Xander's Autism Battle

Maybe the title of this post should be "The Swan Family Autism Battle".  Xander's behavior really affects us all.  Every winter he declines a bit, I'm not entirely sure why.  Maybe it's because he is confined to the house more.  Perhaps the dwindling daylight is too much for him.  He has more activities in the winter, such as Pre-school and it might be too much for him.  Whatever the cause, he's getting hard to handle now. He calls us "meanies" and "idiots" -- I'm not really sure where he got these words, he could have picked them up anywhere, I guess.  He hits, pinches, body-slams us, and is a little hyper-active ball of energy.  If he were an element, it would definitely be water, constantly moving and overrunning everything in his path.  And it's just about all the time.  There are brief periods of cuddling and hugs.  Sometimes he's exceedingly sweet and thoughtful.  He'll help his sisters with a project or comfort them when they're hurt and he always thinks of them when we're at a store, insisting on buying them candy or toys.  Then he has a meltdown.  It can be triggered by anything.  Sometimes we can't figure out the cause.  But the reaction is always the same.  He stomps around, hollering, hitting everyone he gets near, even falling to the floor and banging his head.  This can go on for hours.  Traditional discipline doesn't work.  His sisters loose toys, sit in time out or are redirected and this changes their behaviors.  Try these techniques with Xander and he either doesn't care...  Or goes into full melt-down mode.  It's tiring.  We're getting in-home support soon.  They'll help Xander modify his moods and give us new tricks to try that are successful for kids with autism.  We're also thinking of looking into respite care.  Did I mention he's only 4 years old??  I hope things improve soon...