From fb
Autism and removing clothes off without reasons ( apparently) :
I was speaking to a mom today and she told me that her 12yo daughter
suddenly removed her clothes off while in their TV room.
This is quite a common occurrence with children with autism and very
exasperating and embarrassing as well, particularly if the child is into
his or her teens.
This behaviour is also found in young adults as well.
Nothing unusual though!
While a 3 or 4 year does this, this looks ' cute' but at an older age it is
no longer cute at all.
And if it happens ' suddenly ' in a public place or when you have visitors
in your home, it could lead to very embarrassing situations.
So, how do you go about rectifying this so called inappropriate behaviour ?
Or find a solution to this peculiar problem.
Many a time when a mother asks a solution to this behaviour, schools and
professionals are at their wits end and come out with vague answers!
What does the hapless mother do?
How does she keep his or her child's clothes on?
Remember, this behavior tends to remain over a long period of time and
needs immense patience to handle and just when you feel it's almost over,
it comes back with a vengeance, often leading to a new behaviour- tearing
of shirts or even pants!
This is found particularly among young adults who acquire a new found
strength.
But why this tendency to " undress" suddenly?
Is it that they have developed a dislike for clothing?
Difficult questions that beg for answers.
Is this behaviour only among autistic kids?
I think so!
The most plausible reasons could be:
- sensitive to uncomfortable tactile sensations ranging from scratchy
fabrics or tags to wet clothing.
- nor are they aware as other children of the expectations placed upon them
by social norms.
- need more tactile pressure or sensation than is provided by loose-fitting
clothes.
- most children and adults being non-vocal, they are unable to convey what
irritates them.
So what do you as a mother do?
There are no ' fixed ' solutions though a few can be tried on a hit and
trial basis.
While writing this post, I was in discussions with my colleague Mansi Bagwe
Das and she had this to say : " Though the behavior seems to be a common
phenomenon among young adults, it is a behavior usually seen more among
non-verbal children with autism.
The underlying reasons can be:
1. Behaviour :
a) attention seeking
b) lacks awareness of social rules
c) dislikes change
2. Lack of communication
3. Aggression
4. Texture sensitivity / Tags on shirts
Since the reasons vary, each of the underlying factor has a solution.
But no one solution would work
for someone having a similar issue with a different reason.
Lack of social awareness :
since its summer some children tend to observe people around them who are
topless and many a times our children do imitate that as well."
I will now suggest a few practical ideas that you can use to help your
child :
- Remove all tags / labels and cut off any extra uncomfortable bands or
edges.
- When you buy clothes, change to another brand or choose soft cotton.
- If his / her clothes are too-loose and change to tighter clothes that
provide tactile feedback.
- Buy clothes that give a feel of
“squeeze.”
- Make him / her tight “athletic” or swim shirts or shorts, leggings, or
other lycra/ stretch clothes.
- Try autism-friendly” weighted vest.
- Use Behavioral Modification methods like use of picture books and social
stories;
- Model to show how you stay dressed and use the bathroom.
- Never undress in front of your son/ daughter as this could be aped by
them.
- Positive reinforcement for good behavior.
If all this don't work, you may need to find a physical way to keep your
child from stripping or undressing.
- Make it physically impossible for your child to get his clothes off.
Easier said than done!
Choose and/or modify clothing to keep it on like:
- Put all buttons/ hooks / fasteners in back, so that your child can’t
reach them.
- Buy with-foot clothing like pajamas and put them on backward.
- Modify zippers so that they can’t be easily unzipped (use a safety pin to
pin the zipper in the up position.
- Dress your child in layers so that it’s harder to strip.
- Now its summer and check for prickly heat boils.
Adults who tear Ts :
This again is a very peculiar problem and is mostly attention seeking.
Like I had a 25yo young man who could tear his tough t shirt into two
halves in a ziffy!
We would buy a new one and it would be torn in no time.
We then adopted a simple way out- we took all his torn Ts and got it
modified with zippers and Lo!
He soon realised that only the zipper opened up without a tear!
Well, there you are!
Adolescent girls do remove their clothes too, particularly due to Pre and
Post MT.
This does go away after some years though when it happens, it could be
quite embarrassing.
Train them what is acceptable and where ( her room only ).
All said and done, the good news is that the majority of children, with
autism do learn to keep their clothes on.
Meanwhile, try our simple tips and Good Luck!
On 9 Apr 2017 5:03 p.m., "sangeetha john" <sangeetha.s.john75@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Some kids take off their clothes at the wrong place at wrong time.
A visual to remind them to be properly dressed always.
