There
is a fact about tantrums and it says that not all
children display such behavior.
There
are various factors of such anger outbursts and
these include autism, ADHD,
mental health conditions, behavioral development,
environmentally contributed stress, temperament,
developmental stage, age, and fatigue.
The
parents' response to the temperament of the child
may also aggravate the condition.
Reacting too strongly
to stubborn behavior or readily giving in to the
demand of the child is a big no-no when dealing
the tantrums. Autism and tantrums are closely related.
Aside from
the fact that autism is a contributor to the behavior,
there is definitely nothing wrong with autistic
children displaying tantrums.
Despite this acceptable
medical fact, parents and guardians often regard
tantrums as a top problem in young autistic patients.
Children may act irrationally usually with heightened
fear, anxiety, panic, and rage.
These actuations
also involve distracting manners, like pushing other
children away, opposing contact with others, uncontrollable
crying, and screaming. Although quietly unavoidable,
these distracting behaviors are particularly common
among autistic children.
Parents find it hard
to prevent these disturbing actuations from happening.
In fact, biting, pinching, and hitting are inconsolable,
and may last for a long period. Panic, aggression,
and rage will continue from childhood, through adolescence,
and even until adulthood. Satisfaction or consolation
that puts an end to these tantrums hardly ever take
place.
The most effectual
and ideal way to handle tantrum behaviors is to
ignore the act. Parents must teach their children
how to express and manage anger. Parents or guardians
need to recognize the causes of the child's emotional
instability. Never blame, reprimand, or even shout
at the child. In autism, the best course to do is
avoid menacing and malicious responses. There is
always a reason behind every child's obstinate attitude.
Be patient, explore, and be understanding about
the challenges you are facing with your child's
behavior. The key is to give, not to give in.
As much as possible,
parents should mediate the behavior while the patient
is young to avoid the frequent recurrence of these
bad habits in the future. Autism demands open communication,
not tolerance. It requires gentle pampering, but
not sadistic approaches.
What Causes Disturbing
Behaviors
Tantrums
are very common among children. They start to occur
when the child reaches fifteen months. However,
these destructive behavior patterns intensify between
2 to 4 years. Children with no autism typically
rage when they are anxious, when they anticipate
something to occur in their favor, and it does not
take place immediately.
They get angry when
parents ask them to do something. Alternatively,
they feel upset when they cannot accomplish a simple
task, such as tying their shoelaces or buttoning
their shirts.
Most people might
regard autism as an abnormal condition, but young
autistic patients, like ordinary children, are also
prone to these frustration-triggering events.
To deeply understand
how autism affects tantrums and vice versa, parents
must need to look at how autistic patients act or
respond to stimuli. Like most ordinary kids, children
with autism also rely on rituals. They form these
habits as they grow.
These rituals then
become the building blocks of the autistic child's
structural behavior or commonly as the structure.
The structure is simply a method, a set of rules
that define how the child acts upon, responds, and
decides after a given stimulus. Like normal children,
autistic kids also experience difficulty and intensity
of the information they collect using their senses.
However, a lack of learning ability hinders children
with autism to react cognitively to their environment.
Overwhelming changes
in the environment and incomprehensible stimuli
cause disturbance in the structure of the child.
He may even feel uneasy with the subtle changes
that occur in his surroundings. Events, like waking
up at atypical hours, going to school in a different
way, going to school using the bus instead of the
car, or a hidden favorite toy are push button activators
of autistic tantrums. For a child with autism, the
world becomes confusing when things are not in order
anymore. The child has to decide between imposing
his own structure and responding to the changes
of his world. He thinks that he is right, but because
he is confused, he ends up in rage, either to catch
attention or simply to manipulate the situation.
Another likely cause
of challenging autistic behaviors is the lack of
communication between the parents and the patient.
When there is an expected change in the environment
of the child, the parents must explain to the child
the purpose of the changes. Parents then must teach
the child how to react accordingly and explain to
them the consequences when the child does not act
appropriately. On the other hand, the parents must
also learn to respond to the message of the child
through his tantrums. His tantrums may mean that
the child is hungry, in need of diaper change, or
wants to go to bed.
Recurrent Tantrums
A challenging behavior
of a child becomes disturbing when it frequently
occurs after the age of three. The behavior that
comes with autism is no excuse here at all. The
best way to prevent the recurrence of tantrums is
to apply a time-out. Time-out refers to the removal
of the child from the stimuli, allowing him the
necessary time to quiet down, and thus, teaching
him a lesson that tantrum is not a tolerable behavior.
The time-out approach
may not work for all children. However, parents
must take time to let their children learn. Interestingly,
most children eventually learn ways in handling
tough emotions that cause them temper tantrums.
Over time, they will improve their skills in communication,
learn independence, and be familiar with the advantages
of possessing these skills. If the child still displays
challenging behavior after four years, he definitely
needs professional help in dealing with his anger.
Unimproved behavior that starts or continues to
show during the first years of school is also a
sign of unknown issues. This may mean that the child
has difficulties mingling with other school children.
The best time to
talk to a specialist is when:
- Parents have serious
issues about their child's tantrums
- Parents notice
that their child continues to show temper tantrums
after four year
- The child turns
temper
tantrums into brutal behavior
- Parents are afraid
to hurt their child and do not know to manage their
child's tantrums.
Challenging behavior
patterns may also imply social, emotional, and medical
problems, especially if the child is developing
hurtful behavior. Hair pulling, scratching, biting,
and kicking are no longer typical tantrums. Check
for these other disturbing behavior patterns:
- Child breaks or
throws things
- Child inflicts
self-injury or bangs head uncontrollably
- Child's behavior
recurrently lasting more than 15 minutes thrice
a day
- Child does not
improve temper tantrums at his fourth year
- Child intentionally
hurts the people around him when his temper tantrums
strike.
When these destructive
behavior starts to develop, it is best that parents
send their child for medical treatment. This is
often the advisable option if you do not want to
hurt your child or if you have difficulties managing
your child's tantrums. Remember to seek medical
treatment if:
- Your child has
frequent and long-lasting tantrums
- Your child continues
to display stubborn behavior after 4 years of age
- Your child resorts
to violence or self-injury.
During these critical
times, parents need both professional advice in
managing tantrum episodes and direct involvement
in the improvement of the behavior. The best thing
that parents can do is make the environment more
comfortable for the child. You should allow the
child's structure to improve. Avoid disturbance
when the child is busy with a task. In addition,
allow your child to have his own space when necessary.
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