subject: Addressing poor hygiene in an autistic individual [print this page] Addressing poor hygiene in an autistic individual
Good hygiene is an essential life skill. But for an autistic individual it is often a neglected skill.
An autistic individual may not recognise the need to up hygiene skills around puberty, the need for regular dental checks or tooth brushing etc. The individual with autism may not perceive their appearance or the social implications of neglecting their own personal hygiene.
Addressing poor hygiene in an autistic individual can be aided using visual supports, patience and understanding. For many parents, teachers and other professionals knowing how to support an individual with autism can be difficult and at time stressful. However this need not be the case, with visual supports for autism parents, teachers and others working with individuals on the spectrum can be aided.
It is understood individuals on the spectrum are generally visual thinkers and learners therefore making use of visual supports for autism is beneficial. One such autistic support is social skills stories.
Social stories shows individuals on the spectrum why and how to perform certain hygiene skills. A social story acts as a role model for the individual on the spectrum to follow; the social story will show visually as well as answer the "wh" questions who, where, why, when and what. It will also giving the autistic person an insight into the thoughts, feelings and emotions of others.
Social skills stories are normally written by experts in autism will follow a set pattern of sentence types, use first person language and are visually rich, can be edited, personalized and printed.
For parents, teachers or care givers needing help with addressing poor hygiene in an autistic individual using social skills stories for hygiene will be beneficial.
Social skills stories can be used for a vast majority of situations and sills the autistic person may be struggling with like making friends, having a conversation, shopping, getting a haircut, visiting the dentist, hospital etc.
To learn more about social skills stories for hygiene visit http://www.autismsocialstories.com/hygiene
Other social stories can be found at http://www.insideautisticminds.com
