


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Smokingfilla
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02 Jan 2011, 3:02 am

DandelionFireworks wrote:
You have to figure out what's causing him. And meds aren't really the best idea in this situation. They're not even a good idea. Actually, they're one of the worst things you could do. (Murder would be worse, so, uh... yay for you, you haven't hit rock bottom?) It'll be something that's really hurting him. So figure out what it is. Sensory issues can occur any time with anything-- food, clothes, particular sounds (does one person speaking tend to precede a disproportionately large number of them? Or something like crinkling paper or the phone ringing?), sights (strobe lights, the color orange, bright light?), smell. Just being in people's presence can hurt, so you might try leaving him alone more. Particular people might be worse than others. Autistics might be better than NTs. Actually, maybe find a local adult autistic and see if they can come look through your house and point out what they think is overloading, or watch this kid's behavior and see if they can see the reasons more easily than you.

Mostly what you do while a meltdown is happening is... well, that's very individual. What works for one person may be the worst thing possible for another. But generally being left alone in a comfortable place and letting it burn itself out is a good idea. But not for everyone.

Wait, though. If this started a few weeks ago, what changed? Did you paint the house? Buy him a new toy, take a toy away? Move a chair an inch to the right? Hire a new gardener? Start serving something else for dinner?

What times of day do these occur?

I'd err on the side of assuming he's very upset and that it's reasonable. However, if these really seem random, it's actually possible that they're seizures.

Yeah my mom called a doctor some days ago and he said something about seizures but I honestly didn't know what he mean't. and truthfully I really don't know what could have caused all of this it's really stressfull honestly and the saddest part is I'm pretty sure it's worse to him.Now of course we don't plan on keeping him on medicine but it seems to put him in a peace of mind like he walks around the house more he smile more too,he's pretty much the way he used to be.It would also be nice to let him tire himself out but he's actually started hurting himself and since we don't have a padded room it just wouldn't seem safe. :cry:


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DandelionFireworks
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04 Jan 2011, 9:27 pm

Wait, what med? Are we talking seizure meds or a neuroleptic?


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Smokingfilla
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04 Jan 2011, 10:33 pm

DandelionFireworks wrote:
Wait, what med? Are we talking seizure meds or a neuroleptic?


It's just a mild "chill" pill guanfacine is what its called


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The poor long for riches, the rich long for heaven, but the
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http://www.soundclick.com/battlezonedtj