Mother shares solution to help her autistic son wear a face mask

Following the health and safety measures recommended during the Covid-19 pandemic was a challenge to some people, especially those dealing with disabilities or difficult health condition. That was the case of Christina Farley’s son, Zachary, who is autistic. Christina has received a special face mask for him, with superheroes on it, but her son was very uncomfortable with the feeling of the elastic around his ears and wasn’t able to wear it.

People with autism can exhibit some conditions that make it difficult for him to wear face masks, like anxiety, hiper-sensibility to sensory or olfactory stimulus or even epilepsy. And, even though most national healthcare authorities consider these factors and release guidelines that exempt certain groups from the requirement of wearing face covering, autistic people and their caregivers still want them to be safe.

So, Christina came up with a simple solution to help her son wear a mask and stay protected. She sewed buttons on either side of his favorite hat, just behind the ears. Through this simple solution, the elastics on the mask go around the buttons and pot no pressure on the child’s ears. It was a success. “BOOM – problem solved”, she said.

She shared her solution on Facebook and it quickly went viral, being shared around many Facebook groups dedicated to patients and caregivers of people dealing with autism. The reactions she received were overwhelmingly positive and she hopes the idea keeps being shared to help more people in the same situation. “Thank you all for the love . Can everyone keep sharing so we can get this out to all those that could use this idea”, she wrote on a Facebook post.

More information: https://bit.ly/3gVuzTU

Adapted from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/05/11/some-autistic-people...