Every morning, my autistic son’s sheets would be off of his bed with his mattress off of the bed frame. Talk about killing your back every morning putting that bed back together!
Bed stripping is actually a common behavior for many individuals with autism.
Maybe that is why they use the puzzle piece for Autism: because we are all puzzled about how to deal with the behaviors!
What You Can do to Prevent Bed Stripping in Autism
If your kid won’t stop tearing their bed apart every night, there is actually something you can do about it that can save you a lot of effort!
1: Buying or Building a Preventative Bed Frame
A bed frame that comes up around the sides of the mattress makes it very difficult for your child to pull off the fitted sheet as well as the mattress itself.
Take a look at a kid’s mattress like this one from Amazon styled for kids. (Pictured right)
For smaller children, this is a great solution. Not only do they get a fun bedframe, but the design makes it very difficult to strip.
2: Buy Zip-Around Sheets
You can also find sheets that zip around the whole bed called Zippit bedding.
They are sheets like sleeping bags for the bed, going around the whole bed.
These are great tools for mom, and easy for the kids to make their beds every morning.
These sheets might not prevent your child from tearing apart their bed at night, but it will make it harder for them to do and easier for you to fix!
Those are two wins in my book!
Bonus Tip: Adjusting Incontinence Pads On Your Child’s Bed
For parents of children with severe autism, incontinence may be something that your child will live with for the rest of their lives. If toilet training is not possible, getting the best bed pads for incontinence is your only option.
Learning to use incontinence pads for autism is necessary to live a more normal life, and most incontinence pads just don’t cut it.
(If you want some help toilet training a small child, check out this video: https://youtu.be/1CSneLwx4nA)
Bed pads that slip and move around are useless for parents of children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
Here is a quick tip to help those bed pads from moving around: Buy “saddle-style” bed pads that tuck under the mattress. That way, they won’t slip around and cause a mess.
Curtis wet his bed with the saddle style-pads and there was no leakage whatsoever.
Great pad for the price. Check your insurance and see if they can cover the purchase.
Autism Bed Challenge
I challenge you, even if you don’t have these zip bed sheets, at least challenge your child to straighten out their beds in the morning before going to school. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it is good for them to always be helpful and it will eventually make your life easier.
