Can any of you relate?  Your loved one’s nails are incredibly long, desperately in need to of a major trim.  For the purposes of this scenario we will stick to toe nails, lovely glorious, Lord, WHY do they have to grow so fast, toe nails.  Have you ever seen such nails?  Can you picture in your mind what they look like? Let me just add, they are THICK.

Now imagine it’s your task to trim those nails to a neatly manicured length.  And imagine your loved one has no desire for you to get within even 6 football fields of his feet, let alone up close and personal to his toes.  Imagine attempting to trim not just one but all 10 of those toe nails! It’s paramount to risking life and limb.  Are you up for the challenge?

Quite frankly, I’m not.

I’ve tried many times.  Actually not that long ago it took 4 of us to get the job done.  Three of us to hold Josiah with the Whisperer clipping feverishly while also tightly gripping the boy so he wouldn’t slip away.  All of us, including Josiah were sweaty and exhausted afterwards.

Surely this can’t be the way it’s done.  Is it?

What do you do?  If this is one of your assigned tasks as a parent or caregiver of someone with sensory issues, please share.  I am all ears.  What tips or techniques have you discovered that make the job easier?

Last night, when Rick and I returned from dinner out, Josiah was shrieking in the bathroom.  It was very clear by the thrust of his tongue he was mad!!!  When Josiah gets angry, he sticks his tongue out and scrunches it up in a such a way there is no mistaking he’s not having it…whatever it is.  That protruding tongue is usually our first indicator that Josiah’s not in pain, he’s ANGRY!

Apparently, the Whisperer had great success clipping the toe nails on one foot.  Things were going great which in itself is a huge accomplishment and something to be celebrated.  It’s taken months and months to get to this point.  However, as soon as the big toe on the other foot was trimmed, Josiah exploded.

He went into attack mode on himself and on the whisperer.  We weren’t there to witness it but it sounds pretty brutal.  Whatever it was that tripped Josiah off, sent him into such a tail spin he had great difficulty recovering from it.

There was wailing and gnashing of teeth.  There were racking sobs and real tears.  Josiah rarely sheds tears.

We put him to bed and tried to comfort him.  We turned on relaxing music and put a calming aquarium YouTube video on his TV.  I climbed in bed with him to rub his back and talk soothingly to him.  The Whisperer took his hand and talked with him.  Another amazing caregiver arrived and brought in Josiah’s light up device to distract him.

Though the explosion was over it took quite a while for Josiah to relax enough to fall asleep.

All this over a toe nail?  Seriously? 

I researched it today and discovered there are a few things that may help, like trimming his nails after he’s been in a pool or soaked in the tub; making it a weekly activity so the routine is built into his schedule and he gets used to it; giving a deep pressure massage to his feet prior to clipping his nails and using firm pressure which is more calming than a light touch.  My favorite is to provide an, ‘I Need a Break’ card so Josiah can feel some control over the situation.  My guess is that card may be hurled in our faces but it’s worth a shot.   

This morning Josiah woke up looking as if he had been in combat.  His self-inflicted bruises bring tears to my eyes.

Life for this guy and for many like him is not easy.  I can’t begin to imagine how challenging  daily existence must feel for him.  To not be able to express feelings or ideas, to have no voice to convey needs or wants.  To be at the mercy of others to figure it all out.

And yet, this morning when I went in to check on him, this is what I saw.

Josiah started his day with joy!  Wouldn’t the world would be a much better place if we all chose to live life a little more like Josiah?

I triple dog dare you.  Whatever challenge you are facing today, push through the struggles.  Live for the joy!  And if you need a little help in the process, come hang with us for a while.  Josiah is more than happy to show you how!