Sorry if I am talking too much about potty training recently, but it is a huge topic for us at home. And I know what its like to search on the internet for “autism potty training tips” or “how to potty train a special needs child” so I want to post these things, in case they are someone else’s silver bullet.
Pookie is very good at #1 at home. He is getting better when we are away from home. Our next hurdle with pee is to eliminate the verbal prompts. He pretty much goes when we tell him too. He has not yet figured out a way to tell us when he has to go.
Poop is harder. He misses alot of poops at home. He knows they’re coming but tries to keep them in. We see him walk funny or let out a warning shot. We make him sit on the potty, but he won’t poop. Even though he appears to be trying (pushing on his stomach, bouncing up and down) nothing happens. Then we let him up and he will poop in his underwear 15 minutes later.
Today, I was in the kitchen and the basement door flew open. Pookie struggled through the doorframe, walking funny, half naked, heading for the bathroom. Sure enough, I see the tell-tale signs of a pending poop. I help him up on the potty, because he is tightly clenched. I give him a book to look at. Soon Geetle arrives with her own book and sits down on the stepstool in front of him. They read together for 10 minutes, Pookie occasionally bouncing up and down or looking between his legs to see what is happening. Finally, he tells me “no poop” and wants to leave. I let him.
In the end, all he did was discharge the poop that I saw hanging on as he rounded the corner to the bathroom. So, was this a victory or a failure? Was this like all the other times where he will poop on the floor or in his underwear 15 minutes from now? Technically, he did not really poop in the potty…it just fell off. As I am considering, I look down the basement stairs and see his shorts on one step and his underwear on another. I decide this is a victory.
1. He felt it coming.
2. He headed for the nearest bathroom.
3. He knew what he had to do, so he took off his shorts and underwear….right on the stairs leading to the bathroom.
4. He kept looking to see if anything had come out.
So, I gave him his 2 M&Ms.
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Karen said,
August 8, 2007 @ 9:59 pm
I was very frustrated as well with potty training. When I was researching potty training a common theme seemed to be praise and positive reinforcement. I came across a website called http://www.pottytrainingrewards.com. We hung it in the kitchen and named the little boy on the front of the package, Bobby. My son could not wait to go to the potty so he could push the button, hear the praising message, and get his chocolate reward from, Bobby. It really got my son excited about using the potty himself and it was fun for him. Because he became so involved, potty training was easy. I have heard children with autism respond well to rewards, so I believe this could work for you. Best of luck!