I have a 6 year old with severe Autism. He is non-verbal and still in diapers. Does anyone have any advice on how to get him potty trained. He goes into the bathroom to potty, but won't sit on the toilet.
N.,
My son's developmental specialist wrote a book on potty training special needs children. She is excellent!! Please see the title of the book below.
Teach Toileting: A Revolutionary Approach for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Special Needs
By Deborah Bialer
You can order this book on-line.
Good luck!
Krista
I had a container of tiny m&m candys and every time my kids would use the potty, award with a tiny m&m. It works great! For your situation, perhaps starting with a reward just for sitting on the potty, then progressing toward the goal of going in it may work. I think the key is small steps and lots of patience and praise.
Good Luck!
I admire you and many other parents who are raising these special children with Autism. I agree with Julie. Small steps and reward him with something that motivates him as he may have a lot of fear about the toilet. Most importantly, give yourself lots of time to reach the goals with your son (even a year, etc.).
I have a 10 year old with High Functioning Autism. She didn't potty train until she was just about 5. Her issues with the toilet were mainly sensory. She didn't like the way the seat felt. We ended up changing the toilet seat out with a soft one and she liked it much better. Do you think some of his issues may be sensory?
There are groups/support groups for parents of autistic children. See if you can find a local group. I'm sure this will be of GREAT help.
I work with an autistic boy at church. I've seen him come a LONG way. I know his parents belong to a support group.
I like the TEACCH Approach www.teacch.com . They recommend using visual supports to show the child all of the steps involved in the process of using the bathroom and washing their hands. I like to teach the students with autism that I work with using a systematic step by step process that works on one goal at a time. For example, are they even able to pull their pants up and down? Are they able to locate the bathroom when asked? Will they sit there for an extended period of time? I meet them where they are and develop a plan from there.
I am in a similar situation. My son is autistic, non verbal and wears underwear fine thru the day. When he has to pee he goes in there and pees on the toliet but when he has a bowel movement he always goes to his room and grabs a pull up to put on and poop in. However w/ my 2nd child I got a good tip from someone on the pee thing for boys. It worked the very 1st time! If you can get your son to sit on the toliet for a minute. I put my 1 1/2 yr old on the toliet and poured a lil cup of warm water over his ##### :) almost that very second he started to pee. I cheered for him and showed how excited I was. He then understood what I wanted him to do and has done it ever since
My sisters child is on the PDD spectrum, high functioning. She had difficