Autism 101 - How Changes In Structure And Routine Can Negatively Affect Your Autistic Child
Structure and routine are two common things that are needed in an autistic child's world. They have difficulties adjusting to changes and can become quite upset, and even angry when things don't go as they should. And these melt downs can make the change in routine even harder to handle. An autistic child survives on things remaining the same. Something as simple as day light savings time, when the external time is an hour off of their internal time, can create a nightmare for parents. Bedtime is now an hour different, meal times as well. Your child's body will be telling him one thing, while you're contradicting it, and telling him it's a different time. End result, a week or so of meltdowns as they readjust to the time. Another thing that can disturb them and cause a meltdown is something like a field trip in school. Instead of the regular routine they are expecting, the whole day turns upside down. While the other children are excited and ha...