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 Personal hygiene involves ensuring ourselves and our clothes are clean and is one of the most effective ways to protect ourselves, and others, from illness. When thinking about personal hygiene it is important to recognise that not all the routines or steps listed below may apply. Personal hygiene is exactly that ... personal. We have tried to include some of the more common activities and routines.
Many other hygiene routines are linked to personal decisions about how you maintain your personal appearance. For example, some men choose to grow a beard, goatee, sideburns or a moustache. Others choose to be clean shaven. Each choice will usually have a corresponding hygiene routine to maintain.
The information below is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive. It is included to assist you to identify and prioritise what learning areas, skills and goals are important to you.
Scary Questions
By the time _________________________________ is ____________________ I/he/she will be:
- Managing and maintaining my/his/her personal hygiene
- Selecting, purchasing, cleaning, maintaining and wearing clothes and accessories appropriate to the situation/occasion (home, work and in the community
Functional Skills Checklist
Download checklist in a worksheet format:
 Personal Presentation and Hygiene Worksheet (294 Kb) Word version
 Personal Presentation and Hygiene Worksheet (219 Kb) PDF version
The checklist work-sheet includes the following goals:
Goals:
 Basic hygiene
- Manages own toileting needs
- Washes hands after toileting, before cooking, after eating, etc.
Morning Routine
- Wakes up at appropriate time (with alarm)
- Takes shower (every day - either evening or morning)
- Hangs up towel
- Puts dirty clothes in laundry hamper/basket
- Attends to skin care requirements (cleanse, tone, moisturise, shave, put on make-up...)
- Applies sun block, moisturiser, makeup, deodorant, aftershave...
- Puts on clean socks and underwear
 Chooses clean clothing appropriate for weather- Chooses clothing appropriate for setting/activities
- Dresses independently
- Selects and puts on watch, jewellery, accessories
- Brushes/combs hair (uses/applies hair ties or products)
- Makes bed
- Prepares and eats breakfast
- Cleans up breakfast dishes (washes up/ stacks dishwasher...)
- Brushes teeth (toothpaste, floss, mouthwash)
- Prepares bag/backpack with items for the day (including wallet, keys etc.)
- Puts on shoes
- Turns everything off before leaving
- Secures the house/locks doors
Other regular personal hygiene activities (not necessarily daily)
 Shampoos and conditions hair- Clips fingernails and toe nails
- Shaves/waxes - legs, bikini line, underarms, chest...
Time Management
- Schedules haircut
- Takes medication (if and as required)
- Negotiates use of shared bathroom (unsure)
- Identifies timeframes required to complete different task
- Establishes and maintains daily hygiene routine
Privacy
- Understands need for privacy for some activities such as dressing, bathing, showering and toileting
- Identifies situations when assistance from others may be required
- Develops strategies to maintain privacy (shut curtains while dressing, close bathroom door...)
- Recognise and understand the need to respect the privacy of others
Periods
- Manages own menstrual needs
- Selects, purchases and restocks tampons/pads
- Understands and demonstrates appropriate personal hygiene routine for use and disposal of tampons/pads
- Maintains a record of periods
- Understands and identifies pre-menstrual symptoms
- Keeps a pre-menstrual symptoms diary, if required
- Develops a plan to relieve for relieving menstrual cramps, if appropriate
Sex and Hygiene
- Identifies and implements habits and lifestyle practices that can prevent the transmission of sexually transferable diseases
 Laundry
- Uses the washing machine to wash clothes, bed linen, towels etc.
- Hangs up the clothes / uses clothes dryer
- Plans for possible changes in the weather (when to take washing off the line)
- Folds clothes
- Irons clothes
- Mends clothes (buttons, hems...)
- Puts away clothes
 Money Management
(see separate Money Management section for additional information)
- Budgets, selects, purchases and maintains:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Accessories
- Personal hygiene products
One parent's advice
- Resist the temptation to assist your child in the bathroom at an age when he should be doing it himself.
- Make sure your child knows how to shower - ALONE. It is not a group activity.
- Make sure your child knows that showering is, however, a daily activity. It's also a rule. Make no exceptions to this rule.
- Wearing clean clothes is essential. Changing them everyday is important.
- Remember daytime is for being awake and night time for sleeping.
- My son... has been my best teacher. My first advice to you is to listen to your children. They will lead you.[1]
[1] Simons, J A 2004, ‘Thinking About Tomorrow: The Transition to Adult Life', Disability Solutions Newsletter. Vol. 6, Issue 1, pg.1, accessed 19/11/2007, www.disabilitysolutions.org/newsletters/volume6.html
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