With health at the top of mind for so many families right now, it’s important to know the best ways to keep yourselves healthy. Though having hand sanitizer and other cleaning items is important, it’s not everything. In this post we’ll share some tips for staying healthy with your children on the autism spectrum.
Staying In
The first and most important way to keep yourselves healthy is staying inside when there’s a heightened risk for contracting viruses, disease or any other airborne or contagious illness. The reason for this is strictly scientific but easy to understand. With bacteria or viruses, some are much more contagious than others. Illnesses spread between people in a variety of ways but the most contagious types survive on surfaces and skin that come into contact with other surfaces and skin for an extended period of time.
We may not think about it often when we and the people around us are healthy, but many of us come into contact with thousands of different surfaces and people every day. Touching your own skin or face after the fact or worse, touching a family member, can easily transmit that bacteria or virus to you and your household. In the case of a pandemic, restricting contact with others by staying in is crucial to protecting not only you and your family, but also other people who might be at a higher risk of severe symptoms or death. Check out our post on social distancing for some tips on how to make the most of that time indoors.
Disinfecting and Sanitation
There’s no doubt disinfectants and other cleaning supplies can be crucial to staying healthy. Since it’s impossible for many people to stay shut indoors or cut off all outside contact, being able to sanitize and disinfect anything that touches others or comes from outside the household will help stop the spread of germs. Hand sanitizer isn’t your only option for this. Even just ensuring everyone washes their hands with regular hand soap for at least 20 seconds can do the trick. Wipe down surfaces regularly and keep your space clean to ensure the family stays healthy. This is especially important if you have younger children or people in the house who are immunocompromised.
Limiting Visitors
If staying indoors often is a lot to handle, many people will decide to invite people into their home. Though the need for social interaction is understandable, having visitors when someone in the house is sick or when there’s a contagious virus going around can put yourself or your visitors in danger. Try limiting any outside guests as much as possible and if you do need to have someone come by, ensure they wash their hands and even change their clothes or disinfect any objects they brought with them.
Medicine
Keeping medicine handy is crucial. Make sure you’re stocked up on things like ibuprofen, a thermometer, bandaids and any other first aid items available. If you’ll be avoiding leaving the house, make sure prescriptions are filled and ready as well. If you’re unsure of what medications may help, talk to your doctor.
Allocating Space
Though it may sound simple, allocating space in the home for anyone who has become sick can help keep the rest of the family healthy while also supporting quick and safe recovery. Designate a bedroom, bathroom, linens and items only to be used by that person until they feel better. Avoid sharing any items or being in close proximity of any family member with symptoms of a contagious illness. Limit interactions to administering care as much as possible. For more tips on staying healthy, please refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on their website CDC.gov.
For more ABA and autism related news and tips visit our blog and follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. If you have questions regarding ABA therapy services or you’re interested in visiting one of our locations, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on our contact page. We’re always here to answer your questions and support your family’s needs as best as we can.
