Anybody know what to do about this?

[peglem]

At home only- not anywhere else- Allie constantly strips naked. My real concern about this is down the road (hopefully far down the road) when she starts her period. I'm crazy from constantly getting her clothes back on. While she is expert at removing them, she needs assistance to get dressed, and anyway, she's not too motivated to learn to dress independently. I think she's just more comfortable naked. So, when she's home, I spend @ 80% of my time helping her put her clothes back on. I'm afraid that my constantly doing this reinforces it. I've tried making her do it herself-poor results. Suggestions? Anybody else had to deal with this?

[Pamster]

Hi peglem, I don't know how old Allie is but Jackie at ten STILL runs around naked when he can at home and I get tired of helping dress him too like four times a morning before school because he's having a fit of reb ellion in the morning. One thing the behavior analyst told me about something simliar that he does is to not draw any attention to it so I don't know if it would apply here or not, we see him Weds. so I will ask him what straegies might work since I want him to start being a little more mindful of wearing his clothes at home.

We've been having an aide come out 3-4 times a week now for a few hours a time and he's only ONCE stripped while she was here, she was getting ready to leave and he'd gone into the bathroom to do his thing and before I knew it he was naked and wanting to come out, I told him he couldn't see the aide if he wasn't going to wear his clothes and he was still trying to get by me, and she walked out thank god..

I don't know what I will do if he ever tries to do it in front of her, so this is a good reminder that I need to talk to the behavior analyst about this myself and see what he recommends. Anyone else got any ideas besides redressing them wearing ourselves OUT with it time after time? I sure appreciate any ideas others might have with it. I hope he outgrows it, but that's because I am afraid down the line he's gonna be on his own in a group home and will NEED to wear clothes and won't want to and it will be a BIGGER problem then then it already is for us.

[peglem]

Allie is 12! We've not drawn a lot of attention to it, except to re-dress. I tell her that people aren't supposed to see her privates. She gives me no grief in the morning before school, or if we are going somewhere. Its just when she's at home. She doesn't fight me about putting the clothes back on- they just come back off in about 10 minutes.

[Pamster]

You're so lucky that she doesn't give you trouble in the AM like Jackie gives me about three times a week. Some days he's fine and only once am I required to dress him, and the kicker is he CAN do it himself it just frustrates him a bit to do it, so I don't think he's going to do it on his own anytime soon even though he can.

But that's off the point. I am sure grateful he leaves his clothes on at school and I have told him what you tell your daughter, that other people aren't supposed to see your privates. That is just the easiest way to put it IMO.

I hope someone else has some ideas to offer because I can't imagine how worrisome it must be for you to think about her menstrating and how she is going to have to wear underwear to be able to wear a pad on all the time for five to six days for that week its happening.

Has her p doc got any ideas or suggested something?

[Isabelle]

Never with my son until he was given so much Risperdal and then Zyprexa, he lost sense of decency. Something similar happened to another parent, she is a single mother and her dd, a bit older than my son, was given Risperdal without her knowledge and from then on she couldn't keep her clothes on and her mother was telling me she never has done that before, according to her caregivers she used to do it once in a blue moon and to put on her clothes when ask.

Came a point that the mother and caregivers were concerned. She was losing a lot of weight, she was hurting herself for no apparent reason and couldn't keep her clothes on. One day she run out from the group home naked and into the streets and caregivers run after her, they tackled her and dislocated one of her collarbones. That was 10 years ago and her mother, angrily, wanted them to be responsible for the pain caused to her dd. Apparently the bone keeps on dislocating. She brought her home and is taking care of her, she is just on phentoin for her seizures.

That she was outraged to find out that she was given Risperdal w/out her consent, is putting mildly. She wanted to sue them but with what money? and lawyers couldn't care. The non-verbal autistic has no legal status here, anybody can do/say anything about to them, just the parents care.

And if the parent, usually the mother, is too vocal, their mental status is questioned.

