The school are pushing / insisting on underpants.

[Jadenruby]

I'm feeling so under pressure about this as the school are pressuring me to send my DS in underpants, he's still incontinent and although has an interest in the toilet he is unaware of his need to go. his gp and occupational therapist have both confirmed this but the school seem to be ignoring their input.

I'm not sure where to complain to or what to do to get the school to back off. He's 5 and just started the autism disorder assessments.

Another thought. Just send him to school in pants, let the school deal with the consequences, and make them realize that nappy is a better option.
But then, it will be horrible for your ds, so maybe not a good idea.
I just think this situation is hard for everyone, especially for child and parents, but also for school with tight budget.

Really tired ... I am afraid that one of my ('NT') children was indeed in nappies when he started school. He was a summer born twin, and just took a little while to get started with the toilet. I tried beforehand, but it just distressed him. In the end, he only wore nappies for about 3 weeks before he had the confidence to use the toilet. But I had to go to the school to make it clear they couldn't exclude him from school over toileting issues.

All children are individuals and go at their own space. Schools are obliged to support their needs. It's quite black and white, there is no 'grey' about it.

Own pace, I meant

My son he's 9 has sn he wears pads (nappys) for school school are quite happy to change him.

The lack of understanding is astounding. My son might be autistic but he has feelings too. He struggles to process those feelings. When he was in a regular class at daycare he really struggled. He self harmed and was often very anxious. He has been in a specialist class for autistic children and has flourished.

Sending a child in with undiagnosed issues in their underpants so they can soil them could cause far more harm to the child than you realise. It's not an option and the OP is totally right to stand up to the school. I'd be furious and be looking at other schools in the area which are better equipped at managing autistic children.

Laughing at the idea of a world where by merely putting a child in underpants you solve toileting issues.
Laughing hollowly, natch.

They probably think that if he feels he is wet he will want to use the toilet / not want to feel wet etc. If only it was that simple! My son will stand there nappy less after a bath and wee all over his feet and a) not even realise he's doing it and b) not care anyway. If the school insisted on putting pants on him they'd just be giving themselves even more work.

Just to say that 4 TAs with around 10 children in nappies spread across 14 classes in three buildings makes for logistical difficulties at times.
Replying to the OP, your child should have a care plan/IEP at least. This should state their needs and how those needs are met. Ask for a meeting with the SenCo and the head teacher, take a friend with you and make it clear what your concerns are. If they still won't act then ask for a multi agency meeting as it sounds as though other professionals are in agreement with you.
Sadly, although the realities are tough, some schools seem to make it more difficult than it has to be. Ask what funding they get for your child and what it us being spent on...clearly some should be going towards his care.

I don't have a child with autism, but I have a child with severe allergy and who is also missing part of his digestive organ. I have experience of him having a massive explosive diarrhea at school which I had to go in to clean/change him in the past. So, I do understand how horrible it is for child. I also understand it would be difficult for school to deal with it, with limited number of staff.

"The lack of understanding is astounding."
Yes, that's true, but sometimes you have to make quite a big effort to make them understand through talk and meetings, and it can't be done just saying it's the law.

None of those children have a 1:1, rainbow?

Just to say that 4 TAs with around 10 children in nappies spread across 14 classes in three buildings makes for logistical difficulties at times.

1. your school must have the highest percentage of children in nappies attending in the UK. Official figures are 1 child for every 10 schools.

It does seem a very high amount especially if none of those children have 1-1s.

There are all sorts of jobs a TA will do with a variety of individual children, attending intimate care needs seems to be the only one singled out as being awful, because it takes them away from the rest of the class.

It does seem a very high amount especially if none of those children have 1-1s.

No doubt the 1 to 1 will be added shortly as the story unravels.

Indeed, hazeyjane. A general TA in Class 1 is, by default, not available to Class 3 for that time.

Some posters are talking as if personal care needs are ad hoc and unpredictable, but wrt longer term needs that is far from the case. They can be planned for and dealt with. With the correct procedure and set up this can be done quickly and with no fuss.

How often does a child soil their nappy, maybe once or twice in 24 hours? Wet nappies do have to be changed, but surely that can be planned for. A child in nappies needs to be changed every three or four hours. A child of school age in nappies is unlikely to need their nappies changed more than once or twice during a six hour school day.

Changing a nappy is a ten minute job. Most school aged children in nappies are entitled to signicant SEN funding. I can't see why anyone would complaint about such a child taking up the attention of two TAs for ten minutes.

There are lots of reasons why a child might need the instant attention of a TA. My 14 year old son who has no learning difficulties had help from the TA when he had a massive nosebleed. Do people complain that effected children's learning?

I suspect the real issue is that many school staff are replussed by a child with a dirty nappy.

They need to get over themselves then, ReallyTired, cos it comes under Any Other Duties on a TA's job description. So, if someone can't hack it, they need to find another job.

Ds is changed once a day (sometimes twice) by one TA. He has an EHCP, and is fortunately iin a very caring school where he is treated with respect and dignity. Ensuring he can access education does not mean others are losing out on their education

Not one has 1:1, 4 in wheelchairs, 2 with continence issues, under a paediatrician and 4 ASD in foundation stage. We may be above the average, probably because we are willing to work with parents etc. and don't make a big deal of it.
Ten minutes to change a nappy depends on where you have to go, not all changing facilities are right next to a classroom.

And the wheelchair users happen to wear nappies?

No, they aren't, nor is that a reasonable expectation. But they are wearing nappies/pull ups/pads, so the facilities don't have to be right next to the classroom.

It's really not a big deal. A very minor part of the day, dealt with privately and with no fuss, then everyone just.......gets on with education.

And have no 1:1s, Jason.

In this case they do.

Being in a wheelchair doesn't mean 1:1, all the children have some funding.

That seems a fairly unusual situation in a mainstream school