Everyone displays ‘behaviour difficulties’ at some time because it is a way of communicating what they are thinking or feeling. Those with Autism may seem to display challenging behaviour more frequently than other children but this is because they see the world differently.
They do not always understand social rules, may have difficulty expressing themselves and may struggle to cope with changes in routine and understanding how other people may be feeling, all of which can lead to very stressful situations for them. This, together with any sensory issues they may have, can be overwhelming for them to deal with and their only way to cope and to let you know that they are struggling is through inappropriate or ‘challenging’ behaviour (sometimes described as tantrums, rage and meltdowns).
Tantrums, rage and meltdowns can mean different things for different individuals but they usually occur in three stages which are rumble, rage and recovery (diagram below).