Every teacher or parent working with someone affected by Autism has watched with trepidation as his or her child has ramped up to an out of control moment. You fear that your child will get hurt, or that something will get broken. You are concerned about the disruption to the classroom or household. These are very difficult moments that cry out for some help.

Having had an opportunity to watch the “pros” the first thing you see is that they protect the child. As with general first aid dealing with seizures and similar events they restrain the child and protect them. In turn this will minimize damage to the physical environment. The next step is to calm the individual. This is usually achieved with an enveloping embrace either sitting in a chair or on the floor and engaging in some form of deep tissue massage on the arms or legs and generally coupled with soft, soothing talk or other sounds.

The final step is to appropriately redirect the child’s attention. This is where other stimulation may be appropriate. Music, artwork, photos, and video may all serve as a focusing point. Anecdotal reports tell us that the Digital Aquarium is very effective as a tool for redirecting the attention of a person engaged in challenging behavior. The beautiful undersea video and calming music is a great resource and calming tool.

David J Cowan Sr.
Creator-Producer of the Digital Aquarium
Jupiter, FL