From the ANM archive · Teaching Tuesday · Original social post: 14 July 18:44
🌿 ANM Teaching Tuesday
Let’s talk about one of the biggest misconceptions about autism, that meltdowns are tantrums or deliberate misbehaviour.
Autistic meltdowns and shutdowns are responses to overload, not attention-seeking or bad behaviour.
💙 Meltdown
• Loss of regulation
• Overwhelmed by stress or sensory input
• Not a choice
💙 Shutdown
• Reduced speech
• Withdrawal
• Difficulty processing
• Feeling mentally and physically “switched off”
✨ What helps?
✔ Reduce noise and sensory input.
✔ Use calm, simple language.
✔ Give space and time to recover.
✔ Support, don’t shame.
Every behaviour tells a story.
Instead of asking
“Why are they behaving like that?”
ask
“What might they be experiencing?”
Understanding creates safer, more inclusive communities.
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