Sunday, 01 January 2012
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Autistic Teens and Shaving
What seem like everyday activities to you and me, can be insurmountable tasks to someone with autism. Shaving for example is something most of us don’t think twice about. Guys that shave usually do it daily. For autistic teens both behavioral and sensory issues come into play making that routine shave…not so routine.
It’s possible your child will be able to handle shaving them self or you might do it for them. Either way there are some things you can do to help the sensory issues that autism inevitably brings to the table. Here are some tips that I found when searching the internet as well as talking to some that have been through this stage in their autistic children’s life.
If the choice is made to use an electric shaver find one that is quiet and doesn’t vibrate very much. If you can find a store that has a working unit to try you could test it out even before you purchase. Ear protectors are another option for use with electric shavers; it might help with overly noisy units.
If you need to shave your child, I watched a video on YouTube where the home health nurse put towels on the floor for the autistic young man to lay down on. That may also help with sensory overload. It allowed a safer way to shave him.
If sitting or standing for the process works, have something that keeps the focus off the shaving and on something else. If they have a special ‘soothing’ item it might be good to keep it close by so it’s handy if needed.
Play around with the shaving cream – if your child is an imitator this is the time to get lathered up with them.
Do you have any tips to add? Let us know if you have a technique that might help others as they teach their autistic teens to shave, or need to shave them.
I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog about shaving and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.
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About the Author
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- From: autismlearningfelt
- About Me: I am a WAHM, with two children. My daughter is 5 and my son is 10. My 10 year old son is diagnosed with Autism. I have a home-based business, www.learningfelt.com . Great creative and fun activities with felt for children. This blog is for sharing my experiences raising my son, product reviews, giveaways and sharing whatever items I find and want to share with all my readers. Read more at my blog: http://www.autismlearningfelt.com/
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Comments (7)
I hate shaving and I'm not even all the way aspburgers. I only shave once per week and this is only because if I go any longer my beard itches. I use a regular Mach 3 cartrige razor as I could not stand having anything electric close to my face. Also remember to shave after showering and while in the shower soak your beard.
I'm not autistic and don't have any diagnosed behavioural conditions but I clicked on this post because shaving is a real issue for me. I'm not sure if it's a form of mild OCD but I am obsessively thorough when shaving. I absolutely loath not being able to shave myself baby-faced fresh and sometimes I've even lost my temper whilst shaving because I can't shave as close as I want. I used to cut my face to shreds, obsessively shaving over and over cos I wasn't satisfied with the level of closeness I got. I have sensitive, pale skin but a dark, wiry beard: the worst combination!
These days I have limited myself to one shave per week and do all I can to make the process go smoothly. I take a long soak in the bath (the only time I bathe rather than shower) before hand, use facial scrub, sensitive skin gel and always use the most recent 4-5 blade razor. I absolutely despise shaving because of the stress it creates in me.... but even at 31 I don't get enough facial hair to grow a true beard, thus going unshaven for too long just makes me look scruffy, which is something I can't get away with in my line of work (teacher!)
I don't know much about autism so I'm not sure what would help. But I do find my paced, routine approach alleviates my stress somewhat.
Ear protectors don't help because the sound vibrates through the bones. I don't shave, but I do use an electric toothbrush, it's to do with pitch.
Gilette's vibrating razors are great because they get a nice close shave without cutting a person up and with little to no noise (if it makes noise, I can't hear it, but my hearing is pretty bad). I've never cut myself with them, so they're pretty awesome. As for shaving cream, plain ones are better. The fancy ones that make it so that your hair stands up makes it feel strange. I find that the women's version of barbasol makes for an extremely smooth shave so you can barely feel the blades at all. Hope they find something that works soon. Good luck!
I don't think that coddling and infantalizing autistic children is the answer. Are you going to shave them until they're 80? Let them live and learn; they might surprise you.
Our son is 13 and has autism and an amazing assistance dog - once Clive (the dog) is with our son, Murray is happy to try new things and experiences - shaving being just one of them. Several weeks ago Murray had his first shave - assistance dog by his side! Clive had been groomed earlier in the week - Dad had shaved a few minutes earlier and Murray wanted to copy and be just like Dad - with Clive beside him ....
http://assistdogautism.blogspot.com/2011/11/truly-momentous-day-in-house-of-clive.html
It was a truly momentous day in our house!
@anonimousewun@xanga - I agreed with your thoughts.Then I let my 17 y/o high-functioner shave himself while I stood with him coaching. He cut his lip so bad he had to take the next day off school because it would not stop bleeding!