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At a loss with Autistic 4 year old
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Expert Potty Training Advice
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At a loss with Autistic 4 year old

[Replies: 4]
Last Post Mar 3, 2009 7:05 AM by: Vicky&TJ
Vicky&TJ
 
Vicky&TJ
Posts: 1
Registered: 3/3/09

Re: At a loss with Autistic 4 year old

Mar 3, 2009 7:05 AM
I know exactly how you feel. My youngest TJ is autistic he was diagnosed a few years ago. We are able to get him to pee on the potty but no way will he go poop. We have tried many different things including using a doll that pees as the example for him so he can see what he is supposed to do. The only time I have been able to get him to go is when I feed him on a schedule and then monitor exactly when he normally has a bowel movement and then the next day I put him on the potty 1/2 hour before he went the other day. So he went at 6pm the other day so I put him on the potty at 5:30 the next day. I sat with him and gave him a portable DVD to watch and we managed to stay in there for close to a 1/2 hour and he peed and made a BM that time. The best advise I can give you is to be patient and creative try many different things and sooner or later one of them will click for him. If you would like to e-mail me you can at vickyshome@live.com
wsrdpc
 
wsrdpc
Posts: 4
Registered: 10/24/08

Re: At a loss with Autistic 4 year old

Oct 24, 2008 5:57 PM
I have a 6 year old autistic daughter. She was potty trained at school for 2 years before I got her trained at home. One of the ways I succeeded was a detailed potty chart with her favorite character Lightning McQueen. I had a potty chart of a roadway. Every 3 spots with a picture of a lolipop on it. On the 5th set of 3 I had a picture of a white pail. In the white pail I had packages of cookies and cars from the movie and other items of the like. She receive a sticker for every time she went pee and 2 stickers for every time she went poo in the potty. I also kept a calender in the bathroom where I put down a line for every time she peed and a p for every poo. I kept track of every success and accident on the chart. After a week or so with more success then accidents I changed the smaller chart to a 3 level system. I had a picture of the white bucket up with 3 to 5 stickers then 2 other levels with more expensive prizes. On the calender I now would place the stickers if she stayed clean and dry all day. After so many days in a row she would get a prize out of one or more of the prize areas. If she had an accident she would start all over with 3, 7 and 14 stickers for the prizes. She would work towards the prizes with praise and could see the stickers being moved the morning after she was successfully clean and dry. (I did not count night accidents). After about 4 or 5 months she earned a $50 prize for staying clean and dry for 3 15 day cycles in a row. She is now clean and dry all the time. She only has an accident when she is sick. I kept all of this in the bathroom where she could see it every time she was successful or had an accident and it really worked. I had no success with her until I did this. I set a price limit on the prizes. 3 stickers was something under $5, 7 was $5 to $15 and anything over $15 was 14 days. I also had the prizes in sight and she could pick her prize the morning the sticker was placed on the calender. It is a lot of work but if you do this in front of the child it isn't as much work as it seems. Also the prize that she earned that was 3 cycles of 14 days she saw a couple times but I didn't keep it in the bathroom cause she wanted it all the time. Good luck.
Gigi74
 
Gigi74
Posts: 1
Registered: 10/24/08

Re: At a loss with Autistic 4 year old

Oct 24, 2008 9:12 AM
Hi Ladies--I have a nephew that is autistic. Currently he is 8 years old. He was pee trained with the potty from about the time he was 3, but my sister was not able to poop train him until he was about 6 years old. I know from what his specialists told her, many autistic children have an issue with potty training, because they view the pee & poop as a physical part of themselves, and using the potty makes them feel as if they are "losing" a part of themselves. I know he pooped in Pull Ups until he was 6, and then out of nowhere started pooping in the potty.

Good luck Ladies! I don't know if this was helpful information to you or not, but I hope it was.
AliceK
 
AliceK
Posts: 1
Registered: 9/25/08

Re: At a loss with Autistic 4 year old

Oct 24, 2008 8:31 AM

Well I am glad to hear that there is more than one mother out there who is having the same problem the I am. My little guy is 5 having been training for 1 1/2 yrs. he shows no interest in trying the potty we sit and sit but nothing. A few times we have just hit the potty and he did use it very exited let him flush, but then no interest agian. I have tried a potty timer, taken his favorite toy from and even shut the tv off unless he uses the potty. If you get any advise or know a web site,PLEASE let me know and I will do the same for you.

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Meme
Mom_of_Ian
 
Mom_of_Ian
Posts: 7
From: North Carolina
Registered: 9/15/08

At a loss with Autistic 4 year old

Sep 15, 2008 7:26 PM
Hello Everyone,
I am not sure if this topic has been broached but I didn't see anything on the surface topics. I have a four year old autistic son, he's in the moderate (middle) of the scale, from mild being at the low end and severe at the high end. I have been actively trying to train him for over a year now. He has help at home and with his teachers in Pre-K.
Every hour he gets taken to the bathroom and he WILL do his best to go. He is also acts like he has no sensation for being wet or having a mess in his diaper or pull-up. Has anyone had any experience potty training an autistic child? Does anyone have any tricks or little things they do to help achieve sucess?? I'm getting desperate.

Thank you all in advance for any and all advice.
Melissa

P.S. One more thing, he doesn't tell you when he's wet or messed in his pull-up or diaper. He CAN go around and say "I Pee" or "I Poop" but most of the time he's just repeating the words. He has Echolalia where he can repeat just about any word as perfect as you say it, but he doesn't know what that word means and he IS limited on his speech.

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Edited by Mom_of_Ian at 09/16/2008 4:23 AM PDT