Why do ASD children lack good hygiene?

[Anonymous]

And if you want to know more about the sad life of Einstein's first wife, here is the PBS story, complete with one of his demands, "You shall respond immediately if I call you." "You will not talk unless I talk to you". "Have my dinner on the table at X".
Oh, yes, they had a "loving and fulfilling marriage".
http://www.pbs.org/opb/einsteinswife/milevastory/married.htm

[Anonymous]

And since most of you demonstrate an inability to read, here's Einstein's austism/aspergers story via youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRRNeAilrnM&list=PL01703BC28E5ED8DA&index=1

[Anonymous]

I have mild aspergers and hygiene issues. There are a number of contributing factors. The first is that I have poor priority setting. Faced with multiple needs (my husband needs a cup of coffee, my kids need to be woken up, baby needs to be kept asleep), I have difficulty setting up a comparative hierarchy of what to do first. The winner is generally that need which impinges upon my consciousness first. Hygiene rarely makes it to the front of the line because-

I have great difficulty with transitions. I love being in the shower and bath. If possible I stay in until the hot water runs out. What I hate is getting into and out of the shower. First it means taking off clothes. I've sat here five minutes trying to articulate why I have difficulty changing clothes. The nearest I can get is it feels like taking off skin. Once I'm in the water it's fine because it's covering me, but getting there- ugh. Afterwards is almost worse because now your naked AND cold. Then you put the clothes back on, and they usually have to be different clothes, and it's so hard to get properly dry that when you put the clothes on they get a little wet and don't feel properly a part of you.

I've found the best way to deal with all this is to listen to the radio or a book on tape while performing difficult transitions. It keeps the thinking part of my brain occupied, while the doing part gets on with getting things done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I have Temple Grandin in interviews has mentioned giving advice to adults with ASD/Asperbers to wash.

Bill Gates (suspected not confirmed Aspie) also had horrible hygiene b/f Melinda helped straighten him out.

Not sure why some kids want to be super clean vs. don't care--but I suspect sensory comes into play either way.

Where did you read or hear from that Bill Gates had horrible hygiene? I lived in Seattle and had many friends who worked at Microsoft, saw Bill Gates on a daily basis. This goes against what I've heard from them. I don't know why people want to believe that Bill Gates or geniuses like Einstein had ASD. They didn't or don't.

It was from a book published in 1993:
http://www.jonathans-stories.com/non-fiction/undiagnosing.html

Melinda and he married in 1994. Steve Jobs also had questionable hygiene.

In college I started out as a computer science major. I ended up majoring in something else but took had so many credits that my job out of college was in computer programming and analysis. As such I was around "computer geeks" for many years. Most are not ASD or Aspergers (no such thing as Aspergers per new DSM though). They are simply ultra focused on their passion and don't take the time for grooming. However, if they're going on a date, to an event, they certainly understand the importance of good hygiene. Many were married and had a great relationship with their spouses, no communication or social skills problems at all. It's a myth, really.

Rocking back and forth is a stim, for sure, but stims don't make for an ASD diagnosis entirely. My brother needs a squishy ball or pencil to twirl in his fingers as he concentrates but that doesn't make him ASD.

And many high level or intelligent people are abrupt and direct. I've seen CEO's cursing at meetings, say things that would have been construed as rude by Miss Manners. That doesn't make them ASD. Time is of the essence for such people and they don't want to deal with bullshit, thats all.

So? What's your point? Other than being random and oddly defensive?

"Can't totally de-geek the geek,"
http://www.wbur.org/npr/123383699/temple-grandin-the-woman-who-talks-to-animals

It's off point but the defensiveness is with the parents of ASD children perhaps, who probably think that by associating ASD with the geniuses of our time, they can remove the stigma of this disorder.

Asperger's did not appear as a diagnosis until the DSM-IV in 1994. It's being rolled into Autism Spectrum Disorder/Asperger's type in the DSM-V this month, May 2013. No one got an Asperger's diagnosis prior to the DSM-IV in 1994, so it's not being defensive so much as adults diagnosing themselves or historical figures with a syndrome that was not recognized until recently. I know lots of people who I went to school with who probably would have qualified for a diagnosis if they went to school now instead of growing up in the 60ties, 70ties and 80ties. Most of these adults did not have "good" school experiences although they did very well academically so I'm glad that kids like my DS gets the supports and help he needs.

