Meltdowns and shutdowns

Meltdowns 

A meltdown is a situation where an event – or more likely a series of events – have happened that overwhelms that person and the result is an explosion of emotion. Meltdowns can look different depending on the person: they can involve furniture getting smashed, screaming, someone hurting themselves - hating themselves even more - or shutting down so it can look like they are asleep. When an autistic person is having a meltdown they often have increased levels of anxiety and distress which can be wrongly interpreted as frustration, a 'tantrum' or an aggressive panic attack.  

 Watch Ambitious about Autism’s Youth Patrons explain what a meltdown is and how to support someone when it happens. 

It's important to understand that meltdowns are not 'temper tantrums'. They are a reaction to a highly distressing situation or environment.  

While in a meltdown a person can be injurious to others or themselves because of the extreme state of anxiety their body is in. That's why it's really important to minimise the risk of this happening - both for the person and those around them.  

Meltdowns are physically tiring and emotionally draining for the individual. Frequently afterwards it leaves a person feeling self-blame or self-hatred. It’s best to lower demands on the child or young person, don’t expect to deal with something in that moment or be able to easily access the rational part of their brain, and give the young person space. If they scream at you not to talk to them, or they run into the room and asked to be left alone, it’s likely that that is what they need, and you can keep checking in on them (non-verbally at first until you can gauge what they can cope with) to show them you care and to check they are okay. Screens for some can be a good way to distract and recover.  

After they have recovered, show them you love them, and speak about how you can help them next time. Meltdowns can leave you feeling awful so it’s possible your young person may be feeling the effect days later. 

Shutdowns

Some autistic people experience shutdowns when a situation is overwhelming. Watch Ambitious about Autism’s Youth Patrons explain what a shutdown is and how to support someone when it happens.

An analogy for a shutdown is like a computer trying to turn on but it can't because there isn't enough power to do so. In a shutdown an autistic person might not seem themselves because they're so overwhelmed that their focus has shifted to the basic functions. As they are at a reduced ability to process what is going on they may struggle to communicate as they normally do, which can make communicating difficult.   

Watch Ambitious about Autism’s Youth Patrons explain what a shutdown is and how to support someone when it happens.

How to help prevent meltdowns and shutdowns

Spotting what has led to a meltdown so you can avoid it is the best way to help – but also being aware that the thing that triggered a meltdown may be small, but it’s the culmination of a lot of other stressors in the day. For example: if a child has a meltdown in the playground after some mild teasing, there may have been other more upsetting teasing or bullying that happened in the run up to the event.  

Modifying a child’s sensory environment will help – noticing what sensory difficulties they have and mitigating them by wearing ear defenders, avoiding noisy and chaotic places or ones with strong smells, or dimming lights, for example.

Visual timetables can be extremely helpful to lower anxiety – they help a person know what is coming ahead, as well as providing structure in a visual format that does not take lots of effort to understand and which you can refer to.  

It can be difficult and distressing to support someone during a meltdown, so have a plan. Perhaps have a calming box with favourite sensory toys and smells. Notice what your child wants when they are having a meltdown and what is calming and repeat those things the next time.

Allow the person the space to rest, recuperate and recover without placing additional demands on them. A shutdown can be like a reset for an autistic person.