This is one of my all-time favorite memes from Autism Odysseys.
Every time we go to the playground… every time I let Jonah play with other kids, I worry.
We are working on social behavior in large groups and for the most part, he has done fantastic lately…
But there is always “that” situation. Older kids are going faster than him and not waiting their turn… Kids are being too loud… Other kids want to play with something he is playing with (and intends on playing with forever).
Anything that causes dysregulation can lead to aggression and meltdowns.
I had to apologize to an entire family one time. Jonah did not want to go down the slide… and he didn’t want anyone else to go down the slide. He just wanted to sit at the top of it and bang his heels on the slide to listen to the sound.
Of course, other kids went around him… he screamed and slapped every single one as they did so. And of course, trying to get him down from there to leave when he was in that state of mind was …. not fun.
But, as Ausome parents, we WANT our kids to be able to interact with other kids appropriately… so sometimes we chance experiences like that in order to give them the opportunity to have a GOOD experience with other kids.
So, while other parents sit back and relax… we…
Well, we look like the little monkey on the bottom. š