So, if some autistics tend to take off their clothes, these drugs make them even more deshibited. My observation.

[Pamster]

I am so thankful that risperdal didnn't do any damage we know of to my son. I know it has hurt people and it's scary that THAT is the first drug they approved to help people with autism, one that has the potential to do so much damage. I would have been outraged too if my DS was treated so callously. You should never tackle someone with autism in my opinion. There are easier ways to deal with things if you ask me.

When my son ran away from us two weeks ago, (my mom and I had taken groceries in and he ran behind the apartment bldg where we couldn't see him but knew where he was thank God) we both went around the building and she got one side while I moved into to grab him. I didnn't tackle him since you know I am an amputee it's near impossible to imagine me tackling my ten year old son and even more impossible to do since I don't believe in it.

Anyway we got him between us and told him "You can't run like that, you scared us badly, we couldn't see you and were so worried. You can't run away from adults like that Jackie, you have to listen to adults because they are only trying to help you." And man if I ever hear of an adult abusing his trust I will be so TICKED off it won't even be funny. So far the school has been really good about that trust, but I won't hesitate to do something if I find that someone crosses any lines.

We have to be good advocates for our kids since most of them have trouble talking and expressing things. One great thing that's new since using RDI is that Jackie is talking about what hurts him. Today he had a migraine and I helped him as best as I could to get over it. Gave him three motrin, took him into the bedroom and lay on the bed with him, rubbing his back while trying to soothe him verbally. He said, "My head hurts," and put his hand right overtop of half his head and it was even warmer on that side so I know he was having a migraine.

But THAT is major progress in my book, for him to tell us he is in pain is a major step forward.

[peglem]

This problem has been going on since way, way before Allie was put on any medication and I'm not sure she ever developed a sense of decency. She's happy with her body, not self conscious about her nudity and frankly, I can't come up with a good solid reason for her to wear clothes- I mean like a reason that makes sense to her. Its less comfortable, she doesn't care if she gets cold, and she doesn't, apparently care if her family sees her naked. Kinda like the innocence of Adam & Eve before the forbidden fruit thing.

P-doc no help. The only suggestion I've heard is try a reward system. These do not work for Allie. She could care less about people waving a fish in her face. Yet, the fact that she keeps her clothes on at school, means there must be a reason there...Social pressure? I don't think she's ever tried to get naked there. When I've asked her teachers about it- they say it hasn't been an issue for them and I get the feeling they think its because I'm not strict enough with her.

Her siblings don't seem to mind too much either. They still have friends over and just tell them, "My sister is autistic. She runs around naked a lot."

[Isabelle]

Long time ago there was a similar discussion and somebody suggestion's of safe clothes that are hard to take off was like wearing overalls backwards?????

Sorry, no great suggestions here.

Since home he is running around naked, but lately he has wearing clothes again, perhaps 2x a week, which is a huge improvement. Also he is 3 months and 21 days off all meds.

Long time ago I described how Thorazine changed his behaviour, he was 11 suddenly couldn't get ready for school. It worsen with Risperdal/Zyprexa and in 2000 searching online I found "Catatonia" and it fitted his new behaviour. Lorna Wing's name came up and we emailed her who sent us her not yet published article on "Catatonia and Autism" is her theory that some autistics suffer from catatonia, a neurologic disorder, and antipsychotics and other drugs with "parkisonism" as adverse effects could aggravate it and if his SIB was not getting better to give him any drug that didn't have "parkinsonism" on it. As turn out all and each has not only that but psychosis. Deshibition is part of psychosis.

[DoIhaveto?]

This seems simple compared to the other answers, but I just keep thinking it could be a problem with the sensation of clothes on her skin. Does she do it with all clothes, or certain fabrics more than others? Maybe something like brushing could effect the behavior?

[peglem]

It could be sensory related, but it seems all clothing is equal here. But why does she not do this at school? its the same clothing.