Re: Karmen/Sandi - Re: Chores and Self Help Skills

[Guest guest]

You're very welcome!

My Allie just turned 14, whew!

Sandi

In a message dated 6/15/2009 11:42:22 A.M. Central Daylight Time,

tammie_anaya@... writes:

Thanks for s haring this..Hailey doesnt like the shower either I never

thought about it much until I read this because we still give her a bath with

her sibs..she's 6. I think this is a great idea to get the modified shower

head..she also loves music..thanks!Th

How old are your girls?

Tammie

**************Download the AOL Classifieds Toolbar for local deals at your

fingertips.

(http://toolbar.aol.com/aolclassifieds/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000004)

[Guest guest]

Sandi,

Nice ideas. My daughter is 7 and her anxiety disorder is irrational, and very

spontaneous. Finding out what is making her scream and run can be a great task

as she oftentimes cannot tell me exactly WHAT scared her or WHY. But as she is

getting older, she is able to rationalize better. Some fears have fallen away.

If my shower experiment doesn't work (having her shower with her bathing suit

on), then I will look into getting a handheld shower head. Its good to have a

plan B.

Karmen

Karmen/Sandi - Re: Chores and Self Help

Skills

Thanks for s haring this..Hailey doesnt like the shower either I never thought

about it much until I read this because we still give her a bath with her

sibs..she's 6. I think this is a great idea to get the modified shower head..she

also loves music..thanks!!

How old are your girls?

Tammie

>

>

> Tammie & Karmen, I've shared this before, but can't remember if it was

> this group. If so, sorry to repeat myself.

>

> My daughter has anxiety disorder and could not shower until we made

> physical changes to the bathroom to deal with her specific fears. She had

always

> taken baths with no fear, so we investigated to see what specific things

> about showers bothered her.

>

>

> Allie got across to us that the water pouring over her head and in her face

> scared her. She was too short to shower without that happening, so we

> modified her shower head.

>

> We bought a hand-held shower spray insert, that installed into the old

> pipe above the old shower head. It has a button that pushes/pulls to switch

> the water flow from the old shower head to a new shower spray wand. We

> attached the wand/sprayer's holder on the wall at just Allie's shoulder

height

> so the water never sprays in her face. She can leave the wand in the

> holder or take it out as she chooses. The new head was also much quieter

than

> the old one, a nice plus. That one change got her immediately and

> enthusiastically into the shower.

>

> A few years ago, Allie began to imagine scary things creeping up on her

> behind the shower curtain. We added a water proof battery operated radio

> that hangs from the shower curtain rod. As long as she has her music she

> isn't afraid of that any more. We just have to double check that it gets

> turned off after each shower. :-)

>

> If you can discover whether there are any specific fears involved and

> address them,

> it can have a dramatic effect.

> Sandi

>

>

> In a message dated 6/11/2009 9:40:26 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

> kcboone@... writes:

>

> Hi Tammie,

>

> Your daughter is doing a lot of what mine is doing, in the way of her

> morning schedule. Do you have her do anything else such as pouring her own

> beverages, folding napkins, etc? Does she bathe herself or take showers by

> herself? My daughter has an anxiety disorder along with the autism, and she

is

> deathly afraid of showers. I have decided that during the summer I will

> allow her to get in the shower with a bathing suit on, and hopefully that

will

> help to ease her fears. I really feel as though she NEEDS to become more

> independent. It's truly time. She will be starting a new school in the fall

> and having an entirely new routine. So, I think more independence will go

> hand in hand with the changes she will be encountering later in the year.

>

> Karmen

>

>

> **************Download the AOL Classifieds Toolbar for local deals at your

> fingertips.

