Lockdown has given me a great opportunity to observe (and also struggle with) some of the behaviour patterns of my little AD, who I adopted as a single parent 3 years ago. She is now a bright, funny, deeply caring and imaginative 5 year old little girl who is doing very well at school.
However, I am struggling with episodes of dysregulation that lead to a set of behaviours - very loud and persistent chatter often complete nonsense, inane loud laughter, being very loud, can't listen, endless talk about 'bottoms' and anything else she perceives as funny /rude, copying what I am saying, physically restless etc. These sometimes happen in anticipation of transitions, even small ones like going upstairs to get dressed or finishing a meal, and sometimes happen when she has not had enough exercise or is hungry / tired but other times there doesn't seem to be an obvious trigger. She is a bright little girl with a thirst for knowledge and I sometimes wonder if it happens when she is bored - but I have to be realistic that I cannot entertain /interact with her from 7 in the morning until 7 at night without getting other stuff done in the house, and having a break. It is always worse at home, and very rarely happens when we are out.
Although these behaviours are probably more frequent in the past few weeks, and I know they are partly a reflection of her anxiety at the current situation, these behaviours are not new. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to them, I can go several days without them, or a day like today when it has been pretty much all day.
I have tried holding her close but this makes it worse and she really doesn't want It - wriggly, giggly, rude. I have tried offering her a quiet space where she can go to calm down but she doesn't seem to want this either. Occasionally leaving her alone can switch it off e.g. letting her get dressed by herself, which she can now do. I have tried 'wondering' about how she is feeling but this is often inflammatory as she will argue that she is definitely not feeling this. The only thing that reliably stops it is to put her in front of the TV, but this isn't always practical when we need to get out of the house, get dressed and I don't like to rely too much on screen time to regulate.
We have a pretty predictable and consistent routine at home, and I always give her countdowns to transitions, although I sometimes wonder if this makes it worse as the anticipation of the transition is almost worse than the actual move.
These behaviours seem to trigger me very quickly, 'push my buttons' and I can sometimes find it difficult to stay calm. Interestingly, it does seem that a quick shout from me very quickly turns off the behaviours quite often, but I don't really like shouting.
Any advice for managing this gratefully received. I am aware that this is a small issue compared to the challenges of others, but having a more consistent way of managing this would make a real difference to my confidence (and sanity after recent weeks!)
Thanks in advance
