3 year old ripping clothes

jodieleat

Hi everyone, I’m new here. My 3 year old is undiagnosed but going through the process at the moment. I use zipped back jumpsuits for him at night time as likes to take his nappy off and play with his ‘winkle’. For a while these have been solving the problem, however last night he ripped two jumpsuits and took them off that way. I don’t think it’s a sensory issue as the jumpsuits are specifically designed to not cause irritation, no tags, soft fabric etc. He doesn’t communicate very well and can’t tell me what the problem is. 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to either stop him ripping the clothes or any other suggestions on clothing to keep him away from his nappy? We do keep trying with potty training but he isn’t ready yet as he cannot communicate to tell me when he needs the toilet or even tell me when he needs his nappy changing yet. 

Thanks,
Jodie 

Ross_Alumni

Hello and welcome to the community @jodieleat

Not an area I have any knowledge or experience of, but I'm sure many of our members will have useful information to share  

How is the process of getting your son diagnosed going? Will it be long now before you have it?

I have tagged your post as unanswered so that more people will hopefully see it.

jodieleat

Ross_Scope said:

Hello and welcome to the community @jodieleat

Not an area I have any knowledge or experience of, but I'm sure many of our members will have useful information to share  

How is the process of getting your son diagnosed going? Will it be long now before you have it?

I have tagged your post as unanswered so that more people will hopefully see it.

Thank you. Getting his diagnosis is going well. He’s been under the development centre at the hospital since he was a baby as he was late meeting some milestones and wasn’t ‘fixing and following’ (unless it was lights) when he was very small. It was only last year that I had the realisation that his behaviours and communication difficulties were signs of autism. I spoke to his nursery and they confirmed my thoughts. I then spoke to his consultant and she was in agreement. She did refer him for a hearing test just to rule it out as a cause for his communication. Though it’s unlikely because he repeats sentences word for word and often in the intonation that it was originally said. And then continues to repeat these sentences for weeks. He did have a cold at the time of his hearing test so they couldn’t fully complete it so we’re waiting for another appointment. His consultant is waiting on this and has said she wanted to speak to the SLT that he’s had some work with just in case they think there might be another reason. But she does think he has autism. So it shouldn’t be too long. Which is great because his nursery SENCO have already started working with him and the diagnosis will mean they can better support him. 

janer1967

Hi hand welcome I dont have an answer for you as I cant think of anything he could wear to stop him tearing his clothes off . You may just have to go with the flow and let him wear something he can access his nappy and hope he gets bored of it over time, or is there anything else he could maybe play with in bed like a fidget cube or something

This is probably not what you are looking for so hope other members have some better ideas

emmarenshaw

Hi @jodieleat I’m Emma, a warm welcome to the community. Glad to have you with us. I’m going to tag @Adrian_Scope to see if he can give you any advice but I was wondering if speaking to an OT might help so he can be assessed? I was just thinking there might be some sensory toys  an OT could recommend, that might help  keep him stimulated and less likely to tear his clothes, or different types of specialised  clothing that wouldn’t rip.  I hope that helps. Please let me know how you are getting on and if I can help you with anything else.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @jodieleat. Unfortunately I'm no expert and my kids have always opted for chewing or stretching their clothes rather than tearing. But as a dad of a 28-month-old who is not ready for potty training, refuses to wear pull-ups and is prone to tearing off his nappy without warning, can I ask if you've tried putting him in pants (maybe a size or two bigger) on top of his nappy? It won't stop him ripping his clothes, but it may provide an additional obstacle to the nappy at least.

Your health visitor will be able to provide better suggestions, I hope. Does your son only do this at night?

KerrieLightwood

Hi @jodieleat, not sure what type of garment you're using right now, in the past I've seen one piece suits that look like a swimming costume used with some success so legs and arms aren't restricted at all, maybe a weighted blanket too to help with anxiety?

Kev2020

Hi there Kev here I have a lot of experience of early years and children on the autistic spectrum.
I think the issue maybe to do with being naturally curious of body parts.
My gut feeling would be allow him out of nappy time . If he has a mattress using a protector will help with accidents . It can also be helpful to use pads underneath him that would keep him dry at night.
Also using a oversized loosely fitting pad can work as you do him up when he's finished 'having a fiddle ' A lot of parents I have worked with have found removing a nappy as much as **** be really helps it just needs a bit more supervision . You might find he already has a bit of a routine for 'poos' so you could try having out of nappy time around these times.
Hope that helps please do let me know how you get on as I can ask around for other ideas .. 
Kev