By Gina Badalaty

 

6 Keys to Help You Teach Your Special Needs Daughter about Puberty

One of the more challenging aspects of raising a daughter with special needs is teaching her about puberty.  This year my 9 year old, Amelia, started showing the earliest signs of puberty.  I panicked, but after I calmed down, I came up with a practical plan on how I would teach her.  In developing my plan, I discovered six keys that can help you take the right approach to teaching your daughter about puberty.

1.  Communication.
If your child has a speech disability, or is unable to understand you, you must find another way to communicate what puberty is all about.  This can entail a variety of methods.  A good book can help, or you may need to find a picture exchange system (PECS) or social story based specifically on puberty.  If not, look around for good images and create your own PECS or social story tailored to your child’s needs.  We use the American Girl book, “The Care and Keeping of You,” which Amelia likes very much.  (Note: it is very graphic.)

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Prepared for PubertyI was 13 when I got my period and although it was 33 years ago, what I remember most about that day is how lonely I felt. Menstruation wasn’t something discussed among friends, much less at home. I was prepared in the literal sense. I had a box of pads under my bathroom sink and I knew I would bleed and what to do about it. Still, I wasn’t prepared emotionally. Facts weren’t very helpful when I felt like nobody understood and nobody wanted to talk about it.

When I found myself the mother of not one, but three daughters, I knew it would be up to me to make sure they were not only physically prepared for whatever life threw at them, but emotionally prepared as well.  From the time they were born, I made it a point to talk to my girls. We talk about everything… from school to friends to puberty and even those darn boys. I always knew that talking and being open and honest with them was going to be the answer to raising smart, secure and self-confident children. I never wanted my kids to feel they couldn’t come to me and ask questions, or talk, or tell me how they were feeling. READ MORE… »

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Carolyn West Bio PictureA slap in the face.

When I think about a girl’s first period, that’s what comes to mind. A slap in the face.

When I was young and had recently started menstruating, I remember having a conversation with my cousin. She asked if my mother had slapped me in the face? WHAT? Slapped me? My mother had never touched me. She went on to explain that she had been visiting with our Grandmother when she first got hers. She got slapped.

I was horrified and thankful that I wasn’t staying with my Grandmother when it happened to me. Why the slap? Different sources say it is either a way of bringing blood to the face to celebrate fertility… or it’s to shame the girl. Either way, a slap is a slap and is not a great way to start off this period (no pun intended) in your life. It’s one of those Jewish traditions that have been passed down through the generations and nobody really has a clue where it originated or why.

Other countries and religions have traditions as well. In some countries menstruation is celebrated by building the woman a home, making an animal sacrifice, preparing a festive meal or hiding the woman away until she is “clean” again. READ MORE… »

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