Speech delay/potty training

Lovenyc · January 2014

Hi there--A little background. My 26m old son has an expressive speech delay. He has just a handful of words but "talks" all the time. He mostly defaults to the same "daa daa" syllables for everything. He was evaluated by EI and his scores are above average in everything but speech (he was 35% deficient.)

He is starting private speech therapy next week. He has made leaps and bounds developmentally over the last couple of months. His attention span is getting a little longer and listening skills have been much better. He has been following 2-3 step commands. I'm really excited to see how well he has been doing.

Ok-- here's my question. Up until recently, he couldn't care less if he had a dirty diaper (unless it was in the middle of the night).

Lately he has been sticking his hand down his diaper to check if there is any poop. It's almost like he's aware of it for the first time.

If I ask him if he has a dirty diaper, he'll run to his room to get a fresh diaper. He is in daycare full-time and I know a lot of his friends are starting to potty train. Of course, they can also express when they have to go potty.

Do I just hold off even thinking about potty training until he can express himself a little more? Baby boy#2 is on the way and will be here in May. Should I just hold off until after that?

TIA!

Lovenyc · January 2014

Thanks so much. He is starting to run into the corner or into another room when he has to go....but not every time. Oh and his new thing lately is taking off his pants, especially at night.

I'll keep looking for those signs!

MirandaHobbes · January 2014

My son is speech delayed and he was PT'd on par with his buddies in his class (at about 2.5 years old). We talked with DCP and they were willing to include him in the extremely regimented PT protocol for a couple months before we went cold turkey over a long weekend break (thanksgiving). So for 2 months he did nothing but diaper changes in the bathroom with the other kids who were trying to learn. For us, it was all about the bribes. DS had to be at the maturity level that he understood that if he did something (go on the potty) he'd get an immediate reward (candy). It worked well for us and he was fully PT'd within a week or so, but only because he "got" it. Weirdly, DS was not dry waking up from naps or overnight when we trained him. I just put a plastic sheet on and hoped for the best. He never had an accident save for a few times when we forgot to remind him to go before bedtime. And he would nap 3-4 hours in the afternoon! We were lucky.

algalphys · January 2014

My DS is also speech delayed but he basically decided to ditch diapers in his own around 2. Just one day started going on the potty and never looked back. He now says pee and poo (9 months after potty training) but at the time he would let us know by tapping his crotch or just go to the bathroom himself and do what he needed to for pooping (he's an independent guy). So with that said potty training can be done with little to no expressive language if the kiddo is truly ready.

Lovenyc · January 2014

Is now a good time to get a potty so he can get used to it?

A2TP · January 2014

Have you considered introducing sign language for potty training related terms? I know Baby Signing Times has a potty training specific DVD, but you could also just look up signs and start introducing them.

Lovenyc · January 2014

We haven't been using signs as much. Might be worth a shot with the potty. Thanks!

myschlove · January 2014

It sounds like he's beginning to show the early signs of becoming more aware, which is excellent.
My DS is 27 months old and he also has a speech delay. My pediatrician has always said to not even try to potty train a girl until two and a boy until three (unless they are seriously ready)
So I don't see any problem in waiting a little bit longer till he's communicating better. My plan is to wait until DS is closer to three before we start attempting that! Good luck!!

mamantraining · January 2014

Hi. I potty trained my son at 22 months. At that time he only was saying mama and papa along with some signs. I taught him how to sign potty but he mostly would point to his pants or say "di di" in order to tell us he needed to go. I don't think waking up dry in the am is necessary to train during the day. My DS is 3 and still wears a diaper at night. You could always buy a little potty and see how he does. When he sits on it practice signing and saying potty with him.

lemen99 · February 2014

It's hard to say. He doesn't sound quite ready. My experience:

My son had NO indications of readiness at 3.5 years old. (Speech delayed but talking very well at that point.) He is 5 years old and FWIW still wakes up soaking wet.

We put him in underwear one day at 3.5. He had no idea what to do, but having him pee a few times helped him get it. We potty trained a month later and within a day he was staying dry. Poop was another story. Anyways, he's young to potty train so I'd wait a bit longer and look for more cues, and if nothing else, try it. You'll know if he's catching on!

Lovenyc · February 2014

Update: We switched to a new daycare and they're really proactive with potty training. They have him "try" to go on the potty 3-4 times a day. He now likes to pull down his pants and sit on the potty. He hasn't actually gone yet but I think he's starting to get it. Yay for awesome new daycare!!!

lemen99 · February 2014

That is awesome!

Lovenyc · February 2014

Thank you! I will check out those AAC apps. I haven't incorporated any AAC yet but I will ask his therapists for input.

Lovenyc · February 2014

Thank you! I will be downloading the app tonight. My son's ST said it is a great way to supplement language.

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