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.
Maintaining personal and social hygiene is also difficult for them, which is why teaching people with autism the importance of cleanliness and organization also becomes crucial. This is because the autistic brain tends to get easily distracted - or rather, focuses on tiny, specific things instead of the bigger picture.
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.
Many neurodivergencies, like ADHD, autism, some mood disorders, and psychotic disorders, can impact executive functioning and organization, which can make spring cleaning particularly difficult.
Heightened Sensory Issues
Here are some things or conditions that may trigger your autistic child's heightened senses during bath time. The feeling of water on the skin, hair, or face. The sounds of splashing and running water. Water temperature and water level in the tub.
A bathroom (and especially a shower) can be a scary place. The bathroom tends to be a more sterile environment than most other rooms, and many have bright lights. On top of these considerations, a shower is an enclosed area – which, for many individuals with autism, can be uncomfortable or overwhelming.
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.
Sensory Issues
Many people with autism experience sensory processing disorder. This is more commonly known as sensory overload. Noise, crowds, bright lights, strong tastes, smells, and being touched can feel unbearable to someone with HFA. This makes going to restaurants, movies, and shopping malls difficult.
A common trait among children on the autism spectrum is the dislike of grooming and personal hygiene. Personal hygiene is often a very sensitive topic to discuss with a “resistant” Asperger's or high-functioning autistic child like your son.
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.
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.
Visual supports can include schedules that use words, pictures or both. Schedules can cover your child's whole hygiene routine – for example, shower, wash face, brush teeth, put on deodorant, brush hair. Or you can use schedules for just one part of your child's routine, like showering.
Remember, kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are visual learners, and sometimes they have difficulty remembering all the steps of a particular job and sequencing those steps in the right order for the desired outcome.
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.
Teaching your child to use the toilet correctly can be a difficult task, whether they are on the autism spectrum or not. But if your child is autistic, the process of developing a toilet routine can take longer, and involve its own particular challenges.
However, they look up to the mother or caregiver for social referencing and hover around or cling to the caregiver. 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.
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.
Individuals with autism can also have an aversion to touch. Touch can cause a lack of emotional response or may even cause emotional stress and turmoil.
Kids with autism experience “deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to the absence of interest in peers (DSM-5).”
Low functioning autism refers to children and adults with autism who show the most severe symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder and are diagnosed as having Level 3 ASD. They are usually unable to live independently and require support from a guardian throughout their lives.
Level 3 ASD, formerly known as low-functioning autism, is the most severe form of autims. People with level 3 autism require very substantial support.
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).
It is easy to see why many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are captivated by water. The number of stimuli associated with water hits all the senses! The feel of water, the sounds of waves and splashes, the visuals of light reflecting off the surface, and even the smell can all be so enticing.
For some people with autism, wearing diapers can be a normal part of everyday life and sensory issues may cause challenges finding the supplies and diapers autistic people will tolerate. That is why it is so important to have access to the latest information about the best incontinence products and supplies.