Autism Calming Strategies for Teenagers and Tweens
Some calming strategies for autism are usually going to work throughout a child’s lifetime. Some will not. This is to be expected for anyone, really. What works for us as a child, may not work when we’re an adult. What works when we’re a teenager may not work when we’re in our fifties.
Puberty does a number on any child, and our autistic children are no exception. Here are a few autism calming strategies for teenagers that can be modified from calming strategies for children.
Calming Strategies for Teens on the Autism Spectrum
When your autistic child starts to go through puberty, so many things start to change.
I’ll be honest, I’m not sure who was more unprepared for this — me or my daughter. But, it hit us as it does all children, and we survived. Mostly.
My daughter still has many of the same interests that she did as a child. She loves The Wiggles, Bear in the Big Blue House, Sesame Street, and Oobi. She still loves her bubble baths (the more bubbles the better) and many of the autism calming strategies we used in the past, we can still use now.
For some children on the spectrum, you can simply carry over the strategies that you’ve used in the past. For other children, you may need additional levels of support.
This is also a great stage to introduce self-calming strategies.
Self Calming Strategies for Teens on the Spectrum
If you have not yet tried self-calming strategies try one of these to start:
- Fidget spinners
- Music
- Therapy putty
Your teenager may also benefit from compression clothing or weighted blankets at this stage. Just remember that your child is now undergoing so many other things. Hormones are sending their system out of control. I don’t say this to scare you, just so you’re aware. Think back to when you were younger and hitting puberty.
Do you remember how difficult it could be? Now, just imagine how your autistic child must feel.
Kori
