it is not unusual for children with SPD to take longer to achieve nighttime continence. Many children who wet the bed at night do so because their nervous system has not developed to a point where their brains pick up the messages sent from the bladder to wake-up and go to the toilet. While the majority of these children eventually gain control over their bladders without the need for treatment – some do benefit from more formal intervention. If you have not had him evaluated by a doctor (with respect to his bedwetting) you might want to do this first just to rule out any underlying physical problems. If his bedwetting is not bothering you or him I would probably hold off on treatment for the time being, keeping him in DryNites so that you don’t have the added concern of dealing with wet sheets. If you do decide to pursue treatment I would recommend doing this with specialist assistance – an experienced continence advisor will be able to recommend a treatment that best suits the individual needs of your son. While the conditioning alarm currently experiences the best cure rates – there are other alternative treatments like chiropractic manipulation that may be more suitable in this instance. You can also try some simple measures like making sure he is drinking sufficient water throughout the day, encouraging him to empty his bladder each night before he goes to bed, and ensuring he isn’t overtired when he goes to bed as this will only make it more difficult for him to wake in response to a full bladder. You can foster independence by getting him to dispose of his own DryNites each morning as well as letting you know when his supply is running low. Making sure children feel confident and self-assured are crucial to the effective management of bedwetting – he will eventually wake up dry on his own, how he feels about himself at the end of this phase is what really matters. All the best!

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