I remember being 4-yrs old and looking at an M&M with a hole in it and becoming convinced there were worms in it. Mom wanted me to eat it, but I screamed and threw it down. Mild hallucinations were common for me and I often let my imagination get the better of me. He could grow out of it. Until then, you might try putting an oil-free moisturizer on his hands so they don't get too chapped. This could just be a form of stemming, and he is feeling the urge to wash his hands although in your mind he just did it. He may not even realize that he is doing it so often. Maybe you should try redirecting is attention to something else when he gets ready to wash his hands again and againg. For example, try getting a squishy or squeezy toy for him and let it be like a type of therapy to get his mind off of washing his hands so much. Whatever you can think of to distract the thought of monsters being on his hand. Also, don't pull your hair out because today it may be washing hands every five minutes and tomorrow it may be something else. Redirect the behavior with something else he loves to do.
Could he have seen a commercial for an anti-bacterial soap or cleaning product? Germs are often pictured as monster-like. If so, it might help to talk calmly about germs, and explain that some are good (like the ones that help us digest our food) and some are bad (like poop-germs which can make us sick).
It might help to have a routine and social story about hand-washing -- that it's enough to wash them after going to the bathroom and before eating.
Here's a social story about when to wash your hands:
http://www.txsha.org/Convention/pdf/Zimmermann,%20Dottie-Soc ial%20Stories-Major%20Spkr.pdf
Good luck with everything.
OK- maybe a really silly guess but how about visual sensitivity to light??? Anybody ever see the blue spots after a flashbulb, or when you look at a bright lamp? After you look at the bright light, the other things you look at have blue spots. It could be he sees this and freaks out that there really is something blue on his hands. Many people with ASD have sensitivities to light, and the amount of sensitivity can change depending on stress and other factors.Most recently Adam has been washing or wetting his hands excessively. Like every 3 mins. He goes in the bathroom constantly.
This morning I asked him why he was wetting or washing his hands so much and I gave him examples like, "Do you do it to clean your hands? Do you feel like they are dirty? Do you like the way the water feels??" He said no to all of the above and then said to me "No...I have monsters on my hands and the water melts them away" I then asked him what the monsters look like and he said, "They are blue and I put water on them and it melts them."
OMG!!!! Please someone tell me what this is? Does anyone know? Anyone experience anything close to this with their children before?
Karrie
I guess the thing that worries me the most was not the hand washing....but the description of WHY he is washing his hands...you know? It's scaring me.
Karrie
Which comes foremost, in his mind ... is he trying to explain away an OCB, or deos he REALLY believe he has monsters on his hands?Ok.. this kid is going to give me a nervous breakdown.
I just asked him again to show me where his monsters are on his hands and he laughed at me and said, "There's no such thing as monsters!"
OK....that's weird. (shaking head in confusion)
Karrie
A friend's child with aspergers saw lions and tigers all the time..it changed to snakes and spiders~but over time it totally faded out:)
I wouldnt worry too much~dont give it too much attn.
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