at what age do girls... | Autism PDD
We just got back from a week with the cousins. I (auntie) spent a few mornings brushing my almost 8 year old (NT) niece's hair. She was not into it in the least - brushing it on her own. I initiated the hair brushing each day. She had zero interest in even keeping it somewhat neat. She's not a tomboy, just a typical little girl.
So there's another country heard from.
Yes, you could apply the detangler (works best if you use a little bit and then WAIT till it coats the hair), and then have them comb their hair out. One step at a time ...
Oh, and also, a VERY wide-toothed detangling comb can make all the difference too!
I have baby-fine hair, but have grown it out (once to waist-length!), because with the better conditioner and a decent detangler comb, I COULD.
cool - thanks. I've been campaigning on getting the girls short hair cuts, but their mother won't agree to it :)
I had thought that their aversion to hair brushing (because it's HURTS!) was an autistic thing, but maybe it's a young girl/long hair thing, too.
She probably already knows most of thsi stuff, too - just so you don't think she's a dope - but she's out of town and I'm just thinking of things that I can have them start doing themselves when they get back in an effort to help them work on their self-help skills, in general.
I think light touches to the head are worse in ASD kids -- tangles are UNIVERSAL!
I think it is a great idea though to increase demand on their self-help skills (Oh, T is gonna HATE me! LOL).
In India children (Generally) have very short hair until they are old enough to comb it themselves. T wants to grow her hair long, despite my efforts to talk her out of it. So ... it is heavy, fine, thick, GLORIOUS hair ... that tangles, and I must comb it. Funny thing is, she thinks I am "growing it out for her!" despite my explaining it grows itself.
When I was a girl, I had long thick hair that I refused to brush on my own. By first grade my mother had enough and made me get a Carol Brady shag cut - anyone remember that look? I was sooooooo upset. I loved my hair long, I just wasn't mature enough to take care of it. That was the only year I refused to smile for my school picture -I hated my hair!
Fred - I understand why you might want the girls to get shorter haircuts, but only do it if they could care less. Many of us girls are funny about our hair. Personally, I think they're awfully young to be fully responsible for maintaining their hair.
start taking care of their own hair - brushing out the snarls is a problem for us because the girls are sensitive to hair pulling. When do typical girls usually start tending to their own hair brushing?Oh, yes!
Well T is 6 and I still must shampoo and comb or brush the tangles out. And it is a hassle. I think I started caring for my own hair (semi-successfully) at 9 or 10?
A good de-tangling product is a big plus. I like to use Garnier fructis smoothing milk. And you leave it in!
I know that my daughter Zoe is 7 and she is just now starting to brush her own hair. When it comes to pulling her hair into a ponytail or something, well that one is left to me.
As far as washing, I still have to take care of that as well, but like said above, a good detangler is very helpful.
My daughter is 5 and is unable to do a true brushing ( like after a bath) or put her hair up. She does like to brush her hair in the morning as long as it's not in any knots.More like she just does it so she can admire herself in the mirror
She cannot be relied upon though to have total reponsibility for the care of her hair. We would be unable to survive here w/out a detangler, my daughter's hair is soooooo thick.
right - that's how they are. They can go through the hairbrushing motions, but they can't actually do a good job of it yet.Fred,
This might be a good detangler for the girls http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/product.do?id=53 It's spray, but designed for toddlers to use. Another option is to find a children's leave in conditioner, which will have the same effect, but usually you apply it with your hands like regular conditioner.
There are some good leave in conditioners that will do the same thing. I know St. Ive's has one that is a no rinse conditioner that is a pineapple-mango that you just put in and it detangles then you just rinse it out when they bathe the next time. Paul Mitchell also has two hair products for kids that I love but they are a little expensive the first one is Baby don't cry which is a conditioning shampoo the second is taming spray. Also the super skinny serum which is like a leave in conditioner that detangles. That's why I sue the stuff I do -- no sprays! Yikes! Smoothing milk comes in a pump-top bottle. You squeeze it out and rub it in. It is an adult product, I use it on me so it is handy ...fred,
I don't think most girls can do a decent job until at least 7 or so. It depends on the child, of course and they type of hair they had. I wouldn't let the girls do the detangler themselves at that age - first of all, you're likely to go through the bottle VERY quickly
I probably started doing a good job around 6-7, but I HATED having my hair brushed/combed because my parents insisted on having my hair really long and I got horrible snarls all the time. I didn't have thick hair, but still got the snarls. Until about age 7, I would comb my hair most of the way, but wouldn't comb the snarls. Finally I figured out a way to comb through the snarls with the least pain - but it takes FOREVER! You have to untangle each hair strand by strand. My parents weren't very happy with this method, but at least I was doing it myself, doing a good job and not complaining about it!
