Oh and the PEC'S system helps. It's communication throw pictures. It's also used for routes/ schedules.

My son is 9 yo ASD and nonverbal, he has a lot of melt downs, but they have come down with age. My husband and I notice if we talk to him/ prepared him, letting him know what we are doing before we get to the location he does better. Also he has a hard time with crowds, so go to a restaurant, we ask to sit in a corner and if possible away from a lot of people. For noises, ear muffs (for loud equipment) helps. It filters out a lot of noise. Sometimes putting his hood up on his sweatshirt helps. I thinks it makes him feel more hidden.
I hope I have giving you some ideas. Good luck and remember your not alone.

I wonder too if it's the lights. Have you tried sunglasses? We can easily take my son to Aldi's but Wal-mart and Dollar General are a problem. I can usually take him clothes shopping (for me) if he has something to keep him occupied like my phone. Wal-mart and the box stores are the biggest problems though so I try to avoid taking him at all costs.

My son used to meltdown in stores everywhere! I found out later, as he got older, that he is sensitive to the lights, all the people, the noise and the large spaces. For a while he would spin around in a circle at the cash when I would go to pay. I asked why he did this and he said because "Shopping makes me dizzy!" He does not spin anymore, now he sort of loses focus and gets tired really easily after shopping.

As she gets older it should get better and MyZettel has very good suggestions. Time limits and increasing exposure slowly work very well. My son responds much better when he knows what is going to happen, although it took time and as I said, got better with age.

Wishing you all the best!

Heather

Trying to figure out meltdowns can be a long process. The usual suspects are: 1. Frustration, 2. Tiredness, 3. Sensory overload, and 4. Hyper-sensitive to criticism.

From what you describe, (4) might be the cause. This is good, in a way, because it means she cares what you think.