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

by Mary Wrobel

Puberty can be especially tough when young people have autism or other special needs. Through simple stories similar to Carol Gray's Social Stories® , author Mary Wrobel teaches caregivers exactly what to say (and not say) and shows how you can create helpful stories of your own. Mary addresses hygiene, modesty, body growth and development, menstruation, touching, personal safety, and more. Young students can benefit from self-care skills such as using the toilet, brushing teeth, and washing hands. Parents and teachers should begin teaching these necessary skills as early as possible, even from ages three to five. The ultimate goal is to maximize the child's potential for independence and lifelong social success.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Nonfiction, Parenting

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Crystal Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for children with ASD

[Beth Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

My feelings on this are mixed. The description on Amazon was rather misleading that this was an ideal book for parents on introducing concepts like puberty and sex to autistic children. It turned out that the book is more about developing such curricula for teachers, with a lot of bad clip art, PECS, and very grainy black and white pictures. But it does contain useful information and advice as well. The author clearly knows her subject matter and her frank, honest approach is refreshing. The print is large and the vocabulary is very simple so that it's approachable for kids across the spectrum. She knows to write without relying on similes, metaphors, and other plays on language that ones typically finds with these subjects.

I bought the book because my son is almost ten and I know we need to start discussing puberty, and I already know he's going to have a difficult time understanding it. The hygiene pages in here are also useful; we'll find useful the sections on nose-picking and putting hands in pants. The sexual education section discusses issues like masturbation (again, I appreciate her no-nonsense, approach; there's no moralizing here), stranger danger, the importance of clothing, and it offers very detailed advice of teaching autistic girls about periods. However, it doesn't discuss the act of sex, which was surprising because that seems like the most important part of sexual education.

I'll continue to look for a more comprehensive book on the subject, but I do think this is a good starting point, especially for special education teachers.

[Bonnie Sayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book when my son was ten years old. 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.

It is recommended to segregate the sexes when going over the curriculum with students, especially the puberty section. The age range is geared from five through eighteen. The author, Mary Wrobel is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) with over twenty years experience working with students who have autism. The purpose of Taking Care of Myself: A Hygiene, Puberty and Personal Curriculum For Young People With Autism is to teach students with disabilities how they can live healthy, safe lives.

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.

The seven units cover Hygiene, Health, Modesty, Growth and Development, Menstruation, Touching and Personal Safety and Masturbation. There is also a summary, references and resources, about the author, index, table of contents and a useful additional story entitled using a urinal. My son was disappointed there was not a glossary. The first words he wanted to know the meaning of was puberty and period.

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.

[Kelly-lee Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought that this book would be a book for children with autism explaining hygiene and puberty. It clearly says this on the front. I spent about £16 on this to give to my autistic daughter hitting puberty.
What it actually is, is a book with lists and guides for computer programmes and sites for parents. I thought this would be a picture full book. It isn't. It is lists for parents and carers.
My daughter found this boring and I have found it unhelpful. Waste of money.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A necessary evil, I may still be in denial that my baby is entering puberty though. I read through this book and I can see its usefulness, I know I will rely on it heavily... soon.

[Lindsay Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic resource for young people w/ autism!