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Home › Articles › Special Needs › Bedwetting and Summer Camp

Bedwetting and Summer Camp

Does Your Special Needs Child Have to Miss out on All the Fun?

By Lisa Fernandez

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The causes of bedwetting appear to be a controversial subject within the medical and psychological worlds. The National Kidney Foundation estimates that between five to seven million children between the ages of 6 and 12 in the United States are affected by enuresis. The foundation also says that 15 percent of the children will simply outgrow this problem, and that certain exercises, therapy, medication and behavior modification techniques such as moisture alarm bells will help.

But Barbara Moore, founder of the Enuresis Treatment Center in Michigan, believes that drugs, bells and other treatments won't work. Bedwetting is caused by an abnormal, inherited sleep pattern where the brain is in such a deep slumber that it can't wake the person up, and therefore, the bladder, to get up and go to the bathroom, she says.

While bladder exercises can help strengthen the underdeveloped muscles, she says, the real solution is to change the bedwetter's sleep pattern. That takes at least six months, she says. She adds that she has a 95 percent cure rate and sees between 300 to 400 bedwetters each year. Non-Michigan residents who can't attend the center can get treatment through verbal instructions available at www.drybed.com.

No Big Deal
As for children with disabilities, there are no studies showing that kids with physical problems wet their beds more than kids who don't have special needs, Moore says. And ironically, children without disabilities who wet their beds might have a harder time adjusting to camp than their peers with special needs.

Moore says most children she knows who don't have special needs simply refuse to go to camp because they're embarrassed. "The fear of discovery is so great that a lot of times kids don't go,'' she says. "They're simply so concerned that someone will find out.''

"Camp can be really tough for a youngster with a bedwetting problem," says Stoch. "It's embarrassing, especially if they get teased or scapegoated."

Children with more severe disabilities, however, often have other, more serious problems and bedwetting ranks lower on the list.

If children do want to go to camp and want to keep their bedwetting a secret, Moore suggests they secretly put on their disposable absorbent underpants in a sleeping bag when the lights are out so that no one can see. She also doesn't insist that children have to confide in their counselors about their problem. She says, "It's always best to listen to the child and how they feel about letting others know."


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