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Bicarbonate of soda
Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda (you can usually find it near the flour in the baking section of supermarket) on a wet mattress and it will not only absorb the smell it will soak up the wet. Leave it on the wet patch for as long as you can and then vacuum off.
Back to front
Ali likes to take off her pad to get to the contents, so we put the nappy on back to front as it is much harder to take it off but not that much harder to fit on that way.
Periods
Tena pants are better than pads. Some contraceptive pills stop periods. You can also ask a gynaecologist to insert a Mirena IUD under a general anaesthetic, which lightens and stops periods.
Houdini pyjama suits
At night we put Jim’s pad on back to front with a popper style vest (larger sizes available via Fledglings) under his pyjamas which makes it harder to get to.
Creative solution
If having problems keeping hands out of nappies - put a ladies swimming costume on !
Boys boys boys........
When Colin was learning to use the toilet we put a table tennis ball in the toilet bowl for him to aim at - makes it all a bit of fun (you can roll up pellets of paper which works as well).
Flush reward
Put a few drops of assorted food colouring in the cistern. Guessing what colour the flush will be is a fun reward for using the toilet appropriately.
Extra padding......
Suki is incontinent during the night - as she gets bigger and drinks more her pads often leak causing a wet bed. We took the simple step of using booster pads which we bought from Boots and this provides additional absorption and keeps the bed dry. You can always cut them in half if they are too big.
Make it stick
Use steri tape for a really firm stick on incontinence nappies that have lost their stickiness.
Non slip
Evie can’t sit up very well. We cut up some non slip matting to fit the toilet seat which stops her bottom slipping down.
Save the embarrassment!
When Betty uses the toilet she can often misses and makes a mess on the floor. We leave moist tissues in the bathroom so she can clean it up herself and doesn't have the embarrassment of asking for help.
Footstool
Karen didn’t have enough stability and so was struggling to sit and “perform”. We gave her a footstool. It is so easy to forget that as an adult you have the floor for your feet to gain support.
Picture books are good
Potty training - Many autistic people are visual learners and the only way my daughter understood the idea was through a book. I used her princess obsession. I bought "I want my potty" by Tony Ross and it worked a miracle! The book is full of pictures and the phrase “I want my potty” is repeated continuously through the book. It also shows that accidents happen
Step by step in colour
Because Joey was scared of toilets we used a portable potty/toilet. You can get them from the chemist. It is a potty shaped two piece plastic frame to which you attach disposable plastic bags which are lined to absorb liquids. From then on it went slowly to the child size toilet, or child toilet seat with a step.
Caravan toilet
Inspiration came. A caravan portable toilet ! We picked up one for £20 and buy the chemicals to disinfect/neutralise the odours and it has been a God send!
Low seat, stable base and easy to store behind the door out of visitors sight.
Games in the toilet
At 5, we had tried almost everything to get Steve to use the toilet. We then put lots of fun activities in the toilet, bubbles, Velcro dart board , stickers etc and as he sat on the toilet we distracted him with lots of fun until he accidentally went himself in the toilet, he realised he can actually do it, his constipation has eased and he uses the toilet now every time on his own.
Who cares what they think.....
Toilet training seemed to be a long task but I found that once I relaxed and ignored the pressure I came under from peers and professionals (after all does it really matter when it takes a bit longer than usual?) it was so much easier.
Going at your own pacce
I left underpants in Harry’s drawer so that he could help himself to them (mostly to put on his head as hats at first, but he knew what they were as they were the same as his older brothers!) and also seeing his brother use the loo helped. With no pressure from me; just a few hints left lying around he was able to decide himself that he wanted to wear big boy pants and threw his nappies away himself!! Not to say we have never had any accidents but so what - he was almost physically and definitely mentally ready and going at his pace was the way to go.
Free nappies for over 4s
If your child is 4 they are entitled to free nappies if needed. It is best to contact the school as most of the organisations that are supposed to know don’t!! I found this was the quickest way.
Spring time
If you can't go cold turkey on the nappies try pull ups, huggies pull up nights for older children (the girls' version seemed more absorbent than the boys) or Libero who do a version. Try and start the process in April so you are doing it through the warmer months, and be prepared for it to take years; the rewards will make it worth it.
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