Taking Multi-Vitamins

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Autismcc Yahoo Group Responds!

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Topic: Fear of Shower

A parent asked for advice about her toddler who used to love all water activi= ties and now has developed a panic fear of going into the shower.

Jen replied,

My son used to scream it hurt him to shower - the OT told me to take that very seriously, the same as my daughter hating to give kisses. She said it would hurt her. Physically, = it does. I began using the Wilbarger brushing protocol to help with this= on both of my children. You have to be trained by a TRAINED OT - do not = do this by yourself. But I have seen a major improvement. My son w= as like a bull in a china shop - constantly hugging too hard, play hitting too hard, crashing too hard....the brushing helped. In any case, my son tells me it is= the spray of the showerhead that actually hurts, so is that a possibility.=

Nicole offered,
My daughter is 3.5 and on the spect= rum she went through what your daughter went through loved showers and then one= day just started freaking out about it, so I just let it go and would leave the bath room door open when I would take one and when she came in would show h= er how mommy was ok, she now will take showers again, sometimes will freak out= but is doing better she went through the screaming phase for at least 6 months.= She used to also freak out with the rain and just the last 4 months will actual= ly walk in the raining without crying. I made walking in the rain a game about finding puddles, and then told her the shower was raining. Maybe something = like that would work or just wait it out.

Dawn said,

She may have gotten soap in her eye= s or the spray hit her funny. Regardless of

what happened the goal now is to ha= ve her look at the shower and bath in a different way. Make it fun.

You might surprise her by setting up the bathroom like a beach with towels on

the floor, some cheap beach blow up toys and a small bucket. But some new bath toys. She might just sit on the floor and pour water into various toys inside the bathtub and next time run= the bath without her near (just a few inches) and have her play and give her a = bath that way. Then work towards the shower.

Also with the beach theme you might= try having both of you wearing bathing suits

and getting in the shower together = and just splash around. Shield her body from the showerhead and test out the sh= ower water hitting her in various places. She may have developed a sensitivity f= or the water hitting her on the head or face for instance.

It is possible that she got water in her ears at one time. That is= a weird feeling and it can be painful too.&n= bsp; You might try ear plugs.

Finally, this could be a sound issu= e, especially if you see her holding her ears. My son hated the loud sound of = the toilet flushing for a long time. The sound of all that water might be too m= uch. If that's the case I would switch to running the bath without her in the ar= ea and having her come in when the water is ready.

Marie added,

Try lots of things--the beach party idea is good. My kids loved bubble baths until they were about 8--NT sons and my ASD son, too. Fill the bath before she gets in the = room and use a toy pail to rinse her off. Be gentle and quiet with the pail--don't just dump the water over her head. There are lots of bath crayo= ns, finger paints, etc. (all soap based) and toys that could coax her in so she could become used to it again.

My ASD son would have bathroom fears every time we moved--and we moved three or four times during his childhood. Each time, we had to get him comfortable in the new bathroom. My husband and I would wear our swim suits and hold him (gently) under the shower until he was comfortable in the new house's bathroom--it usually took about a week. He seemed to want to hold us = and be comforted until we could show him there was nothing to fear. T= he last time, he was on a Special Olymics swim team, so being afraid= of water was not an issue, go figure!

Sometimes even our NT kids have fea= rs that don't seem rational. Two is prime time for nightmares and other fears so even if she is NT, this is "normal" for that age.

Joan said,

My son, now 4 1/2, went through a similar period. In addition, he would not sit down in the tub unless there = was no water in it and barely tolerated being in

there at all. On the bright side, n= ow he LOVES the shower and the bath. It could be a fear or physical discomfort= - both are very real to the child. My advice, wipe them down with a washcloth= for now, how dirty can they be anyway? Then play in the kitchen sink with bubbl= es and cups and then move it to the bathtub - with you and her fully dressed a= nd outside of the tub. Eventually she may want to wash a doll or toy in the tub and eventually may want to start putting in one toe at a time, literally.

Susie replied,

My 8 yr old with Aspergers didn’t care for the shower when he was 2-6 yrs old. I talked wi= th an adult with Aspergers and he told me that he remembers that the shower fe= lt like hundreds of little needles poking him. So of course I stopped ma= king my son take showers. If your daughter has some sensory issue related = to the shower, it won’t be easy to get her to feel otherwise. We g= ave our son baths for a few years and then he tried the shower one day and like= d it (or at least could tolerate it). As parents of children with special needs I think that we also need to keep in mind that some of the behaviors = that our children exhibit are “normal kid stuff”. I know of lo= ts of “neurotypical” kids who hate showers or baths or water in general. My husband and I both dreaded bath time for a while because = my kids would scream their heads off when we washed their hair. Good gri= ef, I am having flashbacks. Hang in there… this too shall pass.&nbs= p; Now they all love the pool, they tolerate showers, and they wash their hair without nearly as much drama.

Also, the brushing protocol is wort= h a try. It seems to take the edge off of sensory issues.

Helen said,

I second the idea of the shower actually being physically painful (in some cases). My son (HFA) is turning = 14 soon and still won't take a shower. He hates the rain as well, and if he ha= s to go out in it he'll pull up the hood of his jacket. When I finally asked him= why he doesn't like water he said, "It hurts!"