How to Clip Finger Nails of a Child with Sensory Processing Issues
For children with sensory processing disorders, everyday tasks can be incredibly difficult. Making simple adjustments to your approach can make tasks such as finger nail clipping more tolerable for you and your child.
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Instructions
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How to Clip the Nails of a Child with Sensory Processing Issues
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Give your child plenty of notice before clipping their nails. This will put them at ease and remove the element of surprise. Clipping nails on a regular schedule will help them cope as well.
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Soak your child's fingers in warm water prior to clipping. This will soften the nails and make them easier to cut.
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Press gently down on the center of each nail prior to clipping. This will temporarily cut off the nerve ending of the finger tips so the child will not feel anything.
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Praise your child and reinforce them for a job well done one the task is complete.
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Comments
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I'm glad to see an article addressing this issue, since it's really been difficult for parents of these children to find much help at all until recently. I resorted to clipping my son's nails when he was sleeping for years. Now that he's older, he does it himself, but none of this information helps with the tremendous discomfort that he feels afterwards, no matter how little he clips. His nails are generally kept longer than the norm, and when he gets a small hangnail, it is the end of the world. His biggest challenge is the sensation AFTER the nails are clipped, and how to cope with it, since it lasts days if not a week. Where is the help for healing this disorder? Where is the help for extreme cases? Why won't the pediatricians recognize this? Mostly, what can a parent do to help the child cope with the sensations, deal with the stress on the family unit, and have some quality of life facing this disorder?
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TenderHearted
Oct 12, 2008
This is great advice! I have been struggling w/clipping my 4 year old son's fingernails lately. For a while when he was 3 he would let me clip them while he was watching tv, he just tuned it out. Now he has a melt down every time I go to try and clip them. I even go in his room at night while he's asleep and can barely do it cuz he will start moving and I don't wanna wake him up! He does have sensory issues, he has some kind of pervasive developmental disorder and this is definitely something I am going to try on him to get those sharp nails clipped! Thanks! -
TenderHearted
Oct 12, 2008
This is great advice! I have been struggling w/clipping my 4 year old son's fingernails lately. For a while when he was 3 he would let me clip them while he was watching tv, he just tuned it out. Now he has a melt down every time I go to try and clip them. I even go in his room at night while he's asleep and can barely do it cuz he will start moving and I don't wanna wake him up! He does have sensory issues, he has some kind of pervasive developmental disorder and this is definitely something I am going to try on him to get those sharp nails clipped! Thanks!