>

(http://toolbar.aol.com/aolclassifieds/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000004)

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

When Katy was 7 she would often run and hide. At the time, we were just

investigating Autism and sensory integration disorder. I learned that whenever

there was too much noise, flickering lights, or any other " over " stimuli, it

would trigger her fight or flight response. At the age of 8 she left her school

bus and went missing for 9 hours. It was a nightmare and the entire community

searched for her. The way the therapist explained her " anxiety " or fight/flight

response was to ask me to pretend I was walking in a dark alley in the middle of

the night and I felt someone grab my arm from behind. She said that Katy

couldn't turn off that alarm system. She has gotten better and no longer

responds with flight to sensory alarms. Her greatest challenges now are any sort

of medical exam or proceedure.

 ~~~Aggy

Mother of 22 yr old Katy

Diagnosed with PDD(nos)

Grandmother to Katy's daughter

Isabella Gail

________________________________

To: Autism_in_Girls_and_Women

Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 8:58:03 PM

Subject: Re: Karmen/Sandi - Re: Chores and Self Help

Skills

Sandi,

Nice ideas. My daughter is 7 and her anxiety disorder is irrational, and very

spontaneous. Finding out what is making her scream and run can be a great task

as she oftentimes cannot tell me exactly WHAT scared her or WHY. But as she is

getting older, she is able to rationalize better. Some fears have fallen away.

If my shower experiment doesn't work (having her shower with her bathing suit

on), then I will look into getting a handheld shower head. Its good to have a

plan B.

Karmen

[Autism_in_Girls_ and_Women] Karmen/Sandi - Re: Chores and Self Help

Skills

Thanks for s haring this..Hailey doesnt like the shower either I never thought

about it much until I read this because we still give her a bath with her

sibs..she's 6. I think this is a great idea to get the modified shower head..she

also loves music..thanks! !

How old are your girls?

Tammie

>

>

> Tammie & Karmen, I've shared this before, but can't remember if it was

> this group. If so, sorry to repeat myself.

>

> My daughter has anxiety disorder and could not shower until we made

> physical changes to the bathroom to deal with her specific fears. She had

always

> taken baths with no fear, so we investigated to see what specific things

> about showers bothered her.

>

>

> Allie got across to us that the water pouring over her head and in her face

> scared her. She was too short to shower without that happening, so we

> modified her shower head.

>

> We bought a hand-held shower spray insert, that installed into the old

> pipe above the old shower head. It has a button that pushes/pulls to switch

> the water flow from the old shower head to a new shower spray wand. We

> attached the wand/sprayer' s holder on the wall at just Allie's shoulder

height

> so the water never sprays in her face. She can leave the wand in the

> holder or take it out as she chooses. The new head was also much quieter than

> the old one, a nice plus. That one change got her immediately and

> enthusiastically into the shower.

>

> A few years ago, Allie began to imagine scary things creeping up on her

> behind the shower curtain. We added a water proof battery operated radio

> that hangs from the shower curtain rod. As long as she has her music she

> isn't afraid of that any more. We just have to double check that it gets

> turned off after each shower. :-)

>

> If you can discover whether there are any specific fears involved and

> address them,

> it can have a dramatic effect.

> Sandi

>

>

> In a message dated 6/11/2009 9:40:26 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

> kcboone@... writes:

>

> Hi Tammie,

>

> Your daughter is doing a lot of what mine is doing, in the way of her

> morning schedule. Do you have her do anything else such as pouring her own

> beverages, folding napkins, etc? Does she bathe herself or take showers by

> herself? My daughter has an anxiety disorder along with the autism, and she is

> deathly afraid of showers. I have decided that during the summer I will

> allow her to get in the shower with a bathing suit on, and hopefully that will

> help to ease her fears. I really feel as though she NEEDS to become more

> independent. It's truly time. She will be starting a new school in the fall

> and having an entirely new routine. So, I think more independence will go

> hand in hand with the changes she will be encountering later in the year.

>

> Karmen

>

>

> ************ **Download the AOL Classifieds Toolbar for local deals at your

> fingertips.

> (http://toolbar. aol.com/aolclass ifieds/download. html?ncid= emlcntusdown0000

0004)

>

>

>