Too much of a good thing

We went to the beach for what was supposed to be relaxing and great sensory input. Doc loved it the last two times we went. Now that school is out there are more people sharing the beach. Doc was fine for the first ten mins, then she started stimming. A little voice in my head said "Repetitive movement = too much change" Thank you, Danny from Asperger Experts! I asked her if she wanted to go sit for a bit, she agreed that was a good idea. She began to fuss and then "shut-down", I could tell there was a meltdown about to happen. I asked her what was bothering her, she didn't respond. So I gave her a few minutes. "Maybe she tired?" Horsey said. I didn't think so. After some time Doc answered my question very quietly. "Everyone here is really big and I'm tiny." She said. "There are tiny kids her too, see!" Horsey said as she was pointing to little kids running with sand pails. "No, I don't want friends, I want them to leave! The extra amount of people was the problem. Then she started asking to leave and go home. So to be fair to the other kids I told everyone we had 10 mins and then we had to leave. Doc sat on my lap for that 10 mins "people watching". Three, Two, One times up! I said as I started packing up and headed to the car. By now everything was bothering Doc. Door didn't open fast enough, kids were in her way, straps in her seat were twisted and her towel wasn't folded right. Just then that little voice in my head said "Needing to control is also part of too much change." I took a deep breath and calmly buckled her in. She calmed down on the way home.
You never know what to expect on any given day. All you can do is know the signs, remove them or find a "safe place", and reassure them their ok.
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