Daughter with Autism/Puberty

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Hi everyone my daughter is 8 yrs old higher functioning, and potty trained for the most part. She started developing and she has been more moody then usual and sticking her hand down her pants and smelling her hand and saying it is stinky. I usually tell her we will shower and it will be clean. She always put a book or something between her legs and rocked back and forth from an early age but now she touches herself more but also tells us how it smells and tries to get others to smell it at times and is obsessed with it. I had her tested for a UTI it came back normal. Does anyone else's child do this? She has had to go into emotional support class because of her behaviors, and she use to be in regular ed with supports. She has been frusterated and i get calls from the school and notes home everyday from the therapists that she is biting and scratching and trying to run out of the school. She is going to a psychiatrist the end of this month and i don't know what to do to help her.

Autism and puberty are a rough combination for parents and for us autistics as well. We tend to take life's phases to the extreme and puberty is no exception. You need to be explaining to her about her period now... such changes can be startling and she needs to be prepared for them. She will probably develop PMS like you have never seen because the rise in hormones around the period makes our system go bazerk. Also at the height of puberty 12-14 is a really rough time for us and our parents because of the same reason. I am just telling you this to warn you. It is best to be forewarned of such things.
As a teen, around my period, I would get very moody and act quite bizarre (even for me which I acted rather strangely most of the time), then when my period started I would get powerful abdominal cramps that were so bad I had to be sent home 2 days out of each month. As far as what to about the autism+crazy-making hormones, I have no idea but just hang in there. Birth control to treat PMS can cause alot of problems for those who are sensitive to medications. I have a fellow aspie friend who developed PMDD that did not go away after quit taking the birth control.

As far as the smell...once girls hit puberty, their "vaja" starts producing lubercation. This lubercation can smell fishy if her diet is not the best. She needs to eat alot more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and cut out junk food to get rid of the fishy smell. With the right diet, her lubercation will smell more fruity instead, and hopefully less bothersome to her. No amount of showering will make the smell go away, only nutrient rich diet.

Sorry if too much info.

Jojo

Hi no it isn't tmi you are very helpful. She eats lots of healthy food and doesn't like junkfood. I will try to give her more fruits she only likes oranges. She likes corn alot but will eat carrots, peas and green beans. Anyway it makes sense she has lubrication at this point before PMS. She is high functioning but might not understand if i verbally tell her about it, i might need a social story if anyone knows of a good site or somewhere i could find one for puberty PMS. She sometimes touches herself etc when she is stressed in school too i think as a behavior. At church she actually took off her pants weeks ago and constantly grabbing herself.

The responses to the OP have been helpful in retrospect for me, too. It helps me understand my own puberty issues from decades ago somewhat better.

I think the sunglasses, and earplugs may be helpful. I think, if your daughter is able to comprehend at her age, that you should explain different categories of behavior to her.

1. Those that are appropriate at any time and place
2. Those that are never appropriate.
3. Those that are appropriate in private, or just around family, but that should not be engaged in, in public.

I recommend not trying to stop her when she engages in these particular behaviors in private, as they may be giving her some comfort. Also, it would needlessly stress her, and she is likely to still do them when you are not around anyway. It is more important to get her to not do them in public. I am not sure how you should go about it, other than to tell her that it is a private, personal matter that should not be done in public.

Do give the sunglasses and earplugs a try, and I hope you are able to get her to limit things to private times without too much trouble.

I would definitely get her some pantyliners for the discharge.

I agree with jojobean about the hormones and pain. I thought that it was difficult enough to deal with when I was 12 (I started getting breasts around 11, which wasn't a picnic either) so I think it would be very rough at her age.

I could try telling her about germs but she would laugh and still say stinky eww germs and maybe still do it she knows what germs are. She does it usually at home unless she is stressed in school i think and she uses it for control or to defend herself.

Yeah i agree and in school they are giving her different sensory activities to do to help her. Thanks for your help