Avoiding Summer Meltdowns

As you may know, my 5 year old, Liam, is autistic.  He's high functioning and has no physical impairments.  However, he does struggle with language delays, has social delays, is hyperactive, has difficulty transitioning from one activity or place to another and is prone to a daily meltdown when things don't go his way.  Summer is a particularly tough time for us.  Since my husband and I have to continue working and have pretty unique schedules, the lack of regiment and limited number of available, Liam approved sitters can seriously increase Liam's tantrums and hyperactivity.  For our kid, I've found that the best way to help him function is to provide as much physical and sensory stimulating activity as possible.  Thank God, he has a hyperactive fitness instructor for a mom...but even I have difficulty finding activities that can be done during the brutally hot southern summers.  Here are a few things we've done over the years and a few new things we've thrown in this summer that seem to help.

Sensory Splash Park- Even if we had a swimming pool, I often cannot commit the 2-3 hours of swim time that Liam requires anytime we put on the swim suit.   But, a giant tarp with a kiddie pool, a slip-n-slide, a few dollar store sprinklers and the mud puddles they create (yeah, that's a mud pie on his head) offer hours of entertainment.  I try to swap out the sprinklers and water toys every few weeks to keep it interesting.  The whole thing costs me about $30 per summer, not including the increased water bill...

Kickboxing- I know this one sounds odd, but when Liam has a tantrum, kicking, hitting, throwing and screaming are all part of the process.  In an effort to redirect some of these behaviors I broke out the heavy bag and gloves (which actually belong to my 13 year old daughter).  Now, a few times a day, he brings me the gloves...we punch and kick the bag and I assist him doing pull-ups from the top straps, all the while emphasizing that when we are upset we can hit/kick the bag, not Mommy, not the dog, not the wall, not the door, etc.  After about 15 minutes, we are both a bit worn out and can calmly go on with our day.

Cooking with the kiddos- Our new favorite activity is making pancakes (Liam pronounces it "cancakes").  Gluten Free pancakes with grated zucchini, that is... Liam pulls up his step stool, gets the eggs and almond milk out of the fridge, gets the grater and whisk from the drawer and counts the other ingredients as I place them on the counter.  It takes us about 30 minutes to make pancakes, a long time I know, but totally worth the next few hours of peace as he eats his pancakes and plays with trains.  He likes to help me make other meals too, but they almost always lead to another batch of "cancakes".  Whether it's scrambled eggs, a three course meal or brownies from a box, cooking with my kids always makes me smile.  It has proven to be a great way to avoid a meltdown, and get Liam to eat zucchini!



Other fun things you may or may not have thought to do....

Indoor camping- It's amazing how much fun some blankets, a kid size tent and a couple small flash lights in the living room can be.  On numerous occasions I have set them up for Liam and soon find big brother, big sister and/or daddy also cuddled up in the tent with their legs hanging out watching a pixar movie or playing flashlight tag.

Nighttime trampolining- It's not uncommon to find Liam and I jumping on the trampoline or playing on the swing set in the dark when the temperature finally drops to a cool 98 degrees after sunset.

Year round sparklers- On January 1st and July 5th, I try to stock up on sparklers from the nearest fireworks stand so that on those really tough nights we can go outside, watch the colors, practice writing our letters and just have a little fun before bed time.

Getting the mail- This may seem ridiculously simple, but all kids love getting mail.  For Liam, just the long walk down the driveway to the mail box is enough to get outside for a few minutes and possibly avoid a meltdown.  The occasional "Letter To Liam" with a drawing of Thomas the Train or a paper airplane sent from an anonymous pen pal is an extra special treat.

Acting Out YouTube Videos-  Liam likes to watch YouTube videos of Thomas the Train, then act out the show with his Thomas toys.  Since I'm not a great story teller and my creativity is usually limited to the kitchen, this is a great way for us to pretend play (a tough thing for autistic kiddos).  When my big kids were little, pokemon was THE thing, since they were so close in age, they could entertain each other for hours by reenacting battles and discussing the pokemon evolutions and powers.  By encouraging my kids to act it out, I feel less guilty about them being in front of the TV while I'm cleaning, cooking or working, and when I get a few minutes I can get on the floor with them and get involved in the story.  I've now learned the names of most of the Thomas characters, many of the Transformers, and more Pokemon than I care to count...