Hygiene and a Haircut

Most kids with Asperger's Syndrome are not known for being picky about their hygiene.

They forget to brush their teeth regularly.

Their clothes are chosen for comfort, not style.

Some refuse to bathe or shower.

Hair is often left uncombed and sometimes unwashed.

Some of the reasons for poor hygiene arise from sensory issues (some children have extra sensitive mouths or heads, some find certain clothes too itchy), others arise from the fact that these kids are oblivious to the social cues that dictate what's "acceptable".

We've struggled with some of these issues with our teenage son, Big Guy. Luckily he's a little bit of a germ freak, so he usually takes a daily shower. As for his choice of clothes, it is often a disaster but one that we've decided to address only on important occasions (job interview, church, etc.) Maybe he's just being a typical guy in this area :)

However, our main concern with Big Guy is his hair. He's been exercising his teenage rights by refusing to get a haircut....and it's been driving me crazy! It's not that I hold anything personal against long hair as long as it's well groomed. Which Big Guy's is definitely not. Half the time he forgets to wash it, sporting a greasy, stringy look. The other half, he does absolutely nothing with it or ends up pasting it to his head and slicking it all forward.

Arghhhh!

I've tried convincing Big Guy to cut it for several months now. The catch is, Big Guy absolutely cares NOTHING about what others think of him and has little incentive to please anyone due to his lack of desire to maintain social relationships. This has forced me to be extremely tricky about trying to change his mind.

I've been using a very logical approach by saying things like "Short hair is a lot easier to take care of" and "Summer's nearly here - short hair won't be nearly as hot". None of these tactics seemed to be working until we had an unexpected breakthrough the other evening.

Big Guy and I happened to be alone at the kitchen table when he suddenly announced, "My hair is bugging me; it keeps getting in my eyes."

This was a time when his sensory issues produced a positive result;I certainly knew how to fix his dilemma - a haircut! I jumped on it before Big Guy had a chance to change his mind. We contacted a friend who just passed her cosmetology boards, and she was kind enough to come to our house and give my son a haircut a short time later.

The end result?I love being able to see his neck again!

The leftovers:
Another month, and we might have been able to make a donation to "Locks of Love" ;)