Autism?

[peawee17]

I'm a caregiver to a 5 year old who constantly, while sitting rocks back and forth. He also bites his clothes and himself on his hands. He has meltdowns over the littlest things. He has now started blinking his eyes, usually one at a time, over and over again. He insists on eating the same thing everyday, and it has to be placed on his plate in certain way. He also has problems relating to other children, and is always hitting them. I would appreciate any advise on what I could do to help him.

[MJIthewriter]

I suggest you read my journals:

- Shopping at Walmart with autism, a true story (follow the link)
Describes a compilation of meltdowns I had when shopping as well as what helped trigger the meltdown, my feelings, etc.

- Extreme anxiety attack causing self injurious behavior.
Describes a breakdown I had when I got caught in an argument that caused me to start attacking myself. I broke it down into steps from feeling rather calm to how it progressed to the point of feeling out of control. There's a suggestion at the end of it to help prevent a future attack.

- What's it like to be autistic:
My attempt at describing my experiences. I'm trying my best to describe in a way that someone not autistic can hopefully understand.

- Things to take in consideration when communicating with an autistic person
Some suggestions I thought could be helpful. Some insights in there as well.

[mjthewriterdad]

Has he been evaluated?  Is he verbal?   What things cause his meldowns?  What things cause his self-injurous behavoir?  Is there a pattern?  Try to keep stimulus down.  Things like TV/radio/florescent lites (espescially if they are burning out and blink a lot), screaming.

I'm trying to figure out what your specific questions are.