Non-Verbal Autistic Panic Experiences

[sistersister]

Hi everyone!

I'm posting here on behalf of my brother, who is 27 and autistic non-verbal. Growing up, he always used to get anxious and panic in the car when we stopped at a red traffic light (specifically, the lights that are attached to wires that sway). My mom would count how many seconds the light was red and it seemed to be distracting/calming. Still, he would sometimes unbuckle his seatbelt and try to exit the car.

He lives with his caretaker now. More recently, at a red light or a toll, he takes off his seatbelt, stands up in the car, screams, and tries to exit the car. This reaction arose during and now continues after a long road trip. Counting or otherwise trying to be calm doesn't change the reaction. I was wondering if anyone had any experience to anything similar, or has had these reactions before.

Because he's non-verbal, he doesn't talk or communicate often. My mom and I always thought it was about depth perception and he thought the light would fall on the car. Anxiety also runs in our family, as I have panic attacks about death or fatal injury myself. Any introspection would be greatly appreciated. The state system hasn't been very helpful in trying to find a way to help him feel safe in a car.

 

[Outdated]

I have no experience and no advice for this situation but I'm curious about it and I would like to find out more. I hope some people in here have some helpful suggestions for you.

My mom and I always thought it was about depth perception and he thought the light would fall on the car.

Do you know if he has poor vision? Probably not easy to diagnose if he's non-verbal. I was wondering if he can't see the cables that the lights are suspended from, perhaps to him they look like they're just floating in space.

I had a friend many years ago who's vision was so poor that they couldn't make prescription glasses for him, lenses that strong only come as contact lenses and so he really couldn't see very much until he turned 18 and was legally allowed to have them prescribed.

He said that on that first day when he walked out of the optometrists people must have thought he was on drugs. The first thing he saw was a parked car and for the first time in his life he saw that there were small gaps where the doors meet the car's body. Then he looked down and noticed that the bitumen was made up of lots of tiny little stones with black stuff in between them. He also saw power lines strung between the poles for the first time in his life.

 

[vergil96]

Maybe he feels trapped in the car, small closed spaces aren't exactly very pleasant, I hate the smells and stuffy air. Cars are loud. Traffic is loud. The car vibrates. Lots of anxiety triggers tbh, traffic makes me freak out sometimes even though I've been a driver for almost 10 years myself. Sometimes something is initially tolerable but as time goes by you get tired and here comes the panic attack. Time frame would fit that scenario. I don't know if there are any solutions to this. I guess he would open the window if he wanted to? Maybe listening to music on headphones could help reduce the noise and would be calming in itself, would help distract? Maybe he panics when the car stops, because the sensation of movement is calming and when it's not there, well, panic attack.

 

[Aspychata]

Maybe approaching a street light on foot, so he could see the cars approach, stop, then go. Maybe watch videos showing cars approaching street lights, then going. Then drive to the center of a block, walk to the sidewalk intersection and watch. If he is calm enough, then you could proceed to walk thru with a green light to the opposite side.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

Hi everyone!

I'm posting here on behalf of my brother, who is 27 and autistic non-verbal. Growing up, he always used to get anxious and panic in the car when we stopped at a red traffic light (specifically, the lights that are attached to wires that sway). My mom would count how many seconds the light was red and it seemed to be distracting/calming. Still, he would sometimes unbuckle his seatbelt and try to exit the car.

He lives with his caretaker now. More recently, at a red light or a toll, he takes off his seatbelt, stands up in the car, screams, and tries to exit the car. This reaction arose during and now continues after a long road trip. Counting or otherwise trying to be calm doesn't change the reaction. I was wondering if anyone had any experience to anything similar, or has had these reactions before.

Because he's non-verbal, he doesn't talk or communicate often. My mom and I always thought it was about depth perception and he thought the light would fall on the car. Anxiety also runs in our family, as I have panic attacks about death or fatal injury myself. Any introspection would be greatly appreciated. The state system hasn't been very helpful in trying to find a way to help him feel safe in a car.

I do not know but the universe is crazy at the moment maybe it had to do with autistics not liking being told no and stubbornness. I think maybe you just have to get someone to sit in the back with him and rub his back and find a way to comfort him and avoid as many of those traffic signs as possible and try to go another way if possible.
I am the same I get really aggressive if I do not like something or understand it.
And non verbal if that is not understood.
When I get really scared and stressed I can go non verbal too.
Even sometimes when I get social burnout.
Also maybe it is good to try to tell him that it will not harm him.