BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Your Child is Having a Neuro-Crash
What It Is, How to Spot It, and Ways to Prevent It By Raun K. Kaufman IF YOUR CHILD OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM HAD AN ENTIRE ASPECT OF THEIR EXISTENCE PEOPLE WEREN’T SEEING, WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT? WHAT IF KNOWING ABOUT IT COULD UNLOCK—AND UNRAVEL—THE MOST CHALLENGING OF YOUR LOVED ONE’S BEHAVIORS, REACTIONS, AND CRISES? WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF NEURO-CRASHES.
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hat is a Neuro-Crash? It’s what happens when the imposed situation overwhelms your child or adult’s brain, so their coping mechanism shuts down. (We’ll get into why I use the term “imposed situation” in a bit.) You’ve probably had your own version of a Neuro-Crash at some point (many points?) in your life. Have you ever felt so completely overloaded and overwhelmed you just couldn’t take it anymore? Have you ever unexpectedly shut down, burst into tears, or lashed out at someone? These are signs of
a brain that has reached its boiling point. A brain that has hit a wall. A brain that has simply had enough. And guess what? Almost every instance of an extreme behavior or reaction on your child’s part is due to them having a Neuro-Crash. In fact, undiagnosed Neuro-Crashes lead to escalating, ongoing crises in the home and school. Understanding what causes Neuro-Crashes is the only way to prevent them. However, there is an elephant in the room blocking our ability to do this.
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