Calming Post Meltdown
🤲 Calming Post Meltdown 🤲 #IAmMe
When something triggers Dylan to have a sensory overload and often eventually a meltdown, how we handle things after the event matters hugely. Not only is it important for Dylan to feel safe, calm, in control again and recovered from that moment, it's also important that he can self regulate and understand what works best for him post - melt down/overload. Over the years we've learnt to follow Dyls lead and his indicators , as well as obviously trying out a variety of things with him to see what he personally responds to best.
Recently, after a particularly stressful incident for Dyl involving a very intense overload 🔇of street noise, car traffic and upset in the routine being changed ever so slightly on our way to collecting Ava from school, I tried something new with him to try and help him cope with how he was feeling.
💗 Sat in bed with his pjs on, warm and with his weighted blanket on him ( as requested by him), I gave him a smooth crystal to hold. Orange and with plenty of patterns to look at. He loved it. I told him it was his 'special stone' and when he was feeling angry, sad or 'busy in his head' he could hold it tightly and touch it and focus on breathing in and out and then counting for as long as he felt he needed to until he felt better. 💗 It worked beautifully!
I can't tell you how much this simple technique has helped Dyl. He asks for it whenever he feels he needs it and I even caught him holding it to his heart and telling himself he was alright. 😍 Sometimes he only needs to count to 3 and breathe, sometimes when he feels worse it's to 10 but the main thing is Dylan goes by how he is feeling and listens to what he needs.
💥And that is just wonderful!💥
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