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Why do autistics struggle with clean clothes and haircuts?
I have autism, and my life has been shaped around discovering what hurts the symptoms
of autism, what helps the symptoms of autism, and finding the science which can explain
this.
In this video, I explain why autistics do one of sixteen different types of behaviours.
Then I'll let you know how to get more information, if you want it. This is one of a series of
16 different videos which I hope will make it easier for you to explain autism behaviours
to extended family, colleagues, educators, friends, or anyone who might be working with
or supporting someone with an autistic spectrum condition.
I'm Jackie McMillan of Thrive With Autism. I help parents, educators, health practitioners,
and adult autistics to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders,
so that autism no longer defines their lives, or limits their opportunities.
So why do autistics, ah, wear the same clothes all the time, or not want to get a haircut?
Ah, so let's start with clothes. Clothes, there can be a couple of things going on.
The first thing is that, um, the sensations of clothes on your body can be distracting.
Now most people, it will only be distracting if they're wearing something like a new pair
of shoes, that's rubbing a blister on their foot. And it's really, you know, uncomfortable
to the point where it's hard to pay attention to anything else, like a conversation with
someone you're walking with. But when you're autistic, and you're taking
in that much more sensory information, every time you change what you're wearing, it fits
differently on your body. So we tend to have what I call our "uniforms", which means that
we have clothes that are very, very similar that we wear all through the year.
So for me, I can stand the seasonal change, so, so I do switch from turtlenecks to T-shirts
come warmer weather. So all through the hot weather, I'm usually wearing a, a T-shirt
and pants, and all through the winter weather, I'm usually wearing a turtleneck and pants.
And what this does is, it means that I can focus on what's going on around me better
because I'm not distracted by things holding me in different ways, or having different
textures. So, to give you an idea of the complications,
when there are celebratory events, ah, like a, like a wedding that happened last summer,
um, I, I will wear different shoes, and I will wear a dress. And these fit differently,
and they bind differently, and they're distracting, and add a... So during an occasion where I'd
really like to be, ah, as able as I can to pay attention to people's faces, and their
words, and their emotions, and everything, my clothes can be extremely distracting from
this. And I can keep having to shut off in, sensory information flows in order to be able
to cope with being in that different outfit. Um, so that's the first thing with clothes.
The second thing with clothes has to do with laundry products. Most, ah, of the commonly-available
brand-name laundry products have, um, toxic products, have toxic components in them. And
some of these are, ah, are scented products. Scents are in the same, scents are in the
same chemical class as neurotransmitters, and a lot of them are also hormone mimickers.
So when we're breathing things in, we can be breathing in toxins, which is the fastest
way to absorb things into the bloodstream. Or we can also be, um, we can also be driving
our neurons, and our hormones from outside, by what we're breathing in, outside the body.
Now most people don't really have this problem, because their liver and kidneys are working
well enough that as they breathe these things in, they're cleaning it out of the bloodstream,
and packing it away in fat cells, so that you don't really notice that there's a problem
with these scents. But when you're autistic, and you have impaired
detoxification, you're breathing these in, and they're going into your cells. They're
crossing the blood-brain barrier. They're driving your neural reactions, and your hormonal
reactions from the outside. Now for example, um, ah, most dryer sheets for anti-static
are profoundly neurotoxic, and ah, you, other people may be really happy when they have
laundry that smells like that. For me, fresh laundry, that's just come out of the dryer
with a dryer sheet, smells like a really bad headache.
All right, so that's clothes. Next is haircuts -- very closely related. Think of the sensory
stimulation of a barbershop or hairdresser's shop. I mean, you've, you've got flickering
fluorescent lights overhead. And you've got all these hard surfaces that noises are bouncing
off of. And you've got all of these mirrors, the, so anybody that moves, there's movement
all over the room that bounces through the mirrors. And, and, um, and the smell. You
know, as soon as you open that door, you get this Whoof of really toxic products.
And, and actually, it's a problem for hairdressers and barbers, too. They tend to get, ah, cancers,
and other auto-immune disorders much worse, and at much younger ages than most other people
in our population do, because of their daily exposure to these toxic products.
But, ah, you know, having autism, ah, when you're, when you're walking in and, and you
get that initial blast, it's, it, it hurts, it really hurts, and it makes you feel sick,
and you don't want to be there. So ah, if you want to cut an autistic's hair, try out
in a, in a yard somewhere, or in the city park.
If you want more information, some free webinars are coming up; even if you can't attend, registering
will give you a copy of the video recording. Autism Essentials gives you the three keys
to help autistics thrive at home, school, and work.
The Five Root Causes of Autism lets you find the unique blend at the root of your particular
autistic challenges, and how that affects recovery.
Thank you for caring about someone with autism.