Let’s learn more about Henry.
If you missed his intro, click here to read it. Henry is a cuddly, energetic 5-year-old with a mixed bag of differing sensory needs that show up most around bedtime, transitions, and anything involving water.
Today, we’ll zoom in on his sensitivity and avoidance of water-related hygiene tasks. His parents shared that he avoids washing his hands (especially in public) and could go long stretches (up to 10 days) without a bath due to sensory overload. As you can imagine, for an active boy who goes to school, runs around the playground, and does all the things 5-year-olds do (because he’s also a sensory seeker in other aspects of his day) — hygiene should be a priority to work on.
Henry vs. Water
Henry dislikes the sensation of water dripping down, which has had a big impact on his hygiene routine. Specifically, he avoids:
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Washing his hands
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Washing his face
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Taking a bath
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Putting lotion on his dry hands
His mom recalled that just six months ago (over summer), bathing wasn’t as much of a struggle. Her hypothesis was that he had more exposure to water through pools, beaches, and splash pads. Since then, he’s started having extreme meltdowns around water.
He screams, cries, and splashes as he tries to climb out of the tub when it’s time to rinse off his body, face, or hair. As you can imagine (and maybe even relate to), this became one of the most stressful activities for the family — so they stretched it out to only doing bath time every 7–10 days. And even then, it was an “all hands on deck” kind of situation, requiring advance prep, reminders of bath night, and both caregivers present for physical and emotional support.
Understanding bathtime struggles
When kids struggle with hygiene tasks across the board like Henry, it’s a strong clue that sensory differences could be part of the picture. In this case, the tactile sense is most involved.
Quick refresher: the tactile sense includes receptors on and below the skin. Some areas of the body — like the face and fingertips — have a higher concentration of tactile receptors, making them more sensitive.
