Dirty face...
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| Mon, 05-21-2007 - 10:44pm |
Hi all,
Ok, this certainly isn't the most pressing issue in our lives, but it is something that we have to deal with constantly. My nearly 8 y.o. son always has a dirty face and I worry that kids will make fun of him for this. He has a tough enough time socially as is, and I don't want a visual reminder for the other kids that reminds them that my boy isn't a desirable playmate. I have reminded him until I'm blue in the face. I have put a little mirror in his lunch box, w/ tissues, etc. etc. I even tell him that he needs to keep his face clean because of how important it is for sanitary reasons and also for social reasons. He knows it, but he always forgets. He has a very high IQ, but as you know, he doesn't know simple day to day things that we do as social norms.
So, do any of you have this w/ your child? If so, how have you dealt w/ it? Even if you haven't, but if you're creative enough to think of something....I'd love to know about it.
Thanks!
Irene

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Wish I could help but we are still working on it with 11yo son. He just doesn't feel it that it is dirty.
We have at home taught him in an ABA fashion to use his napkin. That transfers some to school lunch if he thinks of it but not consistently. That old generalization problem. And I think it would look more socially odd to have his aide there cueing him to wipe his face than to have a bit of smootz on it. KWIM?
It also hasn't transferred to other places. For instance taking him for an ice cream, etc. I have to cue him there to use a napkin and often even end up wiping his face for him.
Slowly but surely they will learn the skill with lots of teaching and patience.
Renee
I have the same problems, but even more with getting him to shower and brush his teeth regularly. He fights me all the time. I ask him why he does this and I get a response of....
"It doesn't make sense to do this mom. Its a waste of time"
ARGHHHHH
No real help here either!
My DS (he's 3 will be 4 in July) just wipes his face on me OR the couch!!
I have to wipe my couch of the "silver sleeve" off of it. Nasty I know.....YUCK
nora
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/irishwildrose/pp2.jpg
OMG, I'm right there with you!
We have been able to make a routine out of regular hygeine stuff but it took a bit of work. More with Cait than Mike. Mike is KING of routine, lol. So once he learns and gets stuck in a new one we are golden.
He still comes home from school most days with his face dirty.
He takes a shower every night and has checklists for brushing his hair and teeth. It really works for him. He hates the old water on the face too but is pretty good about only flinchy a lot if I am quick about it. He does look awfully autistic about it.
Now we have the zit problem with both kids. Getting them to take care of their face has been a big issue. That any other puberty stuff, but we are getting there through use of routine and positive reinforcer plans/contracts. Slowly but surely.
Renee
Practise, practise, practise... Plus an awareness of how cute he is to girls, therefore interest in his hair and how he looks, lol. The bath thing is all about relaxing here, though, 'cuz my almost 10-year-old thinks his body odor smells GOOD, how like a guy! He's not really interested in deodorent, I have to push.
I think the biggest issue is really mine with how often and constant and calm the reminders need to be before they are integrated into HIS consciousness, but over time our ds does learn. And none of them seem to think what mom says should go just because!
But also most kids don't really care if they are dirty, except for over-sensitive kids the other way... C'est Normal.
Sara
I have the same problem with Eva (7yo). We call her Miss Messy only because the name Pig Pen is taken. She seems to think a good opaque layer of dirt and grime is the best defense against NT-itis. But that's a whole body thing.
When it comes to her face we have to prompt her to use a napkin, washcloth, etc. Though, DH and I have recently come to the conclusion that she may have a few OCD issues in regards to the washcloth. She has the biggest problems when it's a washcloth that's already been used, as in earlier that day, even if it was by her. Actually, especially if it was by her. She doesn't rinse and ring the washcloth out after she's used it, so by the time we heard her back to it a few hours later it's gotten... slimey. **sigh** Over the weekend when we took the kids clothes shopping we saw that Wally World had bath linens on sale in colors that wouldn't look horrindous in their bathroom. So we grabbed 24 washcloths and 2 new body towels (she refuses to use a hand towel and her sisters refuse to use the same body towel as her because she'll wipe dirty hands on it without a thought), and they're all for Eva. The old *good* washcloths are for her sisters' use, and now Eva has enough washclothes to use a new one every time... or until we can get her learned and practiced on how to rinse and ring the ones she uses. It may not be a good answer, but right now it's the only one we have the energy for.
Don't know if that helps, lol. BUt, I'm right there with ya!
~Candes
Both my 8yo AS ds and 12yo AS dd have this problem, tho' it's with both hands and face (and clothes usually, too). My 12yo is the worst and can be COVERED in globs of crud and not feel it nor care that it's there. We've only had a couple of appts with therapist so far, but this is supposed to be one of the issues they deal with over time.
One of dd classic covered-in-crud moments was when she's been doing paper mache in school about three years ago. When I picked her up for an appt, I went to hold her hand, and it was thickly coated in glue. I asked why she hadn't washed her hands. She had. She goes through the motions of cleaning herself, but since she can't feel it, none of the filth exists to her even if it's visually obvious. She is also a sensory seeker, so her hands are almost always in her food, so she is almost always coated in whatever she's eaten. It doesn't matter that we've been dealing with this issue every day, all day, for 12yrs. She still doesn't feel it or acknowledge it's a problem. What amazes me is that no one ever teases her about it, either.
I can go on and on in this. My son hates water on his face during shower. But in a pool he is always going to the bottom or mostly underwater. Beats me here. The washing hand is another story. With tons of handwash and so little water to make it dissapear is still hard for me to comprehend. The other day, I saw him couple of hours after lunch and I could see food particles all around his mouth dried up. So no solution here.
take care,
Anandhi
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