![]() ![]() She would become distracted and try to avoid it, then try the activity again when the researchers offered her a toy-but even though she wanted to finish the task, she “seemed disoriented … and could not continue.” This girl experienced shutdowns when asked to do a difficult academic task. She began homeschool after struggling in kindergarten, and the researchers were able to observe her shutdowns in the homeschool environment. Loos is a case study of a six-year-old autistic girl. Shutdowns and Stress in Autism by Ingrid M. ![]() Let’s look at an example of what a shutdown looks like in one child with autism. For example, someone’s verbal skills can regress during a shutdown Loss of skills: the child may start to forget simple tasks or behaviors he/she is normally good at.Irritability: he/she might be in a worse mood than normal if he/she does respond.Unresponsiveness: the child may not respond when others try to communicate with him/her.He/she may look like he/she is “zoning out” Inability to move: alternatively, his/her body could go completely still.Retreating somewhere else: he/she may try to leave the area to go somewhere quieter, darker, less crowded, etc.Extreme exhaustion: the child may be very lethargic, try to lie down, or even fall asleep right where he/she is.When your child has a shutdown, he/she isn’t ignoring you or misbehaving-his/her system is entering survival mode because of overwhelming stress. Just like an overworked computer might shut down to protect its circuitry, some people shut down to handle a situation that’s become too much. Let’s discuss what exactly a shutdown is and how you can help your child manage one. Shutdowns aren’t as explosive as meltdowns, but they’re still hard for a child to experience and for parents to understand. ![]()
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