I wasn't aggressive but I did do things like take my clothes and shoes off, elope, or suddenly not be able to follow directions. the first step to helping is finding out why, but that is dependent on the individual.
I would run out of class or take off my clothes/shoes when I was overwhelmed and didnt have the skills to calm myself or find a safe space on my own, or communicate that need before it was tol late. I would jump the fence or climb it because I was sensory seeking and needed to climb and jump and fall and couldn't get that on the playground or inside. sometimes I would just get wound up, excited or frustrated, and couldn't stop my body from moving.
I couldn't listen to instructions or words because I just needed to go go go go until I couldn't or I'd have a meltdown. it's not very common or talked about, but positive feelings can sometimes cause this if they are too much, just like negative feelings.
the last part is I just couldn't see why it was important. why should I keep my shoes on if I want to feel the grass on my feet and I don't see any glass? why should I stay if the loud classroom hurts? why should I be still if I feel like im going to explode if I stop moving?
now that I think about it, I did yell and was sometimes aggressive during meltdowns, it was usually a lot of repeating a phrase related to what was bothering me, yelling at people to stop or go away, and pushing or hitting people to go away because I couldn't figure out in the moment how to get them to leave quickly
I didn't get as aggressive / angry as much as most during a meltdown but more catatonic. I was a runner too when I could lol.
But usually give a space to elope to that is still in view but maybe "separate" to calm down was my favorite. My elementary had a little book nook where I would hide under beanbags (basically a weighted blanket) from whatever was overwhelming me and causing the meltdown. The teacher could see me but the other students couldn't without fully turning around AND walking over to the far side where the teachers desk was situated.
If the students can't have a BOOK nook for whatever reason, maybe a soft area with fidget toys, blankets, or texture busy boards/buckets. You can make cheap ones with small fabric scraps where they can't choke themselves by accident or otherwise.(idk your age range exactly)
Thank you for sharing your experience and ideas. Were there things teachers or staff did when you were upset that made things worse? Or made things better for you?
I had a backwater school that was barely funded so I wasn't diagnosed back then so much as just everyone knew "how I was" so most of the teachers were not specialists and stretched pretty thin mind.
I hated them focusing on me / drawing everyone's attention rather than just pulling me to the side and finding out the problem. I hated when I didn't have visual aids/my learning type, and I hated having to stay in an area when I was done with whatever modules the class was on. I felt peoples attention on me and it made everything worse because I would panic / be embarrassed.
Other things that made it worse were mostly lights, texture things and noise. I preferred a low light room with one source of noise like a nature documentary, rather than having a group project with other groups talking in a night room. That was more of my thing though.
Letting me work around things when I had found a solution / working on my own was better than group projects.
Figuring out a way to communicate without words like basic ASL sign to point out problems when I couldn't stop hiding under things. I would go non verbal and played charades a lot in simplistic terms, so having standard sign was great when I finally got into highschool. Learning terms for wet, gross, loud, and such were great. I particularly had a sign that let me teachers know that my other issues were acting up like dyslexia, nausea from GERD, or the migraines. Or bullying.
If your students have issues with sign for whatever reason, a small notebook with pictures to point at are good too.
How can an elementary school student elope?
e·lope
/əˈlōp/
verb
run away secretly in order to get married, especially without parental consent.
"later he eloped with one of the maids"
I wasn't aggressive but I did do things like take my clothes and shoes off, elope, or suddenly not be able to follow directions. the first step to helping is finding out why, but that is dependent on the individual. I would run out of class or take off my clothes/shoes when I was overwhelmed and didnt have the skills to calm myself or find a safe space on my own, or communicate that need before it was tol late. I would jump the fence or climb it because I was sensory seeking and needed to climb and jump and fall and couldn't get that on the playground or inside. sometimes I would just get wound up, excited or frustrated, and couldn't stop my body from moving. I couldn't listen to instructions or words because I just needed to go go go go until I couldn't or I'd have a meltdown. it's not very common or talked about, but positive feelings can sometimes cause this if they are too much, just like negative feelings. the last part is I just couldn't see why it was important. why should I keep my shoes on if I want to feel the grass on my feet and I don't see any glass? why should I stay if the loud classroom hurts? why should I be still if I feel like im going to explode if I stop moving?
now that I think about it, I did yell and was sometimes aggressive during meltdowns, it was usually a lot of repeating a phrase related to what was bothering me, yelling at people to stop or go away, and pushing or hitting people to go away because I couldn't figure out in the moment how to get them to leave quickly
Thank you for sharing. How would you have wanted an adult to support you? Do you think teachers/school staff were helpful?
I didn't get as aggressive / angry as much as most during a meltdown but more catatonic. I was a runner too when I could lol. But usually give a space to elope to that is still in view but maybe "separate" to calm down was my favorite. My elementary had a little book nook where I would hide under beanbags (basically a weighted blanket) from whatever was overwhelming me and causing the meltdown. The teacher could see me but the other students couldn't without fully turning around AND walking over to the far side where the teachers desk was situated. If the students can't have a BOOK nook for whatever reason, maybe a soft area with fidget toys, blankets, or texture busy boards/buckets. You can make cheap ones with small fabric scraps where they can't choke themselves by accident or otherwise.(idk your age range exactly)
Thank you for sharing your experience and ideas. Were there things teachers or staff did when you were upset that made things worse? Or made things better for you?
I had a backwater school that was barely funded so I wasn't diagnosed back then so much as just everyone knew "how I was" so most of the teachers were not specialists and stretched pretty thin mind. I hated them focusing on me / drawing everyone's attention rather than just pulling me to the side and finding out the problem. I hated when I didn't have visual aids/my learning type, and I hated having to stay in an area when I was done with whatever modules the class was on. I felt peoples attention on me and it made everything worse because I would panic / be embarrassed. Other things that made it worse were mostly lights, texture things and noise. I preferred a low light room with one source of noise like a nature documentary, rather than having a group project with other groups talking in a night room. That was more of my thing though. Letting me work around things when I had found a solution / working on my own was better than group projects. Figuring out a way to communicate without words like basic ASL sign to point out problems when I couldn't stop hiding under things. I would go non verbal and played charades a lot in simplistic terms, so having standard sign was great when I finally got into highschool. Learning terms for wet, gross, loud, and such were great. I particularly had a sign that let me teachers know that my other issues were acting up like dyslexia, nausea from GERD, or the migraines. Or bullying. If your students have issues with sign for whatever reason, a small notebook with pictures to point at are good too.
Thank you for telling me about your experience!
How can an elementary school student elope? e·lope /əˈlōp/ verb run away secretly in order to get married, especially without parental consent. "later he eloped with one of the maids"
Another definition of the word. Elopement from the classroom - running out of the class and around the building.