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16 yr old wearing dirty socks day after day

eatenbylocusts

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Anyone have any insight on this kind of behavior? My very bright daughter who just turned 16 wears the same socks and bras numerous times. The bras aren't as troubling as the socks, but she will wear them and not be aware or care that they may smell. This is the third time I have found that there were no dirty socks in her hamper when there should've been a few pr. based on when I last did laundry.

She can't/won't tell me why she does this. I asked her if she was doing some kind of experiment. She has enough pairs of socks and most of them are the same so it shouldn't be because she has a favorite type. I told her the last time that she shouldn't do it and she agreed. Wednesday I found she had been wearing the same pr. for 3 days. She walks around on the floor so they are visibly dirty. She showers every day, (or least she turns on the shower). I talked to her for a while about this issue. This morning I asked her if she had clean socks on and she said she didn't know. This of course was a no and I made her change before going to school. She is a pretty obedient kid otherwise. I'm going to have her write something today when she gets home about listening, hygiene, etc., but would love some insight into this.

She takes medication for ADD and was noted to have symptoms of Aspergers.
 

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Is it a preference, or the only pair she can find? I often get too distracted to do laundry and end up wearing the least dirty clothes I can find (until I make myself get the laundry done).

If it is a preference, it could still be tied to an ASD, but I can't relate to that preference.
 
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dayhiker

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Well. I'm thinking she will go thru quite a few changes before she is on her own so I'd not worry about that.

I used to wear socks a few days, it was easy to pick them up and put them on. Which I got planter's warts I realized that the sock would have the virus in them and transfer it to the other foot. So not I only wear socks one day. .

Sounds like you have covered hygiene tho, so not new insight.
 
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eatenbylocusts

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She got a perfect math score in her state testing before 6th grade. She had been in regular classes getting ok grades. After 6th grade started she moved to another district without her IEP and her teachers were very excited about her scores and she ended up in a gifted program and then Honors for Jr. High. She took math in Jr. High with seniors and has made straight A's for most semesters since the change in school.

She's a great student and independent in that area. A few times I have discovered that she is stuck on some homework because she can't think of a picture to draw-something that I think would be a 3 min. job. She has been known for staying up very late getting homework done. She has issues with social interaction and decision making in real life which is why we are blessed to have found a child care provider that she can walk to after school. I sent her to the neighbor's house a few years back to give them some of their mail and an hour later found her still standing on their porch because they didn't come to the door.

Today I asked her again about her sock situation since I had to throw away some that came out of the wash with holes. I found a basket full of socks and about 10 of them were dirty. And her running bra was stashed in a basket even though she knew I was washing her gym clothes.

So while I was going through her baskets I just told her again that she wasn't allowed to put dirty socks in with her clean clothes.
 
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Darkhorse

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Maybe this is a silly question, but...do you have a rule about throwing socks, bras, underwear, etc. into the laundry hamper every day? That way she doesn't have to evaluate her clothes, just dump them and get new ones out.

(I have 2 Asperger boys) :)
 
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eatenbylocusts

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I made it very clear about the socks quite a while ago. Since the situation came up again I added the underwear requirement just in case. We discussed bras, but there are different rules for those. I bought her a new package of socks and more bras and have confiscated some of her old, useless bras that she kept choosing over more substantial ones. I mentioned this to her psy. and got some info I need to follow up on.
 
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I have Autism (was diagnosed when I was 21 and I'm 27 now) and I have put on the same clothes before (just not all the time nor is it reoccurring), it's just that unlike your daughter I can catch myself doing it and change out of the dirty clothes into the clean clothes. My brain realizes what it has done and seeks to correct the problem. My mom says I am very intelligent despite having autism. I also do my share of the chores and the laundry every day and I end up having fresh things to wear the next day, which I do put on.

I really have no idea why your daughter keeps putting on the same things day after day after day but maybe if you ask your doctor you can get some answers.
 
