Autistic toddler exposing himself - advice needed

[Nezuko]

My DS2 (turning 3 in September) has developed a bad habit the past couple of months where he strips himself from the waist down & will either hold or touch his private parts. Everytime this happens, I'll tell him off, put his nappy & trousers back on and wash his hands. I've tried taking him to the bathroom or putting him on the potty to rule out if that's the reason behind him doing this but it isn't.

I've got an 8 month old too, my toddler isn't showing any signs that he is ready to be potty trained yet unfortunately (and the fact that he's got additional needs makes it harder to do so). I was breastfeeding my little one in another room earlier and came to find DS2 sitting naked from the waist on the windowsill, with the curtain pulled behind him so any onlookers in the opposite buildings or people walking past our flat would have seen him.

I'm so worried someone noticed & photographed/recorded him in that state :( From now on, I'll obviously not leave him unsupervised even if it's for 2 minutes.

My question to any other parents with ASD children is if they've experienced something similar, do you have any tips on how to deal with this matter? I'm worried that when he starts nursery that he'll do the same infront of his teachers and peers. Thank you to anyone that read all of this x

Hello, I have 3 Austic children and my 7 year old boy can't stand clothes. He has sensory needs and clothes irritate him. He will strip off constantly and touch him self. I constantly put clothes on him and been to the doctors and still does it. I can't really help you cause still struggling myself but your not alone.

Your definitely not alone, as soon as we get through the door my DD who is nearly 4 takes her clothes off, I’ve tried and tried to keep her clothes on but she soon takes them back off, she tries to take her clothes off a preschool too so I’m very particular about what clothes I put on her to go there, even if she’s not taking her clothes off she’s lifting her top or dress a lot showing her top half, my DS is 8 he used to take his clothes off as soon as we get home too but it’s only just started becoming less, he will wear his boxers ( seamless ) mostly now, so we are getting there with him but it’s definitely a sensory thing towards clothes, we try to stick to just cotton and as much seamless things as we can find, if you find shoes a problem too my kids will only wear sketchers, they seem good for kids with sensory issues

My son only wears sketchers too. My son will only wear over sized jumpers.

@Mummyof5kiddos I'm gonna try the seamless boxers, thanks didn't realise you can get them.

@Tiny1994 I really appreciate your response, I definitely feel better knowing I'm not alone

@Mummyof5kiddos My DS is the same, he is very particular about the material & type of clothes & shoes he wears. I'm actually at my wits end with finding him a pair of shoes that he is comfortable with and won't take off. So thank you for the sketchers recommendation! Keeping my fingers crossed that your children's sensory issues will only get better with time

No worries, do you used seamless socks too? We haven’t long changed to them and they seem to be helping, my DS used to moan about his sock all the way to school but now we walk to school with no problem

They are great, definitely worth a try and it stops him being fully nude too 🤦‍♀️

My DS was similar at that age. Zero social and body awareness. As he wasn't potty trained I would put him in a bodysuit (like the ones baby wear) backwards so the buttons were at the back. It stopped and he found other suitable things to do. I didn't use medical equipment suits. Just the normal bodysuits. In this heat, he could just wear that and shorts.

I understand it's a sensory need but I wanted to protect him and redirected the input

@Mummyof5kiddos No I actually haven't even thought of buying him seamless socks before so thank you for the suggestion :)

@user1984455 That's actually a really good idea! DS is quite tall for his age so has outgrown the bodysuits we have at home. I also think that the biggest size of bodysuits in most shops is 2/3 years which won't fit him sadly

easyaccessclothing.com/products/children-sleeveless-bodysuit?variant=18532838506563

www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.1194762001.html?pr_oyster=jFgPcae0fW&hier_id=go_cmp-21273643582_adg-_ad-__dev-m_ext-_prd-en-1194762001011_sig-EAIaIQobChMIpaeB6unbhwMVdZKDBx1tvgbZEAQYBSABEgL_yPD_BwE&utm_source=Google&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADvrmzQS-LVu74BxfRgs4Kx_kkoYr&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpaeB6unbhwMVdZKDBx1tvgbZEAQYBSABEgL_yPD_BwE

The first is medical suits but I never liked the idea of them. The second one is H&M. They go up to 3-4 years old. Is he bigger then that?

www.marksandspencer.com/3pk-adaptive-pure-cotton-bodysuits-0-mths16-yrs-/p/clp60642968?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

The last is from M&S and they go up to 16 years old.

With all of them, put them backwards. Even if he learns how to undo them eventually, it will take him longer. You will be able to catch him and stop him!

Has DS had an OT assessment?

@user1984455 Ahh you're an angel, thank you for the links and the tip! He currently wears a combination of both size 3/4 to 4/5 yrs clothing (I'll try the H&M ones first, if they're too snug I'll try the others)

Good luck Nezuko!

Just remember it will past (eventually!). Same with DS, problems never last and they do change eventually.