Special Needs
NiniJ55
member
Potty training an autistic toddler
NiniJ55
member
Is it any different than potty training an average toddler? DS was dx in February as being on the spectrum (PDD). He does therapy at home in the morning and at the center each afternoon. He is non-verbal but has tons of improvement already.
We have him sit on the potty first thing in the morning and after breakfast. Also before bedtime bath. We get NOTHING. He often cries and does not want to sit on the potty - especially for grandma who cares for him while we work during the day (when he is not at the center). Do you have any tips for me or maybe a book I can read.
I'm very very new to this... I know children on the spectrum tend to be visual learners. I need help. His age in on my ticker below.
TIA.
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Re: Potty training an autistic toddler
I can't speak to ASD and potty training, but I have trained 2 boys. 2y4m is pretty young for a boy, IME. Many, many of my friends didn't get their boys trained until the age of 3 and later.
So, don't stress about it yet. He's still quite young.
I think I can feel you on that one. DS is not potty trained either, so I don't know what to advice you on. I offer and he always says no. Last night before bath, I opened the toilet and he said no.
At daycare, he sits on the toilet but doesn't go.
I would like to check out this post later for ideas.
Good point. Thanks, ladies. I feel pressured to potty train him since he is over 2yrs old now. Especially from MIL.
My DD1 has autism and was PT'd around three. She still wears pull-ups at night.
We didn't know when we started that she had autism, so we just did what seemed best for her. My DD2 was born in the midst of PTing, so there was a long pause. We didn't do a three-day or abrupt method, we just did lots and lots of lots of practice, then moved into underwear around the house, then out in public. It was very gradual, with lots of praise and stickers, M&Ms, etc. I think we started practicing around age two and it was very two-steps-forward, one-step-back. We actually had two potties -- one for when she was really little and she used to sit on with clothes on, that she would carry around the house, just to get her used to the whole thing. Then a bigger one with a padded seat that stayed in the bathroom. Then we added a ring to the adult toilet, then transitioned to nothing except a stool to help her climb up.
DD1 loves books, and she'd sit for half an hour on the potty just flipping through them. We got a small collection of potty-related books to read and for her to look through while she had potty practice, and I think My Big Girl Potty in particular helped her figure things out.
I got very frustrated with timing, too, because she's never been a very regular kid about peeing/pooping. The best start we found, on my pedi's advice, was to put her on the potty while running her bath, because the sound of the water helped with "inspiration," LOL.
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
Explain once to her why you are choosing to wait. You could be totally upfront and say her focus on this is somewhat stressful and not helpful to you. Maybe she just doesn't have much else to offer for conversation and goes to an old standard. *shrugs*
If she still feels like it is so important, then I would ask her to potty train him.
Thanks, everyone for all the responses.
MIL lives with us and cares for DD and DS when we are at work. She is the one who puts him on the potty in the morning so I'm sure she would help out. But obviously I would have to take the lead and tell her what/ when I want.
I will continue to put him on -- but not pressure him. I'm glad I'm not the only one not pressing potty training at 2.
THANKS!
Potty training is not something I have started yet either. Nate does not have ASD, but a brain disorder that delays development. He's cognitively about 6 months behind.
I have put him on the potty and was able to time a couple of poops, but he is not showing traditional signs of readiness. It is not a mountain I want to die on. There are other fish to fry.....Good luck!
My DS is not ASD, but has a global developmental delay, so kinda similar.
My DS is barely potty trained. We have been working on potty training since he was about 2 years old. He didn't pee on the potty until right around his 3rd birthday, but it was a struggle he had no desire to pee on the potty, no rewards worked, he was trained to a schedule, but could not dress and undress himself. He went to his first day of school in the fall in underpants, but came home in a pull-up and we were asked to send him in pull-ups from that day on (we were just finding out he had issues and honestly potty training was pretty far down the list). We stopped pushing the potty, my DS wore pull-ups and every so often my husband and I would try a few days of potty training to see if we would meet less resistance, this lasted about 6 months. In late March something clicked for him and he stopped resisting so much and started peeing on the potty. He started a new school about a week later, and went to school in pull-ups but wore underpants at home. By mid May we felt comfortable enough to send him to school in underpants, he still has a lot more accidents than most kids, but is willing to use the potty at school. And here's how he is not trained, he has never told anyone he needs to use the potty, he refuses to poop on the potty and still requires that all of the clothes on the bottom 1/2 of his body come off for him to pee. My husband and I are pretty happy though, it has taken a long time to get this far, and we know that he will continue to improve and maybe by next year he will be independent. My DS is trained to go whenever his caregivers tell him to go, which is about every 1.5 hours (4 year olds can go a long time without peeing).
My advice would be to spend a lot of talking about the potty, allow him to come into the bathroom while people are peeing and pooping. Encourage him to sit on the potty, but understand that you cannot make him use the potty if he does not want to. My mom spent a lot of time with my DS the last two summers and she really wanted him to be potty trained, but he just really wasn't ready. I would have him sit on the potty before his bath (little boys often pee in the bath), if he pees in the bath, point it out to him that he is peeing and that pee either goes in a diaper or in the potty. It took about a year of working on using the potty everyday for him to actually start using the potty with minimal resistance.
We did make a potty visual schedule that showed the steps to using the potty, this was helpful for a while. We also have one for hand washing.
If your DS is not very good at his self help skills I would work on other skills like dressing and hand washing before really pushing the potty. My DS is still pretty far behind on his self help skills, but he can now dress himself and this is a big part of using the potty.
This is probably a big deal to your MIL and is an obvious difference between your child and a typical child. I know that most typical boys do not potty train much before 3, but most are willing to try and most don't sit and cry on the potty. I would let her keep trying, but remind her than she can't force him to pee. If he has other self help skills delays enlist her help in having him learn those skills and then move the focus to potty training.
Thomas ~ 07/07/2008 ~ 8 lbs, 5 oz
What's in my camera bag: Nikon D5000, Kit Lens 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 35mm 1.8G, 50mm 1.8G, 85mm 1.8G, Tamron 28-75mm, SB 600 Speedlight
Global Developmental Delay consisting of a receptive language delay and self help skills delay
Another vote for delaying full-fledged PTing... DD#2 (PDD) had several starts and stops with PTing, until I completely backed off for a few months. I started up again a couple of months before her 4th birthday and she took to it within a couple of days. She def. resisted and cried when I put her on the potty (she actually had huge anxiety over the act of urinating, so much so that she'd start freaking out and almost convulsing because she couldn't hold her pee in any longer.) Once I helped her make the connection between that uncomfortable sensation in her bladder and not getting everything soaked by getting on the toilet, she was all set. I don't think she's had one day-time accident since. (And just a few at night, but no more than the typical kid.)
Big Girl 2.7.06 ~ Baby Girl 9.2.07
Shyt - I have not considered that at all! I will talk with the team at the next meeting. I never discussed potty training with them. I really have no idea why I have not already. I'm starting to realize that I pretty much need to discuss basically everything I do with them first.