tips for potty training an autistic child

[ez]

My son will be 5 in July and is not potty trained. Suddenly this is a huge issue for his school placement in August. He eats very little and drinks only water and won't drink upon request so I don't think the intensive potty training will work for him. He will sit on the potty a few times a day now and watch a video. Today he did pee pee a few days ago he did poop but thats as far as we've gotten. I've put him in underwear with his favorite characters but that doesn't seem to dissuade him from going in them. He is low tone and has poor self help skills, can't run jump, or drink with a straw. He doesn't seem like he really gets it although I'm hoping over time he will. Should I just continue with what I'm doing, putting him on about half hour after he eats drinks and let him sit for a while. Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

 

[KirstenB]

OP, our dd will be 4 in September and she has ASD with low tone too. I really think the low tone is a big factor. Their bodies just don't feel things as well.

FWIW, we're still working on it. She loves to watch the Elmo potty video. We also bought her a doll with a potty, plus a couple of books about using the potty.

She doesn't eat or drink a lot either, so I completely understand your point about that. We do give her a treat each time she asks to go, and TRIES to go potty. I know you're only supposed to reward them for actually going, but right now I'm just trying small steps. She's gone a couple of times, and gets a bigger treat for successfully going, plus gets to put a sticker on her chart.

I hope someone will give you some concrete advice, but I'm right there with you in the meantime.

 

[LavenderPeach]

DS is 3.5 and not potty trained either. He isn't really autistic but has hyperlexia which has some autistic tendencies (some people put hyperlexia on the spectrum but others don't ). Anyway, I just got a book called Toilet Training for Individuals with Autism or Other Developmental Issues. I haven't read it yet so I can't give a review but thought I would mention it in case you think it might be helpful. I got it off amazon and there are reviews there that you can read. Good luck!

 

[bookwormde]

I will bring up 2 ideas, first is sensory, which just comes down to having the sense of what it means to need to “go”. Second social impetus, which is a primary methodology with neurotypical children, but just does not exist with our children.

As for the sensory issues trying non-absorbent diapers may help, and doing timed tries (every so many minutes not just a certain amount of time after eating) or first “indication” may help.

Often the social component can be partially replace with video type informational item like the Elmo from PP and any other videos on the subject which you can find. Avoid social pressure since this just raises anxiety, which will be counterproductive.

This issue tends to exist no matter where that child is on the spectrum to some extent so patience and not be concerned about outside “pressure” is important.

As for school placement, if you are heading towards the public school system then this can be “handled” with the IEP and should not impact an appropriate placement. For private school only ones that specialize in special needs children will typically be equipped for his needs.

bookwormde

 

[Libbyt]

We had huge problems potty training our daughter, who had been diagnosed with apraxia and other sensory issues. On thing that really helped us was using the timer to set up times when she had to sit on the potty to try. If she would get mad, her anger was directed toward the timer, not toward us, so that helped us stay "the good guys on her side"

As she has grown up, we've learned that her body really does operate differently than other kids'.........she has a tremendous capacity to "hold it"!!! Probably all a part of the sensory integration issues.

Good luck - I know this is a very stressful task, and it seems to take over your life. The good news is, it will end and your son WILL successfully use the potty!! Sometimes when you're in the middle of it, you think there's never going to be an end to it, but there is.

Libby

 

[DisDreaminMom]

I got excellent advice from the Autism center down in Gainesville, Florida (called CARD-it's state funded and free). They set me up with a program that they've used 100's of times and it worked for us, too. We had same issues as you. Look them up on the internet and see if they can't help you locate a similar program in your area. I attended a potty training seminar and used the schedule they created and it worked. One thing they said was that we had to break things down into tiny steps. First, child has to learn to know he has to go, then to learn to grasp pants waistband. Next, pull them down, next sit comfortably on toilet, then wipe, etc. You just can't say, "Well, time to learn to use the toilet!" because the things that you or an average child would take for granted, like taking your pants off, might be not even on the radar for the ASD child. So you say, "Go potty!" and he wonders, "How am I going to do that with these pants on?"

We bought DS really lose fitting pants with easy waistbands because he often will still not realize he has to use the bathroom until the very last minute, and he's been trained for two years now. Even now, the bathroom can be an issue. He still does not regularly wake up at night to use the toilet. Two months ago, he was on his way to the bathroom at school (he's in 1st grade) and a teacher saw him walking down the hall and old him to go take a test in the computer lab, so he did. He did not tell the teacher, "I was on my way to the bathroom!" because he was afraid of making the teacher mad, so he wet his pants. He was very upset and embarrassed.

This is all a result of what they call poor "executive function" so you have to constantly create a script in your child's mind to help them remember the steps each time they have to do something. Some kids like pictures, or charts, but first you have to master each tiny task and not throw the whole process at them and expect them not to be completely overwhelmed. You wouldn't expect them to figure out a Quadratic Equation on the first try; you'd teach them basic math and work your way up to harder things. Keep this principle in mind as your child gets older, and life will be much easier.

 

[DisDreaminMom]

Oh, just read your signature, and we don't live in FL anymore, ( we moved two years ago) but we were in Ocala for the "worst years" of DS's ASD (he's gotten much more independent now). Anyway, try calling CARD and asking for help. I didn't use them for much, just the potty training and some help with the school when we had trouble with the IEP (Individual Education Plan) process. Hopefully the Ormond Beach area public schools have better ASD trained staff than Ocala. Ours was just pitiful. Be aware of your rights going into schools, public and private. Don't take no for an answer and tell them you want "accommodations" or you'll get a lawyer. I didn't realize I was being bullied until I left Florida. PP was right, you don't need them potty trained with an IEP, and this is a skill that will be targeted as a part of a correct IEP. If you have to call the state school board to get what you need, then do it.

Places like CARD exist for parents like you. Use the service. The U of Fl hospital in Gainesville was super and the psych department went out of their way to help my son, as well.

Good luck.

P.S. I love Ormond Beach. It's so nice. Lot's of great memories there.

 

[SpecEdismyLife]

My son potty trained himself at age 7 after we tried for years starting at age 3.5 with him.We tried videos, cards, read countless books, looked at web sites and nothing helped. He has HFA and also is profoundly deaf which added to the problems we had with potty training. We had a nurse tell us that many children with Autism or PDD-NOS are not trained until ages 7-9 and we almost had heart attacks on hearing that but it did take that long. We use ASL with him as well as PECS and this helped a lot, but really he was not ready until one day he was ready!

 

[Disneydonnam]

We had one of the teachers recommend some ideas for my nephew (who is also autistic )in the potty training.The day we started we put him in underwear and brought him into the potty every 5 minutes. He would have to sit and try to go (I swear he had no idea what we were expecting him to do). If he did not go we set the timer for 5 minutes to go in again. And we did this every 5 minutes. When he did go he got a bite of cake and then the timer went up to 15 minutes. Let me tell you this was the longest week of my life. I think like three days he was asking for skittles if he went potty. He really enjoyed picking out the big boy underwear. Good Luck

 

[stampin_fool]

Our son was about the same age and the school started a program with him which we continued at home and within 4 or 5 months he was trained. Without the school's help I am sure that this wouldn't have happened. They had a chart and it worked like this 15 minutes off on the pot, 5 minutes on. He would get a reward when he would go. Also, if he had an accident he had to clean himself up with minimal help. Within the first few days he was going in the pot, maybe not consistently and he did have accidents but this idea worked well with him. We sent in m&ms as a reward for him when he did go and the teachers made a really big deal out of it. I am so glad this was successful because at the time we weren't sure what to do as he was barely fitting into the biggest size of diapers at the time.

Good luck in whatever you decide to try. You know once you get him into school you can have the toileting issues put into his IEP. This is what we did and they were great in helping us with this issue. If you have any questions, please feel free to pm me.

Ronda