You can totally make your client’s day by doing something very easy and very soothing. You see, what most people fear about bathing is being cold. The time right after bathing is the coldest and most uncomfortable. The nicest thing you can do is throw some towels in the dryer before a bath and use warm towels to dry your client off.

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Hospital acquired infections are a very serious problem. Hand washing for 20 seconds with lots of friction is the number one way to prevent infections from spreading. Caregivers can be a great help by washing their own hands often, encouraging the patient to wash her hands often and reminding the staff to wash their hands thoroughly before touching the patient.

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Healthcare is an ever changing institution. By the time you have learned one skill, three others have newer, better procedures. According The Household Physician, written in 1905 by seven very educated physicians, carbolic acid was a safe and effective treatment for hemorrhoids. We know now that is neither safe nor effective. Keep learning. It is imperative to your health.

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Healthy food is important, but the occasional comfort food treat has great benefits too (relaxation, for example). It’s important to enjoy the treats you love, but not use them to medicate frustration, anger or burnout. Have a piece of cake, pie or brownie as a way to connect to your client, but don’t use comfort food to self-medicate.

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Letting other people help you will not only free up time, but allow for better relationships. Let your client help with a few things. Encourage family and neighbors to help. This will increase dignity and independence. When your clients have a sense of self-worth, they function at a higher level. This makes care easier and decreases the client’s distress.

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Many aspies, including myself, find touch difficult at best, painful in many instances. We rebuff physical contact and affection, seemingly an indication that we do not wish to be bothered, when our reality is an inherent need of space. We default to this innate mode of self-preservation in our attempt to avoid sensory overload.

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Or lack thereof. Aspies lack the natural ability to display emotion. This absence is often reflected in our face, making it appear lackluster. This does not mean feelings are not percolating inside, but our emotional response is often delayed, and while it can be taught, we struggle to understand how to express ourselves, both verbally and nonverbally.

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This includes people on the autism spectrum. Quirks, need for space, clumsy social graces notwithstanding, we long to be loved, needed, included, and appreciated by others. Our ideas and constraints of friendship might vary from the norm, but to have an aspie friend is to have a loyal, honest, dependable, caring person in life.

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While the intensity and vast knowledge of girls’ interests are no less than boys, they typically are more practical. Combined with the desire to please and fit in, red flags are less likely to be raised until girls fail to outgrow or elevate these interests to a more mature level.

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Signs of a child’s ability to properly communicate with her environment can begin with a smile or lack thereof. As an infant, I rarely smiled. This natural reflex for most has eluded me throughout my life. A smile for me takes much work, and though I strive to achieve a joyful persona, near constant anxiety is my reality.

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