Tantrum or meltdown? And what is sensory overload?

Toddlers and tantrums. The two terms go together like bread and butter. Or do they? If you are familiar with me at all, you know how much I LOVE brain science. Especially as related to early childhood development. And as I've veraciously read articles on the subject and closely observed toddlers and their big emotions over the last twenty years, I've come to appreciate that there is a difference between a tantrum and a meltdown.  

While they can look the same, they are different.  Having said that, the  relationship between the two is complex.  I had the opportunity to write a guest blog post on sensory overload for Chantal at Fun Sensory Play (I highly recommend checking her site out -- there are sooo many wonderful sensory resources!) where I go a bit more in depth on the who, what, where and why of sensory overload.  Understanding the difference between the two can ensure that our responses are on point offering.  You can check out my post here.