Many children with autism experience sensory issues. When it comes to showering, sensory sensitivities can become overwhelming – some individuals may feel every water drop hitting them or be uncomfortable with the lights or noises from the shower.
While baths are famous for their unique soothing effect, children with autism often find this activity challenging for a variety of reasons.
Many children with autism are drawn to water for its calming, sensory experience. In fact, a 2015 study[1] found that children with ASD enjoy swimming significantly more than children without ASD. And while water can present a safety concern, water play and swimming also offer several benefits for children with ASD.
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.
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.
Considering this evidence for autistic people's different experience of touch, it is no wonder that autistic children may avoid touch or only engage in touch under certain conditions. It has been reported that autistic children engage in cuddles less than non-autistic peers (Baranek, 1999).
Facial expressions smooth social interactions: A smile may show interest, a frown empathy. People with autism have difficulty making appropriate facial expressions at the right times, according to an analysis of 39 studies1. Instead, they may remain expressionless or produce looks that are difficult to interpret.
Individuals with autism stand out in creative thinking
Autistic people have the ability to think in an abstract way, and they tend to provide solutions to problems in a different way than everyone else. Individuals on the spectrum are often described as people with the ability to think outside the box.
An autistic child's physical appearance is normal. She may not like to be touched or held. She may have strange, repetitive behaviors. She may seem to be in her own world and lack interest in other people.
However, the parenting and child development experts do seem to mostly agree that parents bathing with children is normal and healthy up until the child begins to show discomfort or the parent themselves begin to feel concern.
Hair washing
Lather the shampoo into your child's head using deep pressure as this is likely to be more tolerable. Use a visual support to show them how many times you will rinse their hair using a jug (or similar), or use a timer to show them how long you will use the shower head.
Try having your child put everything that is on their floor in a pile on their bed. Then direct your child to put one thing at a time away. Clearing the floor and putting everything in one place gives your child a space they can look at while they clean that is not so stimulating.
As you've seen, living spaces can become extremely cluttered when a person has trouble parting with his or her favorite “stuff.” It's also very common for people with autism to become extremely distressed if others rearrange or throw away their items.
As noted above, the ASD group reported significantly higher thresholds for both warmth and cold detection, consistent with reduced sensitivity to thermal stimuli of both types.
Many autistic people have intense and highly-focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, postcodes or numbers. For many younger children it's Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs or particular cartoon characters.
Autistic people may display a range of strengths and abilities that can be directly related to their diagnosis, including: Learning to read at a very early age (known as hyperlexia). Memorising and learning information quickly. Thinking and learning in a visual way.
People with autism often speak with a different rhythm, prosody, and/or volume than typical peers. Thus, even if the words themselves are appropriate, they may sound flat, loud, soft, or otherwise different. It's not unusual for people with autism to "script" their conversations.
Myth 1 – autistic people cannot make eye contact
This is well known but factually inaccurate. Whilst many autistic people struggle to make eye contact, some are able to, so don't assume someone who identifies as being autistic won't be able to meet your gaze.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.
People with autism may get easily attached to people, leading them to become over-friendly. It can be difficult to understand other people's perceptions of situations, therefore what they feel is appropriate, may be considered as socially unacceptable.
Yes, it's normal for autistic adults to talk to themselves occasionally. Many people on the autism spectrum like to review conversations to themselves for numerous reasons. This can include repeating lines from their favorite TV shows or movies, and this is known as "scripting".