Meltdown vs. Tantrum There’s a common misconception that a meltdown and a tantrum are the same thing. Actually, the rationale for each one is quite different. A meltdown is an autistic person’s involuntary reaction to something they can’t control or understand. For example: “In class today, some guy kept rubbing two pieces of foam together. The sound made my skin crawl, and I lost it.” A tantrum, on the other hand, is a fit that comes from wanting something but not getting it: e.g., “What?! The karaoke bar doesn’t do reservations on Friday? Hulk Smash!”
