THOUGHTFUL RESPONSE
TO AGITATION,
ESCALATION AND
MELTDOWNS
Rebecca Klaw, MS, MEd
Based on the work of Dr. Ross
Greene (author of The Explosive
Child) and many others who
contribute to what is known about
autism and related disorders.
Part 1:
Understanding the
inflexible-explosive individual
WHY?
Common Characteristics of
Meltdown-Prone Individuals
• Difficulty managing and controlling the
emotions associated with frustration
• Difficulty thinking through ways to resolve
or cope with frustration
Common Characteristics of
Meltdown-Prone individualren
• Frustration often leads to cognitive
debilitation
–
–
–
–
Can’t remember how to stay calm
Can’t recall consequences of previous episodes
May not be responsive to reasons
May deteriorate even further in response to limitsetting and punishment
Common Characteristics of
Meltdown-Prone Individuals
• Low frustration threshold
• Frustrated more easily than others
• Low tolerance for frustration
• The experience of being frustrated can be very
intense, disorganizing and sometimes
overwhelming
Common Characteristics of
Meltdown-Prone Individuals
• Tendency to think in a concrete, rigid and
black-and-white manner.
• Persist in their inflexibility and poor
response even in the face of meaningful
consequences
Common Characteristics of
Meltdown-Prone Individuals
• Explosive episodes can have an out-ofthe-blue quality.
• May be particularly inflexible about one or
more issues
• May be especially inflexible when tired,
hungry or ill
Does this sound
like anyone you
know?
If people with an autism diagnosis fit
perfectly into this model of the inflexible
and explosive individual, what gets them
there?
Bad parenting – no!
Bad teaching – no!
Neurologically determined pathways – yes!
Pathways to inflexibility and
explosiveness
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
ADHD
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION DEFICITS
LANGUAGE PROCESSING DIFFICULTIES
MOOD
DIFFICULT TEMPERAMENT
ANXIETY
SOCIAL SKILLS DEFICITS
SENSORY INTEGRATION DYSFUNCTION
CONCLUSION TO PART 1
If you don’t understand the basic
characteristics that can cause distress
in a individual with autism, you might
think they are being “bad” or
“manipulative”, or “controlling”.
CONCLUSION TO PART 1
You might also choose inappropriate
techniques to manage these crises,
thinking that if you just keep piling on
consequences, you will win the battle.
CONCLUSION TO PART 1
But when you understand the
characteristics of the inflexible,
explosive and autistic individual, and
how these characteristics are
determined by neurological difference,
you realize that it is never a battle
where someone wins and someone
loses.
CONCLUSION TO PART 1
Becoming so frustrated that you lose
control of your body and of your
rational mind is distressing – for the
individual and for you.
No one ever, ever wins.
Part 2:
Understanding the stages of crisis,
leading to meltdowns
MELTDOWN
Demand
to shift
gears
ESCALATION
AGITATION
RECOVERY
AGITATION
Triggers:
Not getting what he/she wants
Not doing what he/she wants to do
Not being able to regulate to environmental
stimuli
Not being able to regulate to internal stimuli
AGITATION
All triggers represent a demand to shift gears…
Shifting to a new activity
Shifting away from a routine
Shifting attention away from something uncomfortable
externally
Shifting attention away from something uncomfortable
internally
Thought provoking research….
Susan Bryson and Reginald Landry at York
University and Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto have discovered that in children with
autism, there is a universal problem with
visual orienting. This is the most basic form
of attention. It describes the ability to move
one’s attention in space. It is critical for
survival.
They found that children with autism,
even those with normal or above
normal IQs, have marked difficulty in
disengaging attention.
When shown multiple TV screens, it is
hard for children with autism to stop
looking at one in order to shift attention to
the newer visual stimuli.

One of their conclusions….
 It is neurologically difficult to shift
attention if you are an individual with
autism. children with autism aren’t being
bad or non-compliant. They are being
autistic. This problem is not just a
problem for us. It seems to be a problem
for the children as well.
Escalating agitation…
Vapor lock
In cars, vapor lock is caused by excessive heat
that creates a bubble in the gas line. This
prevents gas from flowing to the engine and
causes the engine to stall. No matter how many
times the driver pushes the pedal or turns the
ignition, the car won’t start until it cools down.
Escalating agitation…
When our students are frustrated and their
agitation is growing, they are in vapor lock.
Frustration causes a breakdown in the capacity
to think clearly, causing him/her to become
overwhelmed and irrational.
Escalating agitation…
No matter how many times the adults
reasons, insists, rewards, punishes or
whatever, the individual can’t start
thinking clearly until someone helps
him/her cool down.
MELTDOWN
Dr. Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional
Intelligence refers to the meltdown phase
as “neural high jacking”.
MELTDOWN
Irrational
Incoherent
Destructive
Abusive
Out of control
=
A DEBILITATED STATE
MELTDOWN
What the individual does and says during
the meltdown is “MENTAL DEBRIS”
MELTDOWN
An escalating and deteriorating inflexible-explosive
individual is not a pretty sight.
