Expert: Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell - 10/7/2007

Question
I have a 9 year old autistic daughter and I need help to prepare her for adolescent.  Are there any books, resources or support groups available to help me when she starts her menstruation? I would really appreciate any information you can give me.  Thank you.  Sara

Answer
Adolescence can be a difficult time for any child but especially for someone with autism. Your daughter's lucky to have a mother thinking ahead and planning.

An author and speaker who impresses me every time I hear him is Dave Hingsburger. He's a specialist and advocate for people with disabilities. You might find his book, "Sexuality and Your Sons and Daughters with Disabilities" useful (You can find it at this site - http://www.amazon.com/Sexuality-Your-Daughters-Intellectual-Disabilities/dp/1557...)

You can read about Dave Hingsburger and listen to some of his free audio lectures at this site: http://www.farnorthernrc.org/mylifemychoice/Hingsburger%20Speaks.htm

A good site for books is ParentBooks. You could search their catalog here: http://www.parentbooks.ca/Sexuality_&_Disability.html

"Taking Care of Myself: A Hygiene, Puberty and Personal Curriculum for Young People with Autism" is a book by Mary Wrobel, herself the mom of a child with autism (http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Care-Myself-Personal-Curriculum/dp/1885477945/ref=s...)

Chantal Sicile-Kira, a parent also, wrote "Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: A Parent's Guide to the Cognitive, Social, Physical, and Transition Needs ofTeenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders" (http://www.amazon.com/Adolescents-Autism-Spectrum-Transition-ofTeenagers/dp/0399...)

Jerry and Mary Newport (both of whom have Asperger's Syndrome) have written a good book on adolescence that you can view at this link - http://www.amazon.com/Autism-Aspergers-Sexuality-Puberty-Beyond/dp/1885477880/re...

Below are a few articles that may help you:

http://www.autismtoday.com/puberty.htm

http://autism.about.com/od/familyissuesandautism/f/pubertyfaq.htm

http://autism.suite101.com/article.cfm/autismaspergers_and_puberty

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=402&a=4362

http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/autismandsexualissues.msnw

Here's an article specifically on teaching about menstruation: http://books.google.com/books?id=N2NFGdzMSSwC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=autism+hygen...

I particularly like the following: http://www.aspect.org.au/publications/ksummer07/ksummer07_1824.pdf

This one is a free pdf booklet called, Let's Talk about Puberty - http://www.dsscotland.org.uk/publications/learning-disability/talk-about-puberty...

At the following site, you can preview a short movie called, Kylie's Private World, that is used to teach sex education to young girls with disabilities: http://www.lifesupportproductions.co.uk/

I'm a big believer in the benefit of using social stories. Here are a couple already made about menstruation:

http://members.cox.net/tinsnips/Media/menstruation1.pdf

http://members.cox.net/tinsnips/Media/menstruation2.pdf

Carol Gray explains more about using social stories for this topic at:
http://www.thegraycenter.org/socialstorywriting.cfm

Sincerely,

Sharon A. Mitchell, B.A., B.Ed., M.A.
www.autismsite.ca