Sour Spray Autism Tantrums Away

Going to a wedding, a funeral, or an airplane ride with an autism child can result in a major tantrum. The problem is you want to (or have to) be there, but feel that it will be too much for your child. We found an item that can help.

Since our autism child wants mouth sensory input, our occupational specialist suggested Warheads Sour Spray Candy. We were surprised. It's not the usual suggestion for autism children. But it does not have gluten or casein, so we tried it.

We were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. During the middle of a special event, our autism child started to have a breakdown. All it took was one spray and the tantrum went away. We told him that if he was quiet, he would get another squirt. About every ten minutes, he'd ask for a spray. But he sat through the entire event.

We found that Warheads Sour Spray Candy is a good way to quiet down an autism child quickly. It has the added benefit of mouth sensory input. Lemon juice could also work, but it spoils, and Warheads Sour Spray Candy does not. It's handy, and keeps in your purse or pocket.

We don't recommend this for every tantrum -- only special events. Autism children will get wise to a sour spray reward for a tantrum. Other downsides are it's sticky and the cap can come off, so you can't allow the child to suck on the bottle. There has been instances of acidic sensitivity when consuming large amounts (like drinking it straight). But if you want to go to a quiet special event, this may be the only way to get through it without an incident.

We feel that if it is only used at special events, or places that we know our child will act up (like church, long lines or weddings), this is a great product. Warheads Sour Spray Candy is a temporary solution to a temporary problem. It would have been graded higher if it was sugar free.

Grade: C