Not for you
Not for others around you
And certainly not for the distressed individual
Part 3:
Reacting to agitation, escalation and
outburst
A word about consequences…
Individuals who are developmentally
compromised in the areas of flexibility and
frustration management usually:
• Lack the capacity to manage emotions
associated with frustration well enough to think
clearly in the midst of crisis
individualren who are developmentally
compromised in the areas of flexibility and
frustration management usually:
• Lack the capacity to manage emotions
associated with frustration well enough to think
clearly in the midst of crisis
• Lack the ability to shift their thoughts from their
agenda to your agenda even when faced with
very meaningful consequences
Think about these quotes…
“ For a consequence to achieve its desired effect –
that is, for a consequence to make it less likely
that a individual will explode the next time he is
frustrated – you have to have the faith that the
consequence you administered on the back end
the last time (i.e. following the last explosion) is
going to be accessible and meaningful to the
individual on the front end the next time he
becomes frustrated”
“Consequences can be very effective if an
individual is in a state of mind to
appreciate their meaning, but don’t work
nearly so well if a individual is not able to
maintain such a state of mind”
Dr. Ross Greene
So we are going to talk about other
strategies for managing agitated and
escalating behaviors
First, how do we know when the cycle of
agitation
escalation
MELTDOWN
begins?
What are the typical signs?
REFUSAL
NO!
Interventions
Proactive:
• Access to communication
• Access to choice
Interventions
Proactive:
• Predictability
Interventions
Proactive:
• Environmental adaptations
Interventions
Proactive:
• Analysis of common challenging
behaviors and the motivation
behind these behaviors
• Understanding that meltdown
behavior doesn’t happen “out-ofthe-blue” but happens for reasons
that are extremely important to the
individual
Interventions
Proactive:
• Utilization of strengths and special
interests as a mechanism for
teaching
•  quality of life
But sometimes, no matter how well you
set the stage, your students become
agitated
Reacting at the Crossroads
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Prioritize your demands
Level A demands
Level B demands
Level C demands
Level A Demands
•
•
•
•
Non-negotiable
Safety of self and others
Health
Basic life expectations
Level C Demands
• Not important
• May fly in the face of convention, but
not really matter
• Not important for that particular
student
• Doesn’t impact the a big picture
Level B Demands
• Important but not essential
• Level B demands are the stuff of
teaching
• Level B demands are most effective
when a student is available for new
learning
Level B Demands
• Level B demands can and should be
withdrawn or compromised if this is not
a good teaching moment.
• If you decide not to follow through with
a Level B demand because it is a rough
day for this student and you see him
growing agitated, that is a wise choice.
It will not cause the student to regress
or backslide.
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Empathize. Be the individual’s partner, not their
adversary.
I know you are mad. You are really mad that it is time to
go! It is hard to stop playing with that toy. I understand.
“When children are stuck in the red haze of
inflexibility and frustration, they respond a lot better
if they perceive adults as potential helpers, rather
than as enemies”
Dr. Ross Greene, The Explosive individual, p. 104
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Give time and space.
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Offer visual instead of auditory information.
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Provide support in a calm, non-threatening
manner.
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Offer to do the activity with the individual.
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
Try humor or surprise as a way of helping them to
switch gears
Interventions
Reacting at the crossroads:
For our more able students, try framing the
problem and getting them to help with a solution
UH-OH… WE HAVE A PROBLEM. I WANT YOU TO GET READY TO
GO HOME AND YOU WANT TO CONTINUE TO PLAY. WHAT
CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS THAT MAKES BOTH YOU HAPPY
AND ME HAPPY?
But sometimes, no matter how well you react at
the crossroads, your students continue to
escalate into a full-blown meltdown
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
Wait it out safely.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
Have one person manage the meltdown with
others nearby to help you.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
Isolate the individual. If he/she doesn’t want to
come with you into a safe spot, then move
others away.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
Stop talking unless your words have a soothing
effect.
Really.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
If the person is attempting to hurt himself or others,
including you, you need to use protective
measures so that you don’t get hurt.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
Once the individual has begun to calm down, you
might offer sensory activities if you know that
this is helpful in reorganizing the individual.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
Once he or she has begun to calm down, you
might offer something to drink or something to
eat if, and only if, you know that this will help to
calm and focus them.
Interventions
Beyond the crossroads, reacting to crisis:
You might offer to help the individual with calming
strategies that he/she has practiced during noncrisis times.
Interventions
Recovery (the long-term response):
Asking the question: What can we do next time?
Review the individual’s needs.
Review your proactive strategies.
Review the crossroads strategies.
Interventions
Recovery (the long-term response):
Setting up regular and highly motivating rewards
for the behavior you want to see.
Interventions
Recovery (the long-term response):
Social stories
Interventions
Recovery (the long-term response):
Practicing calming/coping techniques
Kari Dunn Buron’s books
Don't Pop Your Cork on Mondays!
The Children's Anti-Stress Book
Written by Adolph Moser
Illustrated by Dav Pilkey
Don't Rant & Rave on Wednesdays!
The Children's Anger-Control Book
Written by Adolph Moser
Illustrated by David Melton
Conclusion to Part 3
What you always do…
Respond to basic needs
• Communication
• Safety
• Predictability
• Sensory differences
Conclusion to Part 3
But if these don’t work on a given day or in a
particular circumstance…
Respond to agitation and escalation
• Prioritize your demands
• Be the individual’s partner
• Give space and time
• Decrease language
• Increase visuals
• Help the individual frame and solve the problem
Conclusion to Part 3
But if these interventions don’t work…
Respond to crisis
• Isolate the individual for safety
• Use protective strategies
• Wait, quietly, for the storm to blow over
• Assist the individual with calming/coping
strategies
Conclusion to Part 3
When it is long over…
Team process
Regular reinforcement for replacement behaviors
Social Stories
Teach calming strategies
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information with others?
Consider buying the DVD…
Go to www.rebeccaklaw.com.