Handling Fecal Smearing in Autism

Of all the things in this world that you could possibly wake up to in the morning, fecal smearing is one of the worst imaginable. Unfortunately, for parents of kids with autism, it’s something that some of us have to deal with on a regular basis.

To your average person, seeing a child rub poo all over themselves is shocking and disturbing, but it comes as no surprise for us. Still, even if we have experienced fecal smearing many times, it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

When I worked at an institution for developmentally delayed adults, fecal smearing was common, but I often didn’t had to deal with it alone. The institution was ready for this kind of thing. There were always people ready to change the sheets, wash the floors, and bathe the patients. At home, though, the toll it can take on a person is a totally different ballgame. 

Cleaning up someone else’s feces is exhausting both mentally and physically. Every time it happens, you have to strip your child, bathe them, throw their clothes in the wash, then get down on your hands and knees to scrub the floors. This whole process can take hours, leaving you stressed and emotionally drained.

If you have ever dealt with fecal smearing, I feel for you, and I want to help. In this article, I’m going to share some of the most common reasons that kids smear their feces; then, I’ll give you some ideas you can use to manage or even eliminate fecal smearing in the future.

Why do Kids Smear their Poop?

As with anything relating to autism, every kid is different. So there is no single reason why they feel the need to smear their poo. 

While your ultimate goal is to manage or even eliminate fecal smearing altogether, knowing what is causing this behavior may give you a shortcut to reach your destination faster. Here are a few common reasons that kids start smearing feces. 

• Sensory issues. as strange as it may sound, kids might want to play with their poo because they like the way it feels. Since most autistic kids have sensory perception issues to some degree, the texture, temperature, and even the smell of fecal matter may be stimulating to them.
• They have pain. In many cases, fecal smearing is a bi-product of another issue. For example, if your child is constipated or has hemorrhoids, a rash, or an infection, they may reach their hands back there to try and investigate the pain. But, if they have a loaded diaper, obviously, they’re going to get poop on their hands. So to get it off, they’ll wipe it on their clothes, the carpet, their bed, anything that happens to be nearby. 
• Diaper Leaks. Naturally, if your kid’s BM leaks out of their pants, it’s going to get all over the place. If they’re in bed, it’s going to get on the sheets. If they’re playing, it’s going to get on their toys, and the more active they are, the more their poo is going to spread around the room.
• They’re just Curious. Sometimes, kids with ASD just can’t help themselves. For whatever reason, they shove their hands down their pants, and sometimes they find something new to play with.

How to Handle Fecal Smearing

Ok, hopefully, you’ve been able to narrow down the reasons that your child might be smearing their poop. Now comes the fun part: managing this messy situation. Here are a few solutions that worked well for my son and me. I’m sure that they can help you too.

Fecal Smearing Tip: Make Sure Your Child is Regular

If you can keep your child on a regular poop schedule, it will significantly reduce the chances of them digging around back there to alleviate some of the discomforts. Having a regular BM schedule also allows you to essentially “schedule” their poops for a time when they won’t be left alone for hours on end — which will lead to fecal smearing. 

There are a lot of fiber supplements out there that can really help. However, Gummies are my favorite choice for autistic kids, especially ones who don’t like to take their “medicine.”

Before you give the gummies to your child, try them out for yourself. Pay attention to how they make you feel. Does your stomach hurt when you take them? Were your bowel movements consistent? Your own self-analysis will help you understand how your non-verbal child is feeling.

After you’ve introduced a fiber supplement to your son or daughter, be consistent. Give them their gummies at the same time every day, and try to encourage them to poop before bedtime. It also helps to keep a “poop journal.” You can take notes about when they have bowel movements, the consistency of their stool, and if they had any pain. Keeping track of their regularity will help you see when they are most likely to smear so that you can plan accordingly.

Fecal Smearing Tip: Tear Up That Carpet!

If you have carpet in your child’s room and fecal smearing is becoming an issue, tear it out! Trust me. You’ll thank yourself for doing it later. 

Not having to wash and scrub your floors constantly will do wonders for your body, both physically and mentally! If you’re skeptical about hard floors, you can always pick up a stain-resistant, machine washable rug from a company like Ruggable.

Fecal Smearing Tip: Give Jumpsuits a Try

If you’ve been around the Normal Life community for a while, you know how much I love onesies and jumpsuits. They really do work wonderfully when trying to keep the poo in the pants and the hands out. With my son, I found that when I put his onesie on backward, he couldn’t reach the zipper, so that he couldn’t smear feces on himself or other surfaces if he tried.

When at home or during the night, zip-up pajamas are a great option. Just be sure to avoid “footy” PJs. You cant put these ones on backward unless you cut the feet off.

For school and other activities outside the house, mechanics jumpsuits work great. While you can exactly put them on backward, it makes it a lot harder for your son or daughter to get into their underwear or diaper.

Fecal Smearing Tip: Double up their Undies

Let’s face it. Adult diapers stink in comparison to the ones available for babies and toddlers. They don’t fit as well and certainly don’t do as good of job holding in excrement. If your child’s diapers tend to leak, you might want to try doubling up with a pair of good ole tidy whities. 

Brief-style underwear have elastic bands that hug a child’s legs, helping to keep BMs inside. Don’t be afraid to buy underwear that fits snuggly. As long as they aren’t uncomfortable for your child, a snug fit will only help to keep poo from escaping.

Fecal Smearing Tip: Give them Something Else to Play With

For autistic kids who need extra sensory stimuli, feces’ texture, smell, and temperature can be very appealing to them. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation. Poop is not a toy. So what can you do? Fortunately, there are tons of fidget and stim toys on amazon that are specifically tailored to the needs of kids with sensory perception issues. Having toys like “Farm Beadeez” readily available in your child’s room will encourage them to engage in sensory exploration in a clean and safe way.

Take Care of Yourself

This last tip isn’t so much about the fecal smearing itself, rather about self-care. Parenting a child with special needs is challenging in itself. At times it might even feel impossible. So when your child does something like cover themselves in excrement, it can push you to your breaking point.

 If you can, try to plan in advance what you will do when things like this happen. Maybe you need to take a walk, have a good cry, or have a big glass of wine. That’s ok! You need a little “me time” to decompress and escape the stress for a while.

Need a Little More Advice?

Again, I just want to emphasize that dealing with a child who smears is not easy, and if it’s something that you are going through right now, I truly empathize with you. Just remember. You are not alone. You may be surprised to find out just how many people in the Normal life community are dealing with the exact same issues that you are. These incredible people have so much experience and knowledge to share.

Every time I read the comments on our YouTube channel, it never ceases to amaze me that a mom or dad has come up with a new genius way of approaching a common autism problem.

I encourage you to get in contact with us! You can join the #autismarmy on Facebook here, and check out our youtube channel here!