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I personally see no problem with it since it's socks and they are technically supposed to smell. Now, if it were clothes such as shirts or pants/dresses I could see a problem since they are more noticeable if they smell
 
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Darkhorse

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Actually, socks are not "supposed to smell", although they frequently do. That's one of the reasons changing them regularly is important.

People with ASDs have enough struggles interacting with the rest of society without making themselves less desirable because they smell.

(This isn't meant in a harsh way, but to facilitate better social relations)
 
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eatenbylocusts

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Actually, socks are not "supposed to smell", although they frequently do. That's one of the reasons changing them regularly is important.

People with ASDs have enough struggles interacting with the rest of society without making themselves less desirable because they smell.

(This isn't meant in a harsh way, but to facilitate better social relations)

Yes, thank you lol.
Now she appears to be changing socks on a regular basis, but I have noticed another troubling thing. She spits.....often. Like a sailor (sorry sailors). She has a trash can in her room and she was missing, leaving a pool around her can. I told her to get up and go to the bathroom. Apparently that is too much work and I noticed her wiping it on her pant leg. A few days ago when I picked her up after school I noticed one whole part of her lower pant leg was very wet. I'm sure bored kids in her classes have noticed this too.
 
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Have you mentioned this to her doctor? I don't know if there's a correlation between ASDs and Obsessive-Compulsive behaviors, but...it might help.

One of my sons shows OC actions, and takes medication to lessen it.

Both of them tend to spit in sinks, and sometimes don't wash it out well enough.
 
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Does she prefer to wear dirty socks, or is she just not aware of her personal hygiene/just not bothering to change them? I work with autism spectrum children and many of them have no clue about personal hygiene (they just don't get it!) but when you explicitly tell them what to do, they will happily oblige. Does she happily oblige? Could you explain to her why we need to change our socks each day? (i.e. bacteria growing, smelliness, etc)
 
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eatenbylocusts

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Does she prefer to wear dirty socks, or is she just not aware of her personal hygiene/just not bothering to change them? I work with autism spectrum children and many of them have no clue about personal hygiene (they just don't get it!) but when you explicitly tell them what to do, they will happily oblige. Does she happily oblige? Could you explain to her why we need to change our socks each day? (i.e. bacteria growing, smelliness, etc)
Explanation doesn't seem to have much effect on her. Rules and possibly consequences seem to work better. I don't think there are any issues with socks anymore. The issue is now spitting, wiping saliva on clothes. She has been to an ENT, had a barium swallow, been evaluated by OT, Speech, new primary Dr. According to the tests and evals there is nothing physically wrong with her. She has just started a teen group through our medical and they are supposed to cover hygiene.
 
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joshua 1 9

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Anyone have any insight on this kind of behavior? My very bright daughter who just turned 16 wears the same socks and bras numerous times.
My son use to do that with his socks. Maybe he still does, he just does not wash them. They rot out fairly quick if you do not wash them so then he will put a new pair on. Always seemed sort of unusual to me. He is about 38 now and I don't think he has any sort of problem with his feet. Although feet can be a real problem sometimes for people that do not take care of them. Esp if they are doing a lot of walking. Lots of people give lots of warning about how important it is to take care of your feet or maybe go to a foot doctor on a regular basis to get their help in taking care of you feet. I use to have this asian women that would cut my toe nails and put some sort of liquid on my toes to keep them clean of fungus and she only charged $10. But I hear the business that do that stuff charges like $40, if they paint up your toe nails. I really don't know what is worse, people that are obsessed with their feet or the opposite where they do not do enough to take care of their feet.
 
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My son has clothes he wants to wear every day. He knows he has to wear them at home and they have to be washed. I do that while he is at school. You may need to have her put her socks in the washer every morning and get a new pair then. I think it's OCD like behavior. It may be a sensory thing too. Just keep trying to train her to change them in the morning until it's habit. Does the school do social stories? They may be able to find one for you work with her on it.
 
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