I need help with my little man..

I HAVE A 7YEAR OLD WITH DOWN SYNDROME. HE IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. LATELY HE WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME OR ANYONE AROUND HIM. HE YELLS AT ME. I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY HE IS GETTING SO MAD. HE KNOWS HOW TO TALK, HE IS FULLY POTTY TRAINED. IF I DONT LET HIM DO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO WHEN HE WANTS TO DO IT HE GETS REALLY MAD AND JUST YELLS AND DOESNT LISTEN AT ALL. IM NOT SURE WHAT TO DO. IM A SINGLE MOTHER AND HE GOES TO HIS DADS EVERYOTHER WEEKEND. I ALSO HAVE A 5 YEAR OLD THAT COMES OVER ON THE WEEKENDS HE IS HOME SO THEY CAN SEE EACHOTHER, AND HE SEEMS TO LOVE IT. I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG.

[fung]

hi,
I saw your boy's picture and he looks adoreable with his innocent smile.
My son is 9 now and doing great...I love him so much and stay with him every second.
About  'doesnt want to listen' behaviour, I had that too most of the time. DS child's behaviour  same  like any other normal child and they each has a uniq personality and all you have to do is to know him.
My son, he doesnt like hearing   loud sound- loud TV or loud music,etc .
It means, told him to do something in raised tone or loud voice wouldnot result anything . So, when he insist on doing something I didnt agree,  I   would hug him instead ( although i was really angry), saying in a very calm voice, stroke his head gently..and wait a couple minutes (sometimes more).. usually works for me.

[GoldenMomSSC]

My son reacts negatively to loud noises, crying, etc. as well.  If the sound is too loud,, he begins to have behaviors which are oftentimes physical.  I've had to learn to quiet the environment, use a calm voice to get him to comply, and give him time to process what I am requesting and this usually works well.  At minimum, it reduces the level of the behavior.  Sometimes our kids take a minute to process information so wait him out a tad bit.  Also, as the other parent has stated...be very aware of your tone and volume.  I hope this helps.  You are not alone.  

[martikadragoon]

TJ's only 14mo old but I have noticed that if there is a loud noise he'll begin to fuss/cry. He's very tempermental lately, and I know it's just him testing his limits. We use sign language w/him and if I sign NO he will stop and just look at me (and usually resume the behavior unless we destract him)

They all have their own personality, and I really like GoldenMomSSC's suggestion to wait him out a bit. TJ sometimes takes a couple seconds to respond to something I say or sign.

[bubbaboy]

thank you to everyone.. bubba is the same with loud noise.

[Calamity2]

Redirection is good. Like the hug idea. I have had many children here in my home with the scream for what I want behavior. One little dude has autisim. He had been screaming in markets, museums home or where ever for years. Until..... I made a new rule for children enjoying my attention. NOBODY EVER GETS WHAT THEY ARE SCREAMING FOR.  Well this one little dude screamed for about the first 10 visits or more to my home. But finally he realized that I always mean what I say. The kids don't hate me for it they love me because I respect them and I expect respect too. If they can't use thier words then they need to stay calm and I will work with them to understand what it is they are saying. Help him feel a part of what you are doing. If you need to do housework or go to the market. Give him some part in it and talk about what you are doing.