Safeguarding non-speaking children

[countrybumpkin15]

Related to previous thread on nappy discomfort. GP's question of whether anyone could be touching DD down there has made me really spiral. I trust all her caregivers (or thought I did - she's been at the same SEN school for more than a year now, and she also has a nanny who we have known also a year or so. All very caring women who she is clearly). However it leaves me with the question can you ever really be 100% sure that a non-speaking child is safe in care other than your own? How can I guard against risks. She does not communicate with signing / anything like that really, so I don't think there's any way to teach her to flag any issues at this point. I wondered if I should repeat to the school that the GP had asked the question or if that is the wrong thing to do.

Don't know what advice I'm looking for really but I don't feel I can talk to friends or family irl about this topic.

on what grounds did the GP ask this?

@notjustthe I took DD (5yo) to the GP because I'd noticed she was showing some discomfort when wiping her in nappy changes (clenching her legs / resisting when we wiped her front bottom). The GP did phrase it as an "I have to ask just to be sure" - I didn't get the impression that she thought that was the case, but that it was a standard query.

it is absolutely not a “standard query”

I'm not a medical professional but I do imagine if the issue of new discomfort about the genitals is raised, particularly in a child that cant communicate, it would be part of the questions that should be raised. Whether I was wrong to call that a standard query , I don't know

It would not be thrown at the mother “any chance she’s being touched” for goodness sakes.

what does she expect you respond

“oooh now i give it some thought, possibly!”

@notjustthe I'm not sure what point you're trying to make?

that if the GP asked if in this way, she has failed to follow guidelines. Significantly

notjustthe are you a medical professional and know this to be the case, or is it just your opinion?

i work in safe guarding

I do think it's a common worry in parents of non-verbal DCs. For me I have drawn the line at overnight (respite) care for this reason. For other caregivers, obviously you have to require rigorous screening but at some point it depends on trust too doesnt it, if you're not going to be the sole caregiver.

Hopefully in this case just nappy related discomfort but understand why it would spark those thoughts.