What should I do if I see a child having a meltdown in a public place?

One of the toughest things that a parent or carer with an autistic child faces is when the child has a meltdown in a public place, maybe at an airport or a supermarket or in the middle of the street.

• Please be calm, please don’t stare, please don’t judge or offer random advice. I am not a bad parent.

• Please don’t talk to my child during their meltdown – they are overloaded already and you may make things worse for them.

• Please ask me if you can help in any way – that offer is more than words, it is a sign that someone understands.

• A smile would be great right now so we don’t feel judged and alone. We would welcome an “It’s OK” too, even if mouthed from afar.

• Please remember that we may experience this many times in a day and we know what works best for our child – we may ask for space, we may ask for time, we may ask for help to achieve this, we may not.

• I may have other children with me, please be my eyes and ears so all of my children are safe.

• If you can see I have bags and other things, please help me by offering to move them for me and to where we might be headed to calm down.

• Is a closed door blocking our movement to a safer, calmer place? Please be kind enough to hold the door. Do you know a quieter place? Please tell us! We need time to recover.

• We might not have the time to say thank you – but we will be thankful, every, single, time.