Wearing nappies for school

[Shakirasma]

Hi, this is my first topic on MN so please be gentle.

DS is 4 next month and due to start school in sept. He has a severe speech and language delay but is now making great progress, in a huge part thanks to a great nursery. They arranged an assessment throughout the IDS and he is now on action plus and has an IEP. He also has a SALT visit him in nursery each week.

All professionals loved with him agree that he is not yet ready to come out of nappies. All previous attempts have resulted in a big mess and a very distressesd little boy, so I really don't want to pressure him.

I am quite anxious about the possibility of him still wearing nappies when he goes to school as I would the fro him to be picked on. Does anyone have any advice about this, in regard to what other school kids are really like about this, or how I can encourage him to use the loo?

Loved with him? That should say involved with him!

Hi Shakirasma and welcome to the sn board. You don't need to worry about anyone pouncing on you here.

First thing I would say is that, if, come september, your ds is still in nappies, you may well find that he is not the only one in his class. Speaking from my own experience it was my neurotypical youngest dd who really struggled with toilet training. She was 4y 10 months when it finally clicked. It was a combination of a reward scheme for something she really wanted (which we had tried many times before) summer holidays where we could just stay home and concentrate on this for a week and who knows what else that finally worked.

Once you know what school he will be attending in September, could you make an appointment to speak to the senco and/or reception class teacher to sound them out on how much of an issue it would be if he were still in nappies when he starts school. If you explain the other pressures he is under, I can't see them being anything other than sympathetic and I would be very surprised if they haven't had to deal with this before.