Advice on toileting support for non-verbal autistic child starting reception

[Nezuko]

Hi, I would like some advice from other parents that have potty trained their SEND kids please. My eldest will start reception in a mainstream school soon and I'm so anxious about him going. He has ASD and is non verbal. I have been trying my best to potty train him over the summer holidays and while we still have frequent accidents, he has finally stopped wearing pull ups.

He has sensory issues related to clothing so wearing pull ups was causing him great discomfort (he would constantly take his pull ups & trousers off, especially after wees) so potty training was a must. I have been using PEC toilet training visuals and makaton/bsl signing each time we would go to the bathroom, he has copied the hand movements a few times but won't do it most of the time. He won't unfortunately give a signal each time he needs to go so I have been taking him every hour (20/30 minutes after having a drink) during the day until he sleeps. He will wee & poo each time I take him though.

My biggest concern right now is how this will continue when he starts school without him being able to communicate with his teachers when he needs to go. He simply can't resort back to wearing pull ups bc 1) he will refuse to wear it now, he is much happier wearing boxers and 2) I am worried that all my efforts will go in vain and know 100% he will undress himself in school due to his sensory issues.

He has an EHCP in place but unfortunately nothing was noted regarding his toileting (I'm considering sending an appeal to change this if possible). I will have a word with his teacher when he starts but I honestly don't know what to anticipate since there are so many other children in his class. Please share your experiences & wisdom with me

Have you spoken to the SENCO? If not, you should send an email a meeting. Don’t leave it to just having a word with the teacher when DS starts.

Has an intimate care plan been put in place?

Do you still have the right of appeal?

If DS is genuinely pooing every hour, you should book a GP appointment.

How frequent is frequent in terms of the accidents?

@inthequietofdawn Thank you for the suggestions, I will book a meeting with the senco this coming week. Also no intimate care plan has been put in place, I still have another month to appeal so I obviously need to chase it up asap. Sorry, I should have elaborated a bit more regarding DS toilet habits. He only has one bowel movement a day on most days (sometimes every other day) but regarding his bladder, he goes to the bathroom every hour throughout the day until bedtime. His toilet accidents are inconsistent, on most days he will just have one or two (depending on his fluid intake) but then he will go several days without having any.

When you meet with the school, ask them to do an intimate care plan.

If you want to appeal, you should do so ASAP. The wait for hearings is long. Hearings are already being listed for 2028.

I wouldn’t be too worried about 1/2 accidents some days and none others. DS is unlikely to be the only child in the class that applies to.