- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Special Needs
Bride2bMO
member
Potty-training.& Sensory Processing Disorder?
Bride2bMO
member
In your experience does SPD play a large role in the timing of potty-training? We're getting tons of outside pressure (grandmothers especially) and I don't know whether I need to implement a training method (3-day, etc) or tell everyone to back off. I did tell my own mom that it's possible the sensory input from his bladder and bowels is getting jumbled just like everything else, but I know that in his case it's a willpower thing, too.
He rarely agrees to sit on the potty, and if he does, nothing has ever happened there. We've never put pressure on him. Whether he agrees to sit or not, we just say "cool, whatever, maybe next time," and move on.
I'd like to just be laid back, but we are trying very hard to make preschool placement decisions--his IEP is up in the air and this is part of the reason.
I may make a separate post about my ongoing IEP saga, I still feel very lost and am thinking of looking for an advocate. But that itself seems like a big decision, too.
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Potty-training.& Sensory Processing Disorder?
I attended a seminar on this for kids with ASD- they touched on sensory issues. A few of the big points they made: make it fun, i.e. give a treat just for sitting on the potty; give pop, juice, whatever to give the kids lots of opportunities to be successful; set a timer for every 45 minutes and get him on the potty; throw out the pull-ups and go straight to naked- the visuals of seeing what's happening make a big difference; use visual aids/books and talk about the potty a lot.
For us, all of the above worked perfectly. However- DS had been successfully sitting on the potty and even going once in awhile at daycare for probably 2 full months before we did the PT weekend. We went through tons of candy!! So much that by the end of the first day even DS didn't want anymore and I had to find other toys and treats to entice him. The timer was a big motivator at first- being a sensory seeker, he loved listening for it; when it went off he jumped up and down and knew just what to do. It was like a game. Also, at the seminar they gave us actual pictures of boys pooping and peeing (better them than me, you'd think you'd be arrested if you tried to take that!)- that made quite an impression on DS. We did undies the first day with mixed success- the minute we went to full naked he saw the pee coming out and said "uh-oh!" He's also a rule boy- we said "no pee pee on the floor" and that's what he did.
Last and probably most important- wait until you know he's ready. DS was ready, which is why we had such success. His daycare teachers told us that it was us (DH and I) who weren't ready, and they were right. He was 30 months. Physiologically, he got it. He was even dry at naps and at night after only a week. Good luck to you!
I love the ideas listed for when he is ready. I really like the idea of rewarding for just even sitting there. The kid is in love with M&Ms...that seems a fitting reward.(especially since he's barely on the chart for weight, I'm not opposed to the idea of a few extra calories, "empty" or not).
Auntie -- he is chronically constipated. Since about 6 months old. He's on a daily dose of Miralax, and even with that, poops are still difficult. He gets upset and does a little dance to try to prevent it. It's usually every few days and very unpredictable.
It sounds like physiologically he's not ready. At the same time, I'm glad I asked because I'm afraid that knowing he has some challenges is going to color things in his life that it doesn't necessarily need to. I don't want to lower my expectations when they don't need lowering. However, my plan on PTing has always been to wait until I'm sure they are ready, and figure it'll happen quickly and painlessly.
Thanks for your input.
We (and "we" I mean us, the SN preK, and the aftercare) all have our struggles in the potty training world. It has gotten so much better in the past couple months, and this is a little boy that even though was interested in the potty, was absolutely petrified by sitting on it.
In fact, we are at the point that he can pee at home (and mostly keep a pullup dry during the day) but forget about doing that in public. The sounds overwhelm him, it's a much larger room - those factors do not make (at this time) good experiences. So, we have to take the successes when we can get them.
Tell the grandmothers to back off (politely of course) - there is no set guideline on potty training, even in "typical" kids. Auntie - you recommended a book a while ago on Amazon that I did get and thought it was very helpful.
One of the tips is having a constant routine - at home, there is one potty and it's "his". There are certain steps to be followed. We do the rewards, and a chart - but even positive reinforcement goes so far. You are not alone!
I've got 4 boys (hence the name). One is gifted. One has sensory issues, we believe he has a genetic syndrome and Aspergers. He has had chronic constipation since he was 3 years 10 months old. He was potty trained at 3 years 4 months but started with frequent poop accidents because of the constipation causing leakage. His twin brother was potty trained at 3 years 6 months. Our youngest was potty trained at 2 years 10 months and it was of his own doing. Our oldest son who is gifted didn't potty train until almost 4 years old! The kid has my stubborn streak.
My point is that kids will potty train when they want to regardless of sensory issues or not, at least IMO.