Autistic: The Importance Of Stress In A Person

Everything a person does throughout their life such as, schoolwork, make friends, talk, work as an adult, all of these factors can cause stress within a person. Every single person on earth has experienced stress whether it be because of work or something far worse for that person. A person who is autistic is impacted by stress by a majority of things and some are the same as a person who is non-autistic. Stressors for a person with autism are not being able to communicate the same way as others, not being able to do an activity at the same length as other people, not always understanding what is happening around them, and sometimes even their muscles won’t function properly which also causes stress. Stress therefore has a huge impact on an

They may start to exhibit signs of anxiety such as pacing, seek reassurance through repetitive questioning or physical signs such as rocking or becoming very still,” (http://www.autism.org.uk/about/behaviour/meltdowns.aspx). Although there being warning signs, a meltdown can not be stopped. Meltdowns are when the child has had enough of the stress and can no longer control themselves. Many impacts can be seen by the stress that is occurring to the child. Sometimes a person can mistake a meltdown as a tantrum. There are big differences regardless of the mix up such as, “A child having a tantrum has some control over what they do...With a meltdown, the child has completely lost control: they’re absolutely overwhelmed with distress and there’s nothing they can do about it,” (https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/understanding-autism/behaviour/meltdowns) this shows a significant difference in both a tantrum and meltdown. This can also provoke an even worse response because people who mistake the meltdown as a tantrum will not give the required attention to the child. Another thing

There are many techniques known to man that can help reduce stress for individuals who are autistic. Technology has been seen to help improve many people for example, “The iPad can do more than just help children with autism communicate; sometimes it can facilitate them to talk,” (https://newsela.com/articles/autism-ipads/id/4105/). The iPad is a perfect example of how technology is not only entertaining but also very helpful. This proves how there are many ways in which stress can be reduced for an individual. Although tech is a major helper, dogs can also be seen as an impact on this too. It is seen that ”... dogs can help autistic children in social situations and improve their daily routine,” (http://www.livescience.com/10166-dogs-reduce-stress-kids-autism.html). This is another coping mechanism that has proven to be efficient with the children. When a child is joined with a dog, their cortisol levels are significantly lower because the dog makes them feel more confident in what they are doing. Something else that is very significant is, “If a person has a particular “stim” or repetitive movement that helps them to feel calm then you should support them in this. “Stimming” is a coping mechanism and is a good sign the person is attempting to self-soothe,” (http://www.autismwestmidlands.org.uk/upload/pdf_files/1423836671_Managing%20Anxiety_Autism.pdf). This means that if the person is stressing out and they know it, then they can resolve the problem on their own