The Shower

It occurred to me that I havent ever talked about the shower and how we use it as an effective tool in our home-- For the Autistic child or person there are usually routines or rituals with most all activities at home and Showering is just a part of the daily routine--

I discovered that utilizing it as a "one stop shop" worker well in our home-- I have always referred to it as --shit shower and shave-- I know a little blatant but         IT WORKS   once the "personal needs"time occurs in the bathroom we go right into a shower routine--I have started by writing a a step by step guide of how to prepare the water with minute details such as diagrams of where the faucets handles should be positioned ,how to test the temperature all the way thru to stepping out of the shower and pulling the curtian back so you dont get tangled in it when you step out

Also included in this process I equip the shower with a soap by Johnson and Johnson that is in a mesh sack so he doesnt have to manipulate a washcloth and a bar of soap{a very difficult task for kids with tactile issues}Baby shampoo so when washing his hair there is no worry of burning his eyes and this is a BIG one the toothbrush and toothpaste one of the most difficult things to get our kids to do .  Kids with Autism have an extremely tough time with the dentist office and because of their diet often times have problems with the teeth--so brushing in the shower takes away a step that has to be done at some other time during the day and if youe child showers more than once a day then you get multiple brushingsin that way too!

I cant tell how much this has help streamline our situation at home-- it is a little more time consuming in one lump sum but the result is that it is hopefully done for at least 24 hours!