L'Oreal Kids does make a detangler - I use it on my dd. I think it works well, but she has fine hair. So, I don't know if it works on thicker hair!My daughter's hair tangles very easily, and the children's detanglers don't work that well. The last time I took her in for a cut, the hair dresser used a combination of these leave in products that not only get the tangles out of wet hair, but leave her hair so soft, that it minimizes tangles in dry hair as well:
http://www.redken.com/products/displayProduct.cfm?p=522
http://www.folica.com/CHI_Silk_Infusi_d2300.html
A few drops of the CHI, and 3 squirts of the Anti-Snap does the trick! I purchased both at Fantastic Sam's.
L'Oreal Kids works well. Their shampoo and conditioner make their hair so soft and it smells nice and fruity. I know they used to sell a detangler. Also, the smoothing mild someone mentioned is great.[QUOTE=snoopywoman]L'Oreal Kids does make a detangler - I use it on my dd. I think it works well, but she has fine hair. So, I don't know if it works on thicker hair![/QUOTE]
I was going to suggest this as well.
think he has enough proprioceptive awareness of where his hands are in
relation to his head. He tries to comb his hair, but just kind of messes it up
with some random combing motions.
I use CALIFORNIA BABY detangler (local product--but can be bought online)
I spray it all over the place, including in his face, the furniture...
It's all
natural, water mixed with botanical extracts. Won't do anything to the eyes.
And it smells like natural lavander. Comb glides right through.I can't remember taking care of my hair
I have not yet read all the responses, so if I duplicate, sorry:)
My dd semi brushes her own hair. She tries and can do it for the most part but if we are going out, I like to do it. She cant do her own styling but I wouldnt expect her to do that yet. She is just a few months older than your girls and she actually started showing interest in doing her own hair over the last few months.
She used to tangle a lot but ever since I started using a new shampoo, our lives changed:) You should try Suave Kids 2 in 1 Smoothers. There is a detangler in the shampoo. It is soooo nice and the first time I used it, I was so very impressed. Her hair is so soft and it really smells good too. She has zero tangles right out of the bath. I can comb her hair in seconds. It lasts too, I never have problems the next morning either.
I also heard once that using a silk pillow case helps. I dont know though??? I didnt go so far as to try it.
My DD is 8, NT and hates brushing her hair. She has this beautiful, shiny, thick, dark blond hair that's down past the middle of her back. She has just, within the last couple of months, started washing her own hair. I do still have to squirt the shampoo and conditioner into her hands or else I would be having to buy new bottles every couple of days. She can brush her own hair, but it's difficult because it's so long and thick. She puts her own hair in a low, nape of the neck ponytail, and can semi use barrettes, but that's about it. I use Aussie Volumizing Foam and Leave in Conditioner, so this is what she also uses and it works well on her long, thick hair.
After almost two years of growing it out from a layered bob with bangs, she has decided she wants to cut it off into a chin length bob that's slightly longer in the front.
My daughter is 13. She has just in the last couple of years started completely doing her own hair for ANY occasion. To include curling or straightening or ponytails etc.
She has been able to brush her hair for years and even put a pony in but it wasn't presentable for public unless I took over. That's one of those things that they start doing around age five but don't do it well enough at that age to not have help and then it progressivly gets better as they age. I'm sure if made to do it all the time it would be a quicker process but I think that there are a lot of moms like me out there that wan't their little girls hair done perfect....Therefore we end up taking over the job for them when we don't see the results we want when they do it themselves.
Karrie
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