[Anonymous]

^PS. Everyone I know with Asperger's or suspected Asperger's, their hygiene is fine. No more worse or better and certainly nothing of note.

If you want to talk about "bad" hygiene, it's usually the person is depressed.

[Anonymous]

I'll chime in here with our own experience. My ASD son at times lacks hygiene, and it's definitely due to his extreme sensory issues. For example, he prefers his hands to be sticky - I think it helps him to be able to feel things better (not sure though - he is not verbal enough to explain it). So he seeks out ways to get his hands and face sticky, and actively resists being cleaned. He also likes to touch everything as he is walking by. I think it is his way to experience his environment and stay grounded. But touching everything + sticky hands = very very dirty fingers. So, it's a constant battle to keep him even remotely clean, and to be honest, my cleanliness standards have been lowered through exhaustion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once again, let me introduce to your new friend, wikipedia: List of famous people with Asperger's syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_autism_spectrum_disorders

Totally bogus, made up speculation about who might have had autism/Asperger's.

Einstein certainly didn't have Asperger's. Nor does Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. That's just a bunch of wishful thinking on some parents' part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Einstein: I am usually annoyed with the idea of diagnosing the dead, but I've always been intrigued with the idea that he had AS. As a young child he confused pronouns (my DS with AS did as well) had tantrums, could not function in school and then developed into the brilliant obsessive we all know of. I agree with PP that social deficits does not mean no ability to socialize. My oddball DS has plenty of friends. And remember that Einstein was recognized as a brilliant physicist, I believe in his 30s (40s?) which would help a person's social life.

I also think its important to emphasize that not all kids with AS are brilliant. There are plenty of people who dismiss the challenges of AS because they think these kids are all super geniuses. All it means is that they don't have an intellectual disability.

Did you read "Diagnosing Jefferson", by Norm Ledgin? He makes a very compelling case that Thomas Jefferson had Asperger's. While it's pure speculation to diagnose dead people, I admit I do it a lot with members of my own family ever since DS was diagnosed. It's pretty glaring too since their symptoms are all worse than DS who actually has a diagnosis. LOL!

Thanks for sharing - this sounds interesting. I'm definitely going to have to get this book!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, let me introduce to your new friend, wikipedia: List of famous people with Asperger's syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_autism_spectrum_disorders

Totally bogus, made up speculation about who might have had autism/Asperger's.

Einstein certainly didn't have Asperger's. Nor does Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. [b]That's just a bunch of wishful thinking on some parents' part.

[/b]


Thank you for wandering onto this board.

Please cite your evidence.

Otherwise, don't let door hit you on your way....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have mild aspergers and hygiene issues. There are a number of contributing factors. The first is that I have poor priority setting. Faced with multiple needs (my husband needs a cup of coffee, my kids need to be woken up, baby needs to be kept asleep), I have difficulty setting up a comparative hierarchy of what to do first. The winner is generally that need which impinges upon my consciousness first. Hygiene rarely makes it to the front of the line because-

I have great difficulty with transitions. I love being in the shower and bath. If possible I stay in until the hot water runs out. What I hate is getting into and out of the shower. First it means taking off clothes. I've sat here five minutes trying to articulate why I have difficulty changing clothes. The nearest I can get is it feels like taking off skin. Once I'm in the water it's fine because it's covering me, but getting there- ugh. Afterwards is almost worse because now your naked AND cold. Then you put the clothes back on, and they usually have to be different clothes, and it's so hard to get properly dry that when you put the clothes on they get a little wet and don't feel properly a part of you.

I've found the best way to deal with all this is to listen to the radio or a book on tape while performing difficult transitions. It keeps the thinking part of my brain occupied, while the doing part gets on with getting things done.

Thank you for writing this.
This is definitely an issue for DS-10 (AS), and there is no way he could come close to articulating as you have, but bath/shower time is a huge deal to him.
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, let me introduce to your new friend, wikipedia: List of famous people with Asperger's syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_autism_spectrum_disorders

Totally bogus, made up speculation about who might have had autism/Asperger's.

Einstein certainly didn't have Asperger's. Nor does Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. [b]That's just a bunch of wishful thinking on some parents' part.

[/b]


Thank you for wandering onto this board.

Please cite your evidence.

Otherwise, don't let door hit you on your way....

I didn't "wander on to this board." I'm here all the time. I'm not sure why I should have to "prove" the obvious....but while we are at it, where's the "proof" that they were/are autistic?? There's zero evidence. (Well, not counting that GREAT unsupported Wikipedia cite.)

Einstein's biography makes it pretty clear he didn't have Asperger's. Have you read it? Gates and Jobs are geniuses...with all the quirks that come with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, let me introduce to your new friend, wikipedia: List of famous people with Asperger's syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_autism_spectrum_disorders

Totally bogus, made up speculation about who might have had autism/Asperger's.

Einstein certainly didn't have Asperger's. Nor does Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. [b]That's just a bunch of wishful thinking on some parents' part.

[/b]


Thank you for wandering onto this board.

Please cite your evidence.

Otherwise, don't let door hit you on your way....

I didn't "wander on to this board." I'm here all the time. I'm not sure why I should have to "prove" the obvious....but while we are at it, where's the "proof" that they were/are autistic?? There's zero evidence. (Well, not counting that GREAT unsupported Wikipedia cite.)

Einstein's biography makes it pretty clear he didn't have Asperger's. Have you read it? Gates and Jobs are geniuses...with all the quirks that come with it.

You can be a genius and have an ASD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, let me introduce to your new friend, wikipedia: List of famous people with Asperger's syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_autism_spectrum_disorders

Totally bogus, made up speculation about who might have had autism/Asperger's.

Einstein certainly didn't have Asperger's. Nor does Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. [b]That's just a bunch of wishful thinking on some parents' part.

[/b]


Thank you for wandering onto this board.

Please cite your evidence.

Otherwise, don't let door hit you on your way....

I didn't "wander on to this board." I'm here all the time. I'm not sure why I should have to "prove" the obvious....but while we are at it, where's the "proof" that they were/are autistic?? There's zero evidence. (Well, not counting that GREAT unsupported Wikipedia cite.)

Einstein's biography makes it pretty clear he didn't have Asperger's. Have you read it? Gates and Jobs are geniuses...with all the quirks that come with it.

Other people disagree with this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2988647.stm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once again, let me introduce to your new friend, wikipedia: List of famous people with Asperger's syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_autism_spectrum_disorders

Totally bogus, made up speculation about who might have had autism/Asperger's.

Einstein certainly didn't have Asperger's. Nor does Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. [b]That's just a bunch of wishful thinking on some parents' part.

[/b]


Thank you for wandering onto this board.

Please cite your evidence.

Otherwise, don't let door hit you on your way....

I didn't "wander on to this board." I'm here all the time. I'm not sure why I should have to "prove" the obvious....but while we are at it, where's the "proof" that they were/are autistic?? There's zero evidence. (Well, not counting that GREAT unsupported Wikipedia cite.)

Einstein's biography makes it pretty clear he didn't have Asperger's. Have you read it? Gates and Jobs are geniuses...with all the quirks that come with it.

Other people disagree with this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2988647.stm

Researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities believe both scientists displayed signs of Asperger's Syndrome.

Uh, so what. Lots of people have "signs" of autism, and are not autistic. Einstein had close friends, was a ladies' man, and functioned well in society. Gates has myriad friendships growing up, and plenty of girlfriends. Jobs was a bit of a jerk....doesn't make him autistic.

It is just so aggravating to see these ideas thrown out as fact when they aren't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities believe both scientists displayed signs of Asperger's Syndrome.

Uh, so what. Lots of people have "signs" of autism, and are not autistic. Einstein had close friends, was a ladies' man, and functioned well in society. Gates has myriad friendships growing up, and plenty of girlfriends. Jobs was a bit of a jerk....doesn't make him autistic.

It is just so aggravating to see these ideas thrown out as fact when they aren't.

Yes, "signs" b/c they are dead and you can't definitely diagnose dead people. It's speculation and no, it's not fact but a game that many people like to play obviously. If you don't like it, don't play.