Tips for When Your Special Needs Daughter Gets Her Period
by
Chantai Snellgrove 
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Note: I thought these articles were worth sharing and repeating.
When your Special Needs Daughter Gets her Period
[Source: Friendship Circle Blog]
From the time my daughter was born with Down syndrome thirteen years ago, my biggest concern was what would happen when she got her period. I have learned over the years that I am not alone when it comes to parental worry on this subject.
Let me stress up front that I am not a medical professional in any capacity so what I am going to share with you should not trump your doctor’s recommendations; I am simply sharing my journey and providing some helpful hints.
When your daughter gets her period
Learn your school’s and nurse’s clinic’s menstruation policy
I know this sounds absolutely crazy, but this is huge. In our school district, the nurses will not provide pads or help your daughter put a pad on her underwear. They will also not accompany your daughter into the bathroom for any reason, even if she has special needs.
Read the rest of this article ––> Friendship Circle
Preparing for the “Monthly Visitor”
Tips from mothers that have already been through it.
My daughter has not yet becomes a young lady, but, the thought of her starting to menstruate does send a bit of a shiver down my spine. How should I handle it? When should I begin talking about it? How will my daughter handle it? What new surprises may I now have to deal with? It’s tough on any young lady, let alone one with other challenges. So, I set out to ask other mothers that have already been through it with their daughters to share their experiences and provide any tips that would help guide me and ease my fears. Just being able to hear/read how another parent handled it put some of my fears to rest. I now feel that I, at least, have a game plan. Below are a set of questions, along with answers, that were asked of mothers who children have different disabilities. Because of the sensitivity of this article, names have been changed to protect the privacy of all.
PSN: When did you start talking about menstruation with your special needs daughter? What did you say? How did you explain it?
Read the rest of this article ––> ”Monthly Visitor”
Puberty and Your Child with Autism
[Source: Ability Path.org ]
At a parent group meeting, a mother asked “since my daughter’s mental age is about a third grade level, why is she starting her period? This doesn’t seem possible.” All children go through puberty regardless of IQ or social skills. The brain does not tell the body to stop growing if the boy or girl’s developmental level is younger than their age. Puberty is a stage of development just like moving from being an infant to a toddler. Puberty is considered to begin around age 12 for girls and age 14 for boys. The physical changes of puberty are centered on the development of secondary characteristics and the onset of menstruation (in girls) and ejaculation (in boys).
For Girls
The physical changes usually begin between ages 7 and 14. Girls begin to have growth spurts, develop breasts, pubic and underarm hair, and have vaginal discharge. It becomes increasingly important to have good hygiene by taking a shower or bath each day, washing your hair, underarms, and vaginal area. A girls menstruation (period) usually follows within a year or two of these changes. The average age a girl starts menstruating is around 12 or 13 but some girls start as early as 9 and others are as late as 17 (Strong, DeVault, Sayad & Yarber, 2005).
Read the rest of this article ––> ”Puberty and Your Child with Autism”
Helpful Articles
- Puberty Help! Great Books to Help You with Questions and Challenges
- Puberty and Hygiene: How to Support Our Children
- Puberty Tips for You and Your Special Needs Daughter
- 5 Lifesaving Tests for Women
- Spa Day
- 4 Features of Total Fitness: The Foundations of Better Living
- Simple Finds: Encouraging Good Hygiene & Independence
- Safe and Easy Bathing with Lathermitts, Because Bath Time is Supposed to Be Fun
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I have Asperger Syndrome (High-Functioning Autism), and I sometimes feel like I can barely control what comes out of my mouth when I’m PMSing! I get SO irritable and sensitive during the 1-2 weeks before my period that I feel like I can barely control what I say and do! I asked my mom if she thought about what would happen when I got my period, when I was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum at age 2 1/2. She said she thought I would have a handle on it (and I did handle it pretty maturely even though I was 10 when I got my period), because I’m high-functioning. I asked her if she worried that I would suffer from intense PMS. She said she didn’t worry too much about it because PMS is not too intense for her. It looks like she had to worry, though. I have tried taking vitamin B Super-b complex tablets and Calcium supplements. One month, I tried taking both, and I hardly noticed that I was PMSing! I have recently gone on a birth control pill, but I’m not sure yet whether or not it works for me.
My daughter is 9 and will be turning 10 in February and I am totally freaked out about her period starting she is pretty much nonverbal she can get her point across knows some words and she has phelan-mcderrid syndrome a rare chromosome deletion disability that affects a wide range of things to speech,metal delays,understanding,metal processing and other issues that a lot of autistic children experience I don’t know how she will handle it or if she can even understand what it is and why it is happening to her and I have this gut feeling that it is gonna just freak her out and this is just got me all screwed up in my head I don’t know what to do and there aren’t any other children close to us that I know of that I can get advice from there parents on how they handled this because this syndrome is so rare last I was told there is only about 800-900 known cases in the United States and doctors don’t know much about this syndrome which is scary enough ..my daughter right now is very well mannered don’t get me wrong she has her moments but not being able to vocalize fustrates her so much so along with not haveing a way to communicate to me how she is feeling mentally or physical it is so hard for me to see her struggle even though she does it all with a smile so this period thing I know is comeing close and I don’t have the slightest clue how she will take it and as far as the schools in south louisiana I already know they r gonna give us hell cause as far as the schools over here r concerned with the disabiled population they can care less lots all about putting on a show now the few teachers that I have had the pleasure of meeting that have taught my daughter only two have really put there heart and soul into her education and really got to know her and love her and I couldn’t thank them more as far as the others they were not special education teachers when it came down to it they all just found a reason to move along to anthor school which sets her back even more they suck and they know who they r and I sure make sure every parent I talk to knows about them and there ugly ways toward our kids they don’t deserve to even know our kids anyways back to the period thing if anyone can suggest anything or anyone I could talk to about it…. I begging y’all I need help I love my daughter more the words can say so I have to find a way to help her. Thank u
Shawn Lejeune (luvin me some sage Lejeune )
Please help