If you didn’t cringe when reading the title of this newsletter, then you are probably a member of the club. Welcome! This exclusive group is made up of the parents who continue to deal with diaper-related matters long after toddlerhood, providing a level of love and devotion for their children which is simply unmatched.
While a taboo topic in some of our social circles, incontinence supplies (a glorified, professional term for diapers and related products) are an essential part in the lives of many families of children with special needs.
Many experienced caregivers shared helpful hacks which we’ve compiled for you below.
Get it Covered
Judging from the market value, one would think that diapers must be a luxury reserved for the wealthy. But for many of our kids, incontinence supplies are a big part of daily living, and not just for a year or two. Diapers are costly. And the bigger the kid, the more they cost.
For many children with special needs in NY and NJ (over age 3), incontinence supplies can be covered by Medicaid/Jersey Care. If you’ve been paying out of pocket until now, reach out to your insurance company to find out if you could receive supplies for free. The amount and types of supplies you can receive depends on your child’s needs.
Bear in mind that the diapers supplied by vendors who accept insurance are generally of inferior quality to brand-name diapers, such as Pampers or Huggies. That being said, for most children, they do the job just fine. Different medical supplies stores, or vendors, provide different brands. You can play around with different vendors until you find a brand that works for your child.
Happy parents recommend these vendors:
New York
Conduit Health – (917) 423-2712
Elm Pharmacy (Brooklyn) – (718) 336-8300
Baron Medical Supply (Brooklyn) – (718) 486-6164
Greenbaum’s Pharmacy (Monsey) – (845) 356-9300
New Jersey
Acclaimed Healthcare – (732) 886-6559
National
Active Style – (800) 651-6223
Aeroflow Urology – (844) 276-5588
Byram Healthcare – (877) 902-9726
Cardinal Health – (614) 757-5000
Happy parents recommend these product brands:
Note: Some of these are children’s sizes and some are adults’ sizes
Not all of these brands are covered by insurance
Cuties
Goodnite
Kirkland (Costco) brand
Parent’s Choice (Walmart) brand
Prevail
Tranquility
Unique Wellness
Positioning
For babies and small children, the classic lift-legs-and-clean works, but as kids grow, you may find this position cumbersome. If your child is an expert kicker (Hi-Yah!), wears clunky AFOs, or is just plain getting bigger and heavier, you might find yourself wondering if there’s a better way.
Parents shared some other positions which have worked for them and their children:
Side: Side changes are basically the same thing as regular changes, without the burden of holding the legs mid-air with one hand. Simply roll your child onto his/her side for cleaning. For a child who is difficult to roll due to their weight or stiffness, you may find one of the rolling/repositioning devices available on the market helpful. Here’s a popular rolling pad 🔻
Stomach: It sounds funny, but some parents have found it much easier to do a change while their child lies on their stomach.
Standing: For bigger children and adults who can stand independently, many people find it easier (not to mention more dignified for the child) to do a standing change. An added plus is that standing gives an opportunity for the child to participate in their own change, increasing their level of independence. Learning to do a change on their own can be a real gamechanger for children who have incontinence due to physical/medical reasons, but are fairly independent in their other daily living skills.
Nighttime Management
Nighttime with a kid in diapers can be a total nightmare (couldn’t resist). Being that parents often aren’t available to provide consistent changes throughout the night, nighttime leaks are commonplace. Besides for this issue, many children with special needs (who are on a no-sleep or up-before-the-sun schedule) enjoy practicing their independent undressing skills in middle of the night, which can make for messy business.
Parents have come up with numerous great solutions for keeping diapers firmly in place, and we’ve compiled some of the more popular hacks below:
For extra absorbency:
Put a booster pad inside the diaper/pullup. Some parents have found that using a higher quality brand, such as Tranquility or Unique Wellness, for the pad adds enough absorbency that you could get away with a generic brand diaper.
Double the diaper! This sounds basic, but it’s important. Below are different doubling methods people have seen success with. Play around until you find the one that works for your child!
Rip a hole in the inner diaper so that wetness gets absorbed into the outer one without leaking out of the sides
Put the outer diaper on backwards
Use a swimmer/pullup for the outer diaper
Use a reusable waterproof cloth diaper for the outer diaper
To prevent midnight stripping adventures:
Use a Onesie/bodysuit. Below are a few popular companies which produce bodysuits in bigger-kid sizes for our population:
For clever fingers which can navigate snaps, consider a wrestling onesie or thin, comfortable one-piece bathing suit
One-piece pajama/sleeper (Many parents find putting the sleeper on backward helpful)
Sleeper with a T-shirt on top — to discourage removal, use a shirt that needs a few buttons to open in order to take it off
Tights (yes, even for boys!)
Tight boxer briefs
Hygienic Habits
Keeping all of your child’s supplies neat, clean, and germ-free can be a challenge. If you have a designated space in your home where you change your child, put some thought into ways that you can improve the space. Parents shared some tips that worked for them:
Designate one bin/drawer in that area and keep all supplies in it: diapers, wipes, cream, gloves, Chux, bags, disinfectant, etc. Keep the bin well-stocked at all times so that you don’t need to rummage around for something with germy hands, mid-change. (Many people find it helpful to do the same with a to-go bag for changes away from home. Include a full spare change and shopping bags in the event of soiled clothing. Make a habit of immediately replacing the spare change with a fresh one when you get back home.)
Keep a Genie diaper pail near your changing area — it’s a small thing that makes a big difference in containing messes and odors.
The flooring in your changing area should ideally be hard and easy to clean. It might be helpful to cover the walls near the area or around your child’s bed to make cleanup quicker and easier. There are many easy-to-apply wall protectors available on Amazon.
Faigy, an adorable, energetic 12-year-old with special needs, was going through a difficult stage at home. She was constantly picking fights with her sister and throwing tantrums for no apparent reason. While her family was actively working on the issue together with Faigy’s school and therapists, the situation at home was more becoming unbearable by the day, and they were dreading Sukkos. Faigy’s mother wished she knew someone who could take her in for Yom Tov, but she couldn’t come up with any ideas. A couple of days before Yom Tov, someone told Faigy’s mother about Ezreinu. She reached out, and Ezreinu found a warm, loving family for Faigy to stay with for the entire Sukkos! ⬛
Brana, a devoted teacher, was looking for a qualified professional to evaluate one of her students. She needed someone experienced with her student’s specific needs, who’s practice was local, and who accepted the right insurance. Brana called Ezreinu and received referrals for several appropriate options. ⬛
Identifying details have been changed to protect client confidentiality.
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