Hygiene: Where to Start
The Foundations Series – for Paediatric OTs – hygiene challenges
Hygiene tasks look simple from the outside — brush, wash, shower, done. But when a child resists, avoids, or needs constant prompting for these everyday routines, it’s rarely just defiance. This resource gives you a clear, evidence-informed starting point. It’ll make sure you’re never stuck wondering whether it’s sensory, motor, executive, or something else entirely.
What’s inside:
Hygiene: Where to Start distils the sensory, motor, executive-functioning and emotional drivers behind hygiene difficulties into one practical guide. This is built for how you actually think through a case, not just what the research says.
You’ll get:
- The four lenses — sensory processing, motor planning & physical foundations, executive functioning, and emotional regulation, control & autonomy, so you can quickly work out what’s actually driving the behaviour.
- Regulation comes first — why no strategy below will land until this is checked, and how to spot dysregulation before it derails a session.
- The START Framework — an exclusive five-step framework developed by Lisa: Select the priority, Task-analyse the routine, Ask what’s driving the difficulty, Reduce demands and add support, and Try, review and transfer.
- Locating the breakdown — a fast clinical lens for pinpointing whether the barrier is tolerating, starting, sequencing, physically doing, or understanding why/when — so the strategy actually matches the problem.
- A full task-by-task guide covering teeth brushing, hair brushing & washing, hand washing & understanding germ spread, and showering & bathing — what each task demands, the common drivers behind resistance, and strategies to trial in session.
- A dedicated Working with Families section — ready-to-use talking points for parent coaching, covering power struggles, limited choices, visual supports, respectful language, and planning for adolescence
Who it’s for:
New grads who want a confident starting point when working on hygiene challenges. Or for experienced OTs who want a clear, structured resource to hand to students or use for parent education.
Format: Instant digital download (Word document, 8 pages) — yours to keep, print, and reuse across every relevant client.
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