Maintaining personal hygiene can be problematic for someone with autism. It might simply be that they don't understand the importance of personal hygiene or the social implications, and need reminding to have a shower, brush their teeth, wash their clothes etc. For some, there are also sensory issues to consider.
Bathing is an essential aspect of our personal hygiene. While baths are famous for their unique soothing effect, children with autism often find this activity challenging for a variety of reasons.
Create visual aids
A picture book guide can include images of important hygiene products such as soap, deodorant and pads. You can include a visual picture schedule of each step in their use. In addition, this book can help your daughter select the items she needs for a particular task such as a shower.
Children with ASD may be hypersensitive to smell. Some may experience it more intensely, while some may want to smell everything that interests them. Children may use smelling as a way of exploring their environment or as a way of becoming oriented and comfortable with a particular object.
There is a higher incidence of bedwetting in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). affect sleep. schedule of their bedtime routine that may include two trips to the toilet (see below), and social stories about what to do if their bed is wet when they wake during the night or in the morning.
Developing self-care skills such as washing and personal hygiene can sometimes be an issue for autistic people. Sensory differences, such as a heightened sense of smell or touch, can make washing an uncomfortable experience.
Nocturnal enuresis (bed-wetting) is one of many issues Aspergers (AS) and High-Functioning Autistic (HFA) kids face. In comparison, it is likely a less important problem, but a problem nonetheless. Many of these young people have trouble with nocturnal enuresis, because they have difficulty in toilet training.
Children with an ASD are not vigilant and do not look up to the caregiver for social referencing. They may not cling to the caregiver, although go up to them for succor. However, some cling to the caregiver because of extreme anxiety.
New research at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that people on the autism spectrum have different – and even opposite – reactions to almost imperceptible odors produced by the human body.
Everyday smells, such as spicy foods, scented shampoos or petrol, may overwhelm an autistic person and they may refuse to eat certain foods or go to certain places. Smells can be so overwhelming that they may display unusual behaviours to avoid that smell.
Your child may not understand the process of wiping. In addition to teaching wiping using a “hand over hand” approach, you may need to develop a social story and other visual supports to give the child the information he needs. If the child resists wiping, the toilet paper may be too harsh or otherwise intolerable.
The average age in which a child is successfully toileting was 3.3 years of age for children with autism in comparison to 2.5 years of age for children with other developmental disabilities (Williams, Oliver, Allard, & Sears, 2003).
Many children with autism take longer than is typical to learn how to use the toilet. This delay can stem from a variety of reasons. Many children with autism have a general developmental delay. That is, they simply learn new skills more slowly than other children do.
Children with ASD often need a hug, just like other children. Sometimes they need this much more than other children. But some children don't like to be touched. Respect their personal space.
There are some autistic characteristics that can lead to difficulties with learning to use the toilet (Wheeler, 2007; Coucouvanis, 2008). Some of the language and communication around toileting can be confusing. They may not understand what you are asking them to do or could take things very literally.
Excessive drinking of fluids occurs across the autism spectrum but despite the detrimental and potentially hazardous consequences very few studies of this phenomenon have been published.
Parents claim that vetiver, frankincense, and ylang-ylang are the most effective oils in managing emotional outbursts and aggression in children with autism.
In our previous work, we found that individuals with autism process tastes and smells differently from their peers. Furthermore, these differences may be related to their likes and dislikes of certain foods.
This is because many people with ASD may experience hypersensitivity and heat intolerance. Hypersensitivity can make the feeling of sweat, warmth, and uncomfortable clothes even more unbearable. While not everybody with autism struggles with this, hypersensitivity is a relatively common symptom of the condition.
Science fiction and fantasy are often of great interest to autistic people. Depending on their interest levels and abilities, people on the spectrum may learn every detail of a particular "universe," write their own stories, watch and rewatch movies, read comics, attend conventions, or even make their own costumes.
Due to its lower prevalence in females, autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component. However, research also suggests that the rarer variants associated with autism are mostly inherited from the father.
Communication challenges. Verbal communication is a challenge for some children with ASD. For parents of such children, communication is a problem that compounds the stress & anxiety of parents. Parents face the challenge that their child is unable to communicate their needs and wants.
Bedwetting (also referred to as nocturnal enuresis) is a common and distressing problem in the pediatric population. It is particularly prevalent in children who have autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.
Although most children on the autism spectrum eventually learn to use the toilet, the process may take a long time. The average age when children with autism become potty trained is 3.3 years, compared to 2.5 years for children with other developmental disabilities and 2.3 years for neurotypical children.
Children with autism will sometimes take off their clothes if they find them uncomfortable or distressing. While this is also true of typical kids, children with autism may continue to do so at a later age. Part of the reason for this is that they don't pick up on emotional cues as typical children do.