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Potty Training Woes

bumpuser511563bumpuser511563 member
in Special Needs
So DS has ASD and pees in the potty when we take him.

I think the hardest thing at home right now is getting him to ask us or tell us he needs to go. It has been a handful of times he asks and goes pee at home. Of course I cheer him on.

He poops in his underwear and I have gotten him to clean them on the weekends. We tell him he needs to tell us he needs to go so many times.

I work and he goes to school and daycare full time.

I have nothing else to lead us to be successfully potty trained. We are frustrated and DS is 5.

TIA
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Re: Potty Training Woes

  • MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member

    What is the school/daycare doing? They led the charge when DS was successfully PT'd. It took him about 2-3 months of being consistently taken to the potty with daycare before I was even ready to start that at home. I know in the beginning we never waited for DS to ask to go. We just made him go every 15 or 20 minutes regardless. It became a rule he was accustomed to. We used a LOT of candy to make it "fun"- we didn't mess around with 1-2 M&Ms we used fun sized snickers. By the end of the weekend he was getting really tired of candy so I switched to small toys. But it worked! Once he got the hang of it over the weekend I switched to single M&M's for a week or so until we could wean him off the candy, LOL. I don't care, it worked for us!

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  • MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member
    I meant to add that after 2-3 months of daycare PT'ing we went all-out PT bootcamp at home over a long weekend. That's where we made our big push with candy and other bribery to get him to sit often and willingly!
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  • bumpuser511563bumpuser511563 member
    Thank you, Miranda!

    It gives me hope!

    I will be asking the school about their take on it tomorrow. I think they take him every 45 minutes and if he requests it. I think the daycare just takes the kids but they don't ask the last I heard.
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  • curlylocks007curlylocks007 member
    PT bootcamp did NOT work for us.   #1 came after about 3 months of pullups and lots of prizes (M&M's worked the best) and prompting. #2 only seemed to click after a switch to underwear and then  the drama that goes along with cleaning up afterwords.  We finally promised him a BIG prize that he had requested if he was able to keep clean for a whole week.  It worked and he has been really good since.  
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  • bumpuser511563bumpuser511563 member
    -auntie- said:
    Ugh.

    I'm sorry this is hard for you. Kids on spectrum can be all over the place around this.

    DS was about 3 1/2 when he bladder trained, but bowel was behind that several months. We didn't have a dx at the time, and he was otherwise fairly independent so I gave over ownership of the process asap. I bladder trained DS before lunch one day (when you wait longer, it sometimes comes faster) and don't ever recall having him communicate a need at home- if he needed to go he went. Once in a while he'd use the cats' litter, but mostly I wasn't a part of that magic. If we were headed out, I'd direct him to the bathroom first or after a while just in case. 

    He needed a little more assistance with bowel movements and TP, but even then I'd get a call from the bathroom after the fact rather than a request/announcement.  

    Where do you think the disconnect is? Do you need him to verbalize this to you? Is he one of those kids who sensory processing is such that he isn't able to read his body's signals? Is he used to a school protocol of scheduled bathroom breaks and he's globalized that process to home? I know some families who have used a special potty training watch that prompts kids who don't sense they need to go or who get so focused on other things that they ignore the signals.

    The ABA therapist we had said he was stubborn but of course anybody could say that without understanding the questions you mentioned. DH thinks he does it for attention. He poops only at home, school or daycare.

    I don't think he is able to feel the body signals.

    He is on a schedule to go to the restroom at all three places unless we go to the store we go before we leave and after.

    He does seemed focused on watching something on television or playing with toys so ignoring signals is a possibility. Sometimes he is convinced to go if I suggest and pause whatever he is watching or I let him take a toy in the bathroom.
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  • bumpuser511563bumpuser511563 member
    edited March 2014
    On weekends, DS has pooped most of the time during nap time. I am not so sure if it is avoidance to naps all together. The idea crossed my mind but I don't want DS constipated either. I think I am going a little crazy.

    I want him to at least lie down for nap time for an hour and he doesn't have to sleep. I still need naps for me! It is all over for naps.


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  • thetwinkies&Vivithetwinkies&Vivi member
    This has been a helpful thread, thank you! I'm getting so much heat about DD1 not being trained yet.
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  • ksukitty1979ksukitty1979 member
    My son is almost 7 and has severe classic autism, global developmental delay and a chromosomal duplication.  He just started going to the bathroom for both number 1 and number 2.  He needs help wiping and wears a pullup overnight.  But he's still way ahead of where his doctor and therapist thought he would be.  The biggest piece of advice we get is don't force it.  If we make a battle out of it, it will delay their desire to actually do it.  When interest is shown, use lots of positive reinforcment.
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  • macchiattomacchiatto member
    edited March 2014
    Oh my goodness, LOL/eww!! about the graham crackers in the bathroom. :)

    FWIW, my "at risk for ASD" son pleasantly surprised us by rising to the occasion with PT. His NT twin was asking to wear underwear and even though X verbally resisted the idea, we decided to try having him go with the flow (um ... no pun intended) and did 3 Day PT on both boys at once. X actually caught on faster than his more "ready"/enthusiastic twin, even though he showed some anxiety about the process and accidents the first 2 days. Lots of candy/stickers, praise, etc. 
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
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  • thetwinkies&Vivithetwinkies&Vivi member
    I completely agree, auntie, but apparently "I'm being lazy and if she can talk she needs to be trained. " She showed signs early, and has several days were she does pretty well,but its just not happening. I am in no rush. She can lead the way. I'm pretty sure there's a piece to it preventing real success just yet. Plus, cute cloth diapers on her. She just got an ASD awarness one.
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  • macchiattomacchiatto member
    BAER at people who are pushing you to PT a 2.5 y/o. Sorry. (Even more so when you also have twin toddlers to take care of!) Yay for cute CDs. :)
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
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