Nappies on prescription for DS??

[AboardtheAxiom]

DS has just turned five (but wears age 7-8 clothes) has HFA (still undergoing assessment but have had verbal DX from paed and SALT) and still soils.

I am so fed up of changing him, mainly the washing underpants side of it. His trousers all smell, his bedding needs washing daily, as does mine, my sofa smells, etc. School suggested getting the school nurse in and asing her to prescribe nappies/pull ups that would fit him.

Has anyone else managed to get these? It feelslike a step back but he smells all the time. He suffers with constipation and seepage and needs changing frequently throughout the day and sometimes at night too. He is toilet phobic and is making extremely slow but steady progress. I am moving soon though without warning him so am expecting some regression.

Any thoughts or advice??

[borderslass]

I used to get them for my son but just for night time was a god send until he refused to wear them just asked the nurse I just collected them from our health board reception every week. He only stopped bed wetting last year at 14.

[MavisEnderby]

I think in our local area you can get nappies for any child 4+.I think you can get a hv/school nurse referral and the continence service can provide you with 4 pads/nappies per day,if that makes sense.

Feel your pain after changing yet another pooey bed.Am duvet cover queen with DD (have about 5 covers,to tide me over with washing nightmare if I am doing nightshifts thank god for primark cheapery!)

Good luck.

[AboardtheAxiom]

Thanks for these replies.

School nurse meant to be getting brought in for me to discuss it with so will ask HT if she got in touch with her or not... {impatient} if not I will get on the phone to community nurse who I have seen before.

[magso]

Hi! I feel fo you too! It is very isolating both for the child and others in the home ( well I felt I could not have anyone visit!). I was unable to get nhs pads for my son ( although he should have got them) but thought it might help to hear you are not the only parent struggling with constant soiling due to chronic constipation/autism combination. I resorted to using ladies pant liners (cut smaller) when out and about to reduce costs and the need for full scale changes for tiny leaks! I used pull ups after school when ds accidents were very common just to stay sane. Comfy cushions to snuggle in (and sit on) help a sore bottom and reduce cleaning up.
The services that helped the most were the school nurse with both support ( GPs are not good at this) and explaining to school staff what ds needed (help/ copius changes/encouragement/ water to drink- rather than excluding him every time he soiled his pants - a very common occurance). But we really only started to get past the problem when ds was referred to a specialist 'poo' (constipation) doctor! (specialised in bowel problems in children with asd) It has taken many years but we are at last getting there! It is a combination of regular toilet routines (story on the loo to keep him there and enjoy sitting!) and medication to allow the body to retrain and recover.Once the bowel is working smoothly wetting accidents reduce too.
Whilst I understand moving is difficult it may be a good time to set up routines around toilet use. Good luck!

[AboardtheAxiom]

magso great post thank you for your advice and sympathy it does affect us all yes

Can I ask how you found your poo doctor? Don't suppose you are seeing him soon or can cat me his details so I could see if he could recommend one local to me?

Goin into school when I pick DS up so hopefully HT will have heard from school nurse.

[magso]

Don't have cat sorry. Ds 'poo dr' is London based (but visits near our locality too!), I will try to ask at our next visit in the new year. I asked for continance support because I was at the end of my tether and eventually was referred out of area to see this specialist. I am sorry I cannot work out a link on amazon but would recommend this book 'Constipation,Witholding and your Child. A Family guide to soiling and wetting' by Anthony Cohn. It is not written specifically for parents of children with ASD but I found the advice helpful.
Once the constipation gets so established running through occurs constantly, I think the problem is that the child looses all awareness ( except pain!) and they really cannot help or prevent the soiling. We are nearly 3 years down the line from seeing this doctor and well into the retraining stage, but mostly it is ( amazingly) under control and we are getting dry/clean nights at last.

[wraith]

sometimes if theres not much physical reason the will refuse in fact thats the policy really least around here.

nappies only as last resort,

however if you look online you can get then fairly cheap, depending on childs size toddlers and such are going to be little savings compared to larger children

these 3 sites may help

saveexpress.de

bmsupplies.co.uk

gompel.co.uk

all are online retialers and have decent prices