Potty training advice for children w/ developmental delays.

[ryanshana]

Hey. I was hoping that I could get some advice. My DS has developmental delays (cognitive and speech). He gets the concept of going potty, he is trained complete if he is not wearing a diaper (#1 & #2). He has a lot more language than he had when I tried last year. He can say potty, pee pee, and stinky/poop. However, he NEVER says these words prior. Always AFTER. I bought this Toy Story special edition Pull ups (comes w/ a special box) I was planning our wrapping it and making it a BIG deal like Buzz and Woody left this for you and want you to try to go potty all the time like a big boy!

Does anyone have any advice of how to handle this. I have never had to potty train a child before and don't know what I am doing. I ask my friends but they all have children that have language and can tell them. He never really took to sign language. I do have PECS cards, so hopefully they will help. I have stickers for rewards. However, I'd love to hear some of your stories to get some help and ideas

Thanks so much!

 

[RitaE]

I suspect you are going to have to ditch the Pull-Ups completely, except maybe at night.

Also, since he isn't asking well, I'd set a timer and take him every (however many minutes are needed) whether he asks or not. Have him exchange the card whenever possible or maybe ring a bell or something.

Mostly just stick with it though, it sounds like you are almost there.

 

[ryanshana]

I suspect you are going to have to ditch the Pull-Ups completely, except maybe at night.

Also, since he isn't asking well, I'd set a timer and take him every (however many minutes are needed) whether he asks or not. Have him exchange the card whenever possible or maybe ring a bell or something.

Mostly just stick with it though, it sounds like you are almost there.

That is what I thought, I'm afraid that he will just think they are a diaper?


I like the timer idea and the bell instead of the PECS cards...thanks

 

[HelenePA]

That is what I thought, I'm afraid that he will just think they are a diaper?


I like the timer idea and the bell instead of the PECS cards...thanks

Well they are just diapers, that you can pull up Yep your going to have to ditch them. A few days of accidents and you should be good to go. Nakkey is the way we train here... I'm training ds1 now I forgot how fun this is

 

[Bearshouse]

I worked for an agency that provided respite for parents with children with disabilities. The timer worked best for all of my clients. I was with a client for over 2 years and before I left he was going all by himself. Sometimes you had to remind him but otherwise he went on his own.

You could always show him the sign for potty. Which is the letter "t" and shake your hand.

Good luck to you.

Bearshouse

 

[mjkacmom]

Sounds like he's already nakey-butt trained (first step), so NO pullups! Start with loose pants (no underwear). Once he gets it, loose underwear. Nakey-butt works so well because they're so used to going in the diaper, and thats normal for them. Pullups feel exactly like a diaper, so it's hard for them NOT to go. So have him go commando.

 

[ez]

My son has autism and the dvd Potty Power was very helpful I would highly recommend getting this for your son to watch

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hi. I have 2 autistic sons and here is what worked for them. We did not use pull ups. Here is what we did. We waited until each kid turned 3. They just didn't seem ready before that.

We potty trained in the summer, so our sons could run around the house only wearing underwear. We picked up cheap kids underwear from the 99cent store. No other clothes were worn while they were being potty trained. We let them run around the house like that and put them on the potty every 1/2 hour. If they stayed dry, we lengthened the trips between potty to 1 hour, then 2 hours, etc. If they had an accident, then we brought the potty breaks back to 1/2 or an hour intervals. we also tried to keep the kids in the living room where we had wood floors. This way, if they had an accident, it was easy to clean up. And if they had a poopy accident, we just tossed the underwear.

After a long weekend, our boys were trained and did not have any further accidents. They were both trained at 3 years old. Good luck. It's hard work, but this method really worked. Wearing underwear and having the kids feel that they were having an accident really seemed to help the kids understand the process. And of course, we used lots of positive reinforcement.

 

[tiggger1]

perfect timing!!

I am having this issue myself! my son is 3 1/2 and wakes up dry every morning.. he knows when he has to go but refuses to go on the potty at all. I can get him to sit there forever but he holds it, the second he gets off he has an accident...

 

[minkydog]

My son Christian(15) has been potty training for over 10 years, so I think it get your frustration. Christian is nonverbal and severely mentally handicapped. He can't "tell" me when he needs to go, but he often exhibits certain behaviors that we have come to recognize. What works for Christian is trip training: taking him to the bathroom on a schedule, about every 90 minutes. We don't wait for him to need to go. Believe it or not, it works! Christian is completely bowel trained and mostly urine trained now. I set him on the pot, tell him to go, and then I stand by to remind him. After he "makes" I praise him to high heavens.

Because Christian can still be unpredictable sometimes I do use Depends on him and probably always will. He's not dry at night, but we have that covered (giant purple diapers ) Of course, we have vinyl mattress covers and bed pads, too.

Best of luck to you. It sounds like he's "getting it" and you just need to remain patient. I know it's not so easy. But I think he'll eventually be potty trained.

 

[tar heel]

If you're talking about your 2-year-old, he's probably not ready. As for Pull-Ups, they feel like a diaper so the child does exactly what he has been doing in a diaper. They are probably fine for outings for a toilet trained child who has an accident once in a while, but they're not an aid for training.

All 3 of my boys were 3 and I used positive reinforcement (i.e., a prize every time you go). None of them were ready at 2.

 

[ReneeA]

My DS has apraxia and didn't speak a word until he was 4. Along with the obvious speech delays came some fine and gross motor skill delays along with social issues.

I didn't even attempt to start training him until he was 3. DD was almost 2 at the time, so I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and train them both at the same time. We couldn't use pull ups - just underpants. I set a timer...started at 20 minutes, eventually moved it up in increments to an hour and a half. There was a huge party thrown along with treats when they got it right. It took a good 6-8 months, but he really got the hang of it. The only time we a big backward step was when he went to school...the first 2 months he had accidents (about 2x a month). He made the adjustment to school and then he was fine with that, too.

Good luck!!!

 

[ryanshana]

Thanks soo much everyone! I think I'm going to return the pullups and actually just get a seat because the poor kid looks like he's gonna fall in sometimes

Someone asked if it was the 2 yo. No it's my 3 yo, actually he'll be 4 in July.

I really appreciate everyone advice!

One more question if you don't mind. I guess when you are out, you just use the timer method? I think I'm going to run out to the store and get some stuff for my little man for our next big adventure.

 

[mjkacmom]

OP, just to give you hope, my nephew turned 4 in May, has apraxia, and nakey-butted, and is 100% PT'd.

 

[ryanshana]

OP, just to give you hope, my nephew turned 4 in May, has apraxia, and nakey-butted, and is 100% PT'd.

I needed that.

I believe that is what my son has (we are still on the waiting list for a developmental peds, however, he is in the intermediate unit, preschool for special needs here). I think he'll do good! I just hope I/we don't get frustrated!

It's just soo nice because not having my son talk for soo long, to saying full sentences is a God send!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I have a son with Apraxia and we are having difficulties. He simply isn't interested let alone cares that he did his business in his diaper. He turned 3 in March and I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. During his evals for his IEP, they did comment that he was considered delayed for that, but outside of speech everything else was 100% fine. I guess I am just baffled. I have heard that boys take longer but it is discouraging that he couldn't care less. He protests when we take him to the potty if he wakes with a dry diaper so we can "catch" him so he'll get it. We praise him on success, but overall he doesn't care and protests the following morning.

Then in top of that...I have a newborn and prepping for a move in 8 weeks.

I'm lost in how all of this correlates and if we should press the issue or not. As it stands, I can't get him out of mommy an me activities until he is pt'd even though the rest of his develoment demonstrates he is more than ready.

 

[ryanshana]

I have a son with Apraxia and we are having difficulties. He simply isn't interested let alone cares that he did his business in his diaper. He turned 3 in March and I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. During his evals for his IEP, they did comment that he was considered delayed for that, but outside of speech everything else was 100% fine. I guess I am just baffled. I have heard that boys take longer but it is discouraging that he couldn't care less. He protests when we take him to the potty if he wakes with a dry diaper so we can "catch" him so he'll get it. We praise him on success, but overall he doesn't care and protests the following morning.

Then in top of that...I have a newborn and prepping for a move in 8 weeks.

I'm lost in how all of this correlates and if we should press the issue or not. As it stands, I can't get him out of mommy an me activities until he is pt'd even though the rest of his development demonstrates he is more than ready.

I know alot of regularly developed boys that weren't ready at 3. My son was interested but no where near ready developmentally. Also another thing, I know a few people that potty trained their child and everything was going great then they moved and every one of them regressed and had to be "re-trained". Just a thought to maybe hold it off till after the move.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thanks soo much everyone! I think I'm going to return the pullups and actually just get a seat because the poor kid looks like he's gonna fall in sometimes

Someone asked if it was the 2 yo. No it's my 3 yo, actually he'll be 4 in July.

I really appreciate everyone advice!

One more question if you don't mind. I guess when you are out, you just use the timer method? I think I'm going to run out to the store and get some stuff for my little man for our next big adventure.

Yes, definitely buy a potty seat. When were out of the house, we made sure to take frequent potty breaks. Hang in there!

 

[belle&beast]

I am an SLP and work with preschoolers ages 2-5 and we potty train MANY kids each year! OP, you mentioned that you use PECS cards. We use picture schedules with larger PECS pictures in our classrooms. You may also want to use photographs- your son sitting on the potty, toilet paper, handle for flushing, sink for handwashing and a real reward for completing the tasks. I would attach all of the pictures on a strip with velcro, then after each step he removes the picture and puts it in an "all done" envelope. When he is finished he gets the reward. Use a visual timer so he knows when it is time to use the potty and repeat the steps.

 

[ryanshana]

I am an SLP and work with preschoolers ages 2-5 and we potty train MANY kids each year! OP, you mentioned that you use PECS cards. We use picture schedules with larger PECS pictures in our classrooms. You may also want to use photographs- your son sitting on the potty, toilet paper, handle for flushing, sink for handwashing and a real reward for completing the tasks. I would attach all of the pictures on a strip with velcro, then after each step he removes the picture and puts it in an "all done" envelope. When he is finished he gets the reward. Use a visual timer so he knows when it is time to use the potty and repeat the steps.

LOVE THIS! Thanks!