Issues with water touching face/head?

[WindyCityMom]

My daughter is 3 years old and has never been officially diagnosed with any sensory disorders, but it is very apparent to me that she has one.

She has an extreme aversion to water touching her face, especially in the bath.  She will not cooperate with me, will not tilt her head up at all.  I'm essentially forced to quickly rinse the soap out of her hair while she thrashes and screams and all that.

She also has a dermatillomania issue, and the second water touches her face (or if the notion is even brought up)  she starts scratching at her face.  Not light scratching- scratching like she's trying to get an itch on the inside of her skin.  Imagine me having to swat away her hands while trying to get her to hold still enough in the bath whereas not to crack her head on the stone tile surrounding the tub...

gah. I'm going on no sleep.  But I wonder if there's any way to work through this.  Those little cup things that dont let water on the face are a no-go.. she doesn't like water on her head, period.

btw, she is going to the doctor next week so we plan to discuss this there also (about her sensory issues).

[sbgrace]

I don't think the doctor is going to be very helpful honestly on the water thing. Ideally, you'll be able to see an occupational therapist. You could also ask the local school system if she might have an assessment for services if OT is a no go. This alone clearly won't qualify her but if there are also other issues she might get services.

On the skin picking, though, I hope the doctor can refer you to someone. I saw success with similar issues with I think it was inositol or maybe n-acytl-cysteine but I don't think a 3 year old could take those.

[asch8]

my 3 year old has the same problem with bath time. He is fine in the water until it is time to wash his hair. He has been in occupational therapy since he was 8 months old so it is not doing a hole lot for us. I recently put him in swimming therapy. The teacher is is hold early intervention director so he knows her and her him so she knows his issues. Right now she is working on him kissing the water and then getting his nose wet. He has never simple got his face wet.

He gets ot at school now but they work more on his fine motor delays then his sensory problems

[Eyelet]

My DS also hates to have his hair washed, due to water on his face. His OT suggested a snorkel mask, but he wouldn't tolerate keeping it on. Maybe your DD will like it better. It was also suggested to me to let DS be in control of the water on his face. I use a handheld shower sprayer and let him hold it when it's time to wash out the shampoo/conditioner. He tolerates it much better if he knows he's in control.