It's All About

Questions?

Call Mom!
​440-773-5910


Click the button for a printable of detailed instructions for showering with washing hair

Click the button for a printable that details her home bedtime routine (you will very likely develop your own routine,  but this outlines the grooming that needs to be taken care of at bedtime)

++ There is a good exercise to try if you have never washed somebody who can’t verbally communicate well (babies included!): have another person wash your face with a washcloth with the same pressure they would use to wash their own face. They will scrub your face. You realize that when you wash yourself, you know when it is too rough, and automatically gentle down as needed. When you are washing another person, there isn’t that auto-safeguard. And man, it can hurt! It can be hard to “get it” until you’ve had it done to you.

In general, grooming is one of Morgan's least favorite things. We have resorted to bribing with pizza so she will allow her nails to be trimmed. She brushes her own hair... sorta (don't even try lol. Tell her "Come on - headphones down, do a good job!" when she half-asses it.)

We use powder (a mix of equal portions of Zeasorb Excess Moisture and Zeasorb Athlete's Foot, mixed and applied with a powder puff) liberally! When changing clothes, after bath and during the bedtime routine, apply powder to all her problem areas -- underarms, under breasts, under her belly, and at each thigh crease. Powder replaces antiperspirant/deodorant in her grooming routine. 

During her bedtime routine is the one time a day we try to get all maintenance accomplished (as one doctor put it, if you can get her really clean once a day, you are doing well..."). She is most compliant (because she is drugged to the gills lol) -- but tread lightly. It's kinda like dealing with a drunk.

Showering is by far the most important part of her care routine: if you don’t get this right, really (really, really) bad things happen. You don’t want to go there! She has super sensitive skin that breaks down incredibly quickly. Getting the bath routine right is vital to happiness. The in-depth instructions provided here may seem like over-kill, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to get this right.

Generally, we bathe her every other day. More often than that and her dry skin gets uncomfortable for her (moisturizer is not an option – no “goo” for Morgan, thank you very much!). Less often, and skin breakdown sets in. We try to wash hair every other time we bathe her (so every fourth day).

If she is resisting washing hair, it is usually because her ears are feeling over-sensitive that day. If she is in dire need of hair washing, try giving her Motrin and waiting 20 minutes, then try again. But usually it is not worth it – make a deal with her that the next time you will “Wash Hair” and then just go ahead and “Wash Body.”

She tends not to transition into shower easily, so plan to set the Talking Timer 30 minutes before you want to bathe her.

The more stressed she is, the less verbal she gets, and bath time can be stressful. She can’t tell you to be gentle (or, for that matter, if something tickles and you need to go a bit firmer). If you don’t follow the non-verbal clues she gives you, she will just stop cooperating, and it makes for a wicked battleground. Use just enough pressure to get the job done, and “listen” carefully for non-verbal cues as to whether you need to be more gentle, or go a bit firmer. ++

She’s generally pretty cooperative with bath time – she knows it is necessary. If you are getting major resistance at bath time, one thing to check is the ambient temperature of the bathroom: is it chilly or drafty? Especially in the winter, you may need a space heater to keep the temperature comfortable and keep her cooperative. It takes some time to get her fully dried off, and standing damp and naked in a cold or drafty room after a hot shower is no fun!

Sitters have bathed her successfully with no behavior problems (she chose her sitter instead of mom to bathe her for the last year she lived at home). If her skin is breaking down regularly, or bath time becomes a battleground, you need to rethink your personnel choice for who is giving her a bath.

Click the button for a printable that walks you through maintaining her headphones (headphones need maintenance after they are swapped out during "Wash Hair")

Click the button for a printable of detailed instructions for showering without washing hair

Grooming
​careful bathing is a vital preventative