Taking Care of Myself. A Hygiene, Puberty and Personal Curriculum for Young People with Autism

Customer Reviews

Clean Up Time

2007-04-30
This book makes me think of the John Lennon 1980 classic, "Clean Up Time."

This is an excellent book geared for the adolescent or tween on the autism/Asperger's spectrum. I like the way it tackles topics such as body development; hormonal changes; basic grooming and bathroom etiquette such as when boys use urinals.

I like the way vignettes were provided using different voices, e.g. first, second, third person. Prompts such as visual cues and other teaching tools are included. This author wisely suggests using a similar approach in teaching preschoolers good grooming habits and the rationale for same.

This book is for the adult instructor and young pupil alike. The drawings are discreet and appropriate and are not likely to make a young person feel embarrassed or threatened.

The tone of this book is plainly quite instructional, which is often a good approach with the a/A population. People with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) have been called "little professors" and often seek informational books and present discussions in an informtional format. This book does a good job of recognizing this trait and responding to it accordingly.

I highly recommend this book for parents, educators and young people. It is an important work and valuable resource tool.

Suitable for boys and girls on the autism spectrum

2005-06-04
My son turned ten a few months ago so I decided Personal Hygiene and Puberty were topics we needed to delve into. I am very glad I purchased this book since it covered Deodorant, shaving, growth spurts and using a urinal.

My 10 year old is high functioning and his almost nine year old sibling is non-verbal and could benefit from some of the chapters as he gets older.

Throughout the book the stories are told in various points of views, either in the first, second or third person. Visual cues, communication aides and assistive technology is shown within the chapters. Mary also suggests starting self-care skills as young as three for brushing teeth and washing hands.

One thing to note is that the fonts change throughout the book. The pages that discuss developing a program and teaching various skills are presented in an easy to read manner, mostly for the adults teaching the curriculum. The remaining pages are activities and social stories that have larger fonts that are bolded. This seems to be easier to follow for my son as well.

All the diagrams inside are in black and white, plus the cover is not overstated and should not be embarassing to a pre-teen or teen.

Your student or child will not read about birth control, sexual intercourse, reproduction or sexually transmitted diseases. It is recommended to supplement this curriculum as the students become young adults. I was glad to know these issues would not be covered, yet my son ran into two words when looking up puberty in the dictionary - reproductive and sexually.

He was disappointed not to find a glossary, but liked learning about growing a mustache and how old he would be when he finally gets to high school.

None of the steps listed in the book are numbered, which I think is a good thing so the students do not get stuck on certain numbers instead of the actual steps.

The information presented is repetitious in nature, but that is needed when teaching children on the autism spectrum. There is plenty of room for note taking and creating your own social stories. This book is a useful tool for families, teachers and therapists to instill these vital lessons to children with autism.