About walker?

[ShadowBeam]

Hi all,

My son has SEN and attends a regular nursery but he can't walk so uses a walker to get around.

He does mostly crawl but we're trying to encourage him to use his walker in the hopes he'll walk.

Today when I picked him up another little boy was playing with his walker and I don't think that should be happening, it's medical equipment and not a toy plus my son is on the ASD pathway and views things as his and if other children play with things then he'll stop playing with them and won't entertain them which is something I'm worried about.

I mentioned it to staff and they just said the children were interested in it because it was new and they were exploring it.

Should I leave it or should I ask that they don't let other children use it?

I can't decide if I'm being unreasonable or not.

Was the walker bought specifically for your son, and only your son, through an EHCP or similar? Or does it belong to the nursery?

It was brought specifically for my son by his physiotherapist.

(We're still waiting on an ECHP)

I would tell them that it's not a toy, and in future is to be used ONLY by your DS.

Would they let other children play with another child's glasses or hearing aid or a wheelchair?

If its a piece of medical equipment it needs to be treated as such

Well the kids have seen it now, it isn’t new and interesting (if that was ever an excuse) so from now on nursery needs to make sure no one else uses it.

It isn’t a toy, it’s medical equipment.

Not much supervision going on in the nursery and they gave you a bullshit excuse to make up for it

YANBU. Of course the other children are going to be interested in it, but the nursery staff should be gently telling them that it's not a toy and moving them away if necessary. Fine to show it to them and explain what it's for, but not for them to be playing with it.

I spent a year or so having to use crutches when I was a kid after a serious accident (albeit when I was much older than your son; for me it was between the ages of 9-10) and I found it horrible when someone 'wanted a go' of them. I couldn't get around without them and if another kid went off on them and didn't give them back, there was nothing I could do. It makes you feel vulnerable and there's something weirdly personal about it somehow. I appreciate that your son is probably too little to be processing those sorts of feelings but the nursery should still be mindful that his walker is effectively 'his legs' at the moment and other children shouldn't be taking it away from him to play with it.