ADHD, autism, incontinence,bed wetting and wears diapers

[Jeffery]

I have adult ADHD, autism spectrum, incontinence issues wears diapers and and at night to keep from soaking the bed.

Does anyone have this issue?

[Wet Knight]

Information is still sparse, but as it accumulates there is growing evidence that around 40% of Autistic children are bedwetters.

This seems to drop of to 20% at puberty, but in UK, adolescent paediatric care ceases at 18 and those still bedwetting drop out of the system and have to cope as best they can.

Thankfully, they have probably been able to squeeze into the largest size of Huggies until they can afford to buy adult bedwetting protection.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 6/24/2024 at 12:06 PM, Wet Knight said:

Information is still sparse, but as it accumulates there is growing evidence that around 40% of Autistic children are bedwetters.

This seems to drop of to 20% at puberty, but in UK, adolescent paediatric care ceases at 18 and those still bedwetting drop out of the system and have to cope as best they can.

Thankfully, they have probably been able to squeeze into the largest size of Huggies until they can afford to buy adult bedwetting protection.

Your probably right. My younger brother was on the spectrum and was a bedwetter throughout his childhood and apparently as an older adult is now dealing with this again. I believe that where I live people also drop off the benefits provided for autistic young people at 18 but if the situation is still disabling they can then apply for government benefits that include income support and some cases include coverage for incontinence supplies if a doctor says they are required. 

[Kaliborio]

I'm autistic, have ADHD, and am incontinent.

[BabyCody27]

I’m autistic and I was a bedwetter for most of my childhood 

[Jeffery]

9 hours ago, Kaliborio said:

I'm autistic, have ADHD, and am incontinent.

Cool, I would like to chat with you if you like 

3 minutes ago, BabyCody27 said:

I’m autistic and I was a bedwetter for most of my childhood 

I be interested in chatting 

[stevewet]

Never been diagnosed but suspect I am on the spectrum.

[Ryan1967]

Also autistic and was a childhood regular bedwetter - gradually reduced in my teens, but there was always a risk of waking in a wet bed - at 40 it started to become more regular again, now I wear diapers at night and wet myself every night like when I was a little kid

[cheerleadersissyboy]

I am on the spectrum and wear pull-ups at night because I still wet the bed.

 

I also use a Goodnites bed pad and have rubber sheets.

[Dragonet]

Yeah - ADHD, autistic, and sporadic bedwetter my whole life. You are definitely not alone ^^

The link ADHD and/or autism has to bedwetting is a fascinating one! There is a clear statistical correlation there, and a strong one at that - but the causal relationship underlying it are harder to pin down. On a population level I can only speculate, but in my case I kinda know:

I struggle with elements of interoception hyposensitivity in various aspects of my life. Combined with the tendency for my attention to constantly be latching onto fascinating things and getting distracted from even basic body functions, this leads to things like regularly not realising I haven't eaten in 10 hours until my vision goes blurry and my world is filled with the pain of a hunger-induced migraine. It's good fun. Considering that this also leads to frequently and urgently realising I need the bathroom during the day, it's hardly rocket science how it might also lead to my body occasionally failing to wake me up at night.

On top of that, the consistency with which I've wet throughout my life (when looking at the data on a macro level to filter out the noise of long dry spells and concentrated clusters of wetting, that is - because at a glance, the data seems anything but consistent, which is why I didn't even realise there was a pattern there for the longest time. It is a phenomenon I could hold an entire TED Talk about XD ) very much supports the notion of a persistent unifying cause establishing a baseline frequency for me, for all that variability from other factors like stress, routines, and random chance adds in noise on top of that.

So yeah. I have a pretty clear idea of how ADHD and autism factors into my bedwetting, but I am extremely curious what other factors may be at play for others ^^ It's an interesting and layered topic. Even if the most important part is always going to be knowing that it's a common overlap, and that you're not alone.

[gregs]

Yes, I have ADHD and also I need to wear diapers.