To put things in perspective, being with Juastre is a joy 90% of the time.
He enjoys so much of life and the company of others who feed him, hug him, jump with him, blow bubbles for him, play music for him, fold washing as it should be done for him, find lost toys for him and generally make his life as easy as can be expected.
You can see big Jos having fun on the trampoline here...
However, as Jaustre gets older and bigger, on those occasions when he gets really upset he has the potential to hurt himself and others. It is really important that, AS SOON AS Jaustre starts to show signs of becoming upset, you think straight away about keeping yourself safe.
These signs of upset are easy to notice - an increase in loud noises ("lo lo lo lo"), pacing and jumping up and down, Jaustre hitting his head with his hand or banging his head on a wall or window.
Try to keep your distance from Jaustre & make sure you don't get blocked into a corner. You can try to calm him by asking him to 'show me' (what Jaustre wants), to 'wait' using a digital timer, 'count to 10' or saying "Shhh".
If he tries to pull you by the arm, say "hands down" and wait for him to stop (do not let him pull you anywhere by the arm). If he pulls your arm forcibly, instead of pulling away from him (which makes your arm the rope in a tug-of-war) push towards him and then try to pull your arm away quickly through the weak link between thumb and fingers. As soon as you are free, move away from Jaustre to a safe distance.
If you need to protect yourself or Jaustre further find a safe space or room for either one of you and wait until he has settled. If Jaustre is really upset or angry DO NOT try to approach him to calm him down - we have tried many times with no success - the only thing to do is to wait until the 'storm' has passed... Certainly never physically try to move Jaustre in this stage...
Hopefully before long the problem will pass (it has taken up to 1/2 hour or so). Hopefully you will understand that Jaustre's disability makes life very difficult for him and that he is still learning to manage his emotions better. Jaustre never holds a grudge, please follow his example!
