From cot to bed!

[Littlepip02]

Hi all

My little boy is 3 in November - currently being assessed for autism, his understanding is very poor and cannot follow any simple instructions at present.

He sleeps very well in his cot, but I know the time is coming where I need to think about the transition to a bed, I'm just so worried about him falling out as he doesn't stay in the same position, very often he will wake up the other end of cot, and also worried about him getting out and not knowing what's going on even though there is a stair gate on his room/stairs etc.
Just wondering if anyone else has any tips or anything that helped your children?

Thanks

We recently took the side off our 3 1/2 year olds cot bed. She has GDD and autism and very limited comprehension. We put on a bed guard and she has a gate on the door. She's coped brilliantly. It took a couple of weeks for her to realise if she woke up she didn't have to get out of bed and we did find her asleep in some odd places but we made the room as safe as we could and now she's doing really well.

I'd put off doing it for ages because I thought she wasn't ready but I've been really surprised.

Yes, toddler bed with a built in guard or a separate guard you can attach to a regular bed. You can get sensors that will alert you if they get out of the bed, I think these are commonly used for elderly people with dementia etc.

If you’re really worried about safety you can look at something like a safe space bed.

In all likelihood it will take a couple of weeks to adjust and be fine. Mine moved to a bed when he was two and we had a few nights of him jumping around the room and then he settled down, though for a while we’d find him in a nest on the floor and we’d lift him back into bed.

Thanks for your replies, it's good to hear some positive stories!
I think I'm just going to go for it and take the side off with the bed guard and see how we get on, I've kind of been putting it off because of worrying but fingers crossed it'll be ok

Hello my daughter has gdd and autism she is 4 we just moved her out of her cot we got an IKEA cot bed that can extend to a single it has highish sides already and we just got a bed tent that folds over the bed from there too I was so worried about her sleeping in a normal bed but she has been great especially as she loves the tent as it pulls right down like a hide out all the best https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/eldfluga-bed-tent-blue-green-10542115/ this is the tent we got it helped loads x

@kungfupidge ah no way, I haven't seen anything like that before with the tent on.
I will definitely have a look thank you, you've all given me hope that it'll be fine

It's really good honest my girls non verbal and like your little one was upside and all shapes in her cot but now shes got more room she's fine I was even thinking of trying to save up for a special bed which are ridiculously expensive so looked everywhere for something cheaper that would make her feel enclosed like her cot and that tent did the trick for her good luck 🤞 x

@Littlepip02 did you try in a bed in the end? I am feeling very nervous, our little boy who is autistic, non verbal and 3 yrs 4 months is making the transition on Thursday. We have such a good routine in the cot but he is way too big.
OT via council have been helpful and we have a floor bed with safety sides coming and they fitted a stable door with a lock on the outside so he can't escape. We tried a normal bed before at 2 years 11 months and he got so upset so praying it works!
This thread gave me a bit more hope so thanks all!