tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441989712918579133.post8389178169325452345..comments2024-01-26T03:49:33.080-05:00Comments on Rarer in Girls...My Daughter with Autism: The storm has passedSuzannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08240262747073351481noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441989712918579133.post-27773883012656299672012-10-17T11:13:49.169-04:002012-10-17T11:13:49.169-04:00What great suggestions and ideas---thanks so much!...What great suggestions and ideas---thanks so much! It's very possible Janey is feeling the early effects of puberty. She has always had the meltdowns, but they seem a little different lately, as you said---more like sadness than just yelling and crying. I don't know how much she could understand about puberty, but I might try talking to her anyway, because you never know what she will get or not get. I often wonder if she has physical pain like headaches, and try to ask her, but she doesn't really answer. Or she'll repeat whatever say---"Does your head hurt?" "DOES MY HEAD HURT!" but it's the same whatever you ask!<br /><br />The idea about Janey controlling the music is wonderful! I use an iPod connected through my cassette player to play in the car, and I am going to look for a longer wire so it can reach her in the back seat. I tried today to see if it would reach, but it pulled the whole thing out! She can control the iPad at home, on a base, and it would be wonderful if she could do that in the car! I wish she'd tolerate headphones, but she won't, ever. <br /><br />I really appreciate your ideas and you reading the blog! Thanks!Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08240262747073351481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441989712918579133.post-2481960420761008372012-10-16T16:13:27.804-04:002012-10-16T16:13:27.804-04:00My heart goes out to you because my DD at about 8 ...My heart goes out to you because my DD at about 8 experienced these same type of emotional…"outbursts"? I hesitate to call it that because it wasn't all yelling. Sometimes it was a slow, sad meltdown. I tried to pinpoint as many sources as I could. I think I finally came to realize, in our case, that it was maybe the start of hormones? That there were these emotions coming to the surface that my DD couldn't quite put her finger on, but they were scary nonetheless. In an effort to see if this was the case, I talked to her, age appropriately, about puberty and changes in both body and mind. I think she had always grasped the physical changes, but she didn't put together the emotional changes. I told her about how when I was a kid, the emotions sometimes felt like a roller coaster - maybe invigorating and new, but also very scary. <br /><br />Coincidentally, I began to realize that she was very sensitive to pressure headaches from changes in weather. It seemed like the worst moods were on cloudy, overcast days. I asked her if she was feeling icky and many times she confessed her head hurt. Could that be the source of sadness/pain too?<br /><br />My only other thought is that maybe your DD would like to control the music in the car? I know it sounds strange, but we got some kind of device for my son (who is now 8 and NT) to control my smartphone's music feature. The music plays through the car speakers and gives him a sense of control (His issue is different - he hates rainy days and overcast skies cause huge anxiety episodes). I needed to be able to take his mind off the weather because we are in the car every day and his panicking and whining were sometimes distracting my driving!audballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17499068870667071905noreply@blogger.com