Hello there, thanks for the question. Yes I would say there is no reason why not. It is worth saying thought that sometimes with autism the sensory element of things can be part of it too, so for example having a really strong reaction to the feeling of dirty or greasy hands, that kind of thing. It might not be relevant, but in case that is useful to add in. I did also do a video on helping kids with a fear of death and dying, which might be worth checking out if it seems like that is the main theme of it for her.
My son has recently gotten afraid of germs. He constantly uses hand gel, refuses to eat food if i touched it. He says he doesnt want to be scared but he just is, how can i help him?
This is a big topic but the first things is normalising it. It can be difficult as a parent when you see your child suffering and that can lead us to trying to get them "out" of it. However, the first step really is helping them feel like their worries are understandable and reasonable. After that, it is trying to understand it a bit more. What is it about the germs? Is it about the idea of feeling dirty? Is it about the idea they might make him ill, or make him vomit? If we can understand what it is about, we have a better chance of tackling the right thing. Also, part of having your own understanding can be about understanding where that might have come from and made it worse recently. Has he come across someone being ill or in hospital recently? That kind of thing. If we can work out what might have triggered it, we have a chance of addressing that, too. Talking to them about it, helping them understand that getting ill is scary and it is reasonable to be afraid of it, but we can't avoid it completely. You can talk to them about when you do get bothered by germs (e.g. in a hospital) and when you might not, and how you cope with the uncertainty. It starts with working out what the fear is, then you can go from there.
@cbtted thankyou for the tips! My wife was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, perhaps that triggered it? I will use your tips and help him through this. Thankyou, sir.
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Stumbled upon this as my little one is absolutely petrified of germs and getting sick. But i wonder if this would apply to a 8 year old autistic girl?
Hello there, thanks for the question. Yes I would say there is no reason why not. It is worth saying thought that sometimes with autism the sensory element of things can be part of it too, so for example having a really strong reaction to the feeling of dirty or greasy hands, that kind of thing. It might not be relevant, but in case that is useful to add in. I did also do a video on helping kids with a fear of death and dying, which might be worth checking out if it seems like that is the main theme of it for her.
My son has recently gotten afraid of germs. He constantly uses hand gel, refuses to eat food if i touched it. He says he doesnt want to be scared but he just is, how can i help him?
This is a big topic but the first things is normalising it. It can be difficult as a parent when you see your child suffering and that can lead us to trying to get them "out" of it. However, the first step really is helping them feel like their worries are understandable and reasonable. After that, it is trying to understand it a bit more. What is it about the germs? Is it about the idea of feeling dirty? Is it about the idea they might make him ill, or make him vomit? If we can understand what it is about, we have a better chance of tackling the right thing. Also, part of having your own understanding can be about understanding where that might have come from and made it worse recently. Has he come across someone being ill or in hospital recently? That kind of thing. If we can work out what might have triggered it, we have a chance of addressing that, too. Talking to them about it, helping them understand that getting ill is scary and it is reasonable to be afraid of it, but we can't avoid it completely. You can talk to them about when you do get bothered by germs (e.g. in a hospital) and when you might not, and how you cope with the uncertainty. It starts with working out what the fear is, then you can go from there.
@cbtted thankyou for the tips! My wife was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, perhaps that triggered it? I will use your tips and help him through this. Thankyou, sir.