SOS – how to blow your nose!

SOS – how to blow your nose! This is definitely a very challenging task for our SPD children and there are some very good reasons why they cannot blow their nose.

The steps to blowing a nose:

1. The sensation of acknowledging the nose is full or stuffy
2. Holding the tissue
3. Instead of sniffing, the feeling to blow
4. Pressing on one nostril then the other (ready to blow)
5. Blowing through the nose (not the mouth)
6. The feeling of understanding the nose is now clear
7. Understanding how to dispose of the dirty tissue
8. Being able to wash hands then dry them

Break the steps down to blowing a nose:

1. Practice blowing through the mouth. A great way to do this is blowing a feather across the floor, or blow football. Once confident, pick up a tissue and bring the tissue to the nose. Keep blowing through the mouth so they can see the tissue moving.
2. Progress to closing the mouth and blowing through the nose – always practice this when they do not have a cold as it may make your child anxious. Remember, they may already have a cold and are struggling to breath.
3. Practice closing one nostril at a time. You can even ask your child to try and blow the tissue using their nostril.
4. Eventually they will hopefully be able to master the art of blowing their nose.
5. Don’t forget to teach the child about spreading germs and washing their hands after handling a tissue.