my son is autistic and im having a nite mare potty training him, any ideas????

Anthea - posted on 08/30/2010

thank you for all of your help, my son is 3

Heather - posted on 08/29/2010

I don't have an autistic child but I do work with autistic children at school and we were working on potty training a 7 year old. I definately agree that the pecs works great as well as taking him on a schedule. At school we would take him every hour to start to ensure that he stayed dry. And definately reward when he is successful :)

Kathy - posted on 08/29/2010

You are truly blessed with three wonderful children and they are so lucky to have you!

Iridescent - posted on 08/29/2010

First, how old is he? We have 2 (possibly 3) autistic boys. They are 11, 9 and 3. Our 11 year old was fully trained at 7. Our 9 year old was finally fully trained last summer, at 8.5 years. And our 3 year old is going to be quite a while yet.

Some things to help...
- PECS. Set up a routine card somewhere he can see it easily, such as next to a potty chair or the toilet. Have it show him needing to go to the bathroom in the first square, next pulling down pants, next sitting on toilet, then wiping, then pulling up pants, flushing. Have another card for handwashing near the sink. It won't fix everything, but will help him associate how he's feeling with what needs to be done.
- Be very patient. Don't even try to go out of diapers until you're certain he can feel and react in time to use the toilet. If he's having any problems with constipation or diarrhea, deal with that first as well. Once you go out of diapers, either go into cooling pull ups (the ones that feel cold when wet) or cloth underpants, possibly with a vinyl liner over them. Since it is a process that can take several years reasonably, choose what works best for you. It won't be quick.
- Set a timer and use it religiously, or start a routine and do the same. Such as, every time he wakes up, he goes potty. Goes potty before bath. Goes before and after meals and snacks. Goes before rides and before going outside. Track when he's successful so you can drop the unnecessary times. This is training YOU, but it does work to get the same end result. He's likely to have accidents if you miss the time he goes, because he doesn't react in time or associate the need on his own.
- Never punish for accidents, reward heavily for success. Use rewards that are meaningful to him. Our 3 year old doesn't like to be touched, but LOVES being cheered on. Personalize it. Don't use physical things as rewards (candy, toys) as it will become expected permanently.

Jenn - posted on 08/29/2010

My son is not autistic, but he wasn't fully potty trained until after the age of 3.

Charlotte - posted on 08/29/2010

I have 3 boys and 2 girls. I realy found trainng the boys was more difficult. It was less stress when dad trained them this way for some reason they cought on

Kathy - posted on 08/29/2010

I think being in touch with other parents of Autistic children would be helpful. I also believe not matter what the part of the brain that tells you that you have to go to the bathroom is truly not developed until 3, some are earlier. Good luck.

Katherine - posted on 08/29/2010

Hi Anthea,

There is actually a community here for moms of autistic children. Here' the link: http://www.circleofmoms.com/autismasperg...