The external behaviour of tantrums and autism meltdowns can appear to be similar, but how can we distinguish between these two?
Let’s learn about the differences in this sixth episode of AskMeDoctor! Season 2, with Dr Foo Chee Hoe, a paediatrician from Dr Foo Child Specialist Clinic.
Q1: What is an autism meltdown?
Dr Foo: An autistic child is special. Autistic child or we called a child with autism, tend to have a different way of communicating.
They are usually very hypersensitive to their sensory input, which means that they can be very hypersensitive to brightness, lighting, sound, smell, and other sensory input.
So when a child is overwhelmed by too much sensory input, they are going to face sensory overload. They have no other choice but to intensively react. So, their reaction could be in the form of a physical reaction.
For example, by hitting someone, biting, and jumping. The reaction can also lead to aggressive behaviour. So, they will be crying very loudly, uncontrollably, and screaming.
It is an intensive reaction to sensory overload instead of being overwhelmed by themselves. They have no choice, they are not intentionally doing it and they are not actually in control.
We understand that autism meltdown is uncontrollable, so it could be anything or happen anytime in supermarkets like Tesco and Giant. Then how do we distinguish between tantrums and autism meltdown?
Q2: How to distinguish between tantrums and autism meltdowns?
Dr Foo: From a layperson who had no experience in managing children with autism, it can appear to be almost the same thing.
But, it is important to distinguish between these two, because the way we manage them is very different.
A tantrum can happen to any child. Usually, it happens when a child is very frustrated because they do not get what they want. So, there is some motivation behind it.
They have an aim, they are frustrated because the parents could not give in to them. They do not let the child buy something or do something that they want to, or they are just unable to communicate what is and what is their desire to their parents.
So out of frustration, they will throw a tantrum. They will also physically or verbally react, they will roll on the floor, make a scene, jumping, shouting, and crying loudly.
Then when the parent says no, they will go into a tantrum because they can’t take the ‘NO’ answer.
I think tantrums are the motivation behind it, they are trying to blackmail the parents or manipulate the parents into achieving something. There is a goal in mind.
The autism meltdowns are due to sensory overload and the child is overwhelmed, they do not want to react in such a way but they cannot control because they are very hypersensitive to certain sensory input.
For example, an autistic child who is very hypersensitive to loud sound, and especially when there is someone who is doing vacuum cleaning.
The vacuum sound triggers the child to an autism meltdown because there is a sensory overload of sound, which then the child has no choice but to intensively react to.
From the outside, it looks like both of them are behaving like they are getting a tantrum, but a child who is throwing a tantrum, they want to do or they want to get something.
They want to attract attention. While an autistic child who’s having a meltdown, he actually doesn’t want to go into a meltdown if he can afford to.
It’s just because there’s too much sensory overload and will cause them to melt down.
There is no aim in mind, he is not trying to manipulate the parents, he’s not trying to achieve anything and if he has a choice, he wouldn’t want to go into a meltdown too.
So, these are very two different things.
Q3: What is aggression?
Dr Foo: I think aggression, in the community of developmental paediatricians and expert parents in autism, they use the word aggression to define aggressive behaviour.
When you are violently and physically doing a reaction such as kicking or biting someone. So, in both tantrums and autism meltdowns, aggression can happen.
Stay tuned with part 2 to know more about tantrums and meltdowns with AskMeDoctor! series at Motherhood Story and don’t forget to catch up with a new episode every week on our Facebook page.