img_5225-8808347

Talking About Autism, Disability, & Hygiene

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com Most parents fret about their kids’ hygiene and how it is affected by factors like circumcision, tooth brushing, or toilet training. Said fretting escalates when the kids in question have a disability, but hygiene doesn’t have to be the skunk cabbage in the parenting bouquet — not if parents do their best to understand why hygiene can be complicated, take cues from self-advocates with insights parents and professionals cannot provide, encourage self-care, recognize that not all hygiene needs will be rooted in disability, and help make self-care part of a routine. Circumcision is a standby topic in parenting circles. Arguments both for and against the snip invoke culture, religion, sensation retention, or wanting Daddy to have a penis twin. But few mention the possibility of conditions like cerebral palsy or the fine motor challenges that often accompany autism, and how those affect uncircumcised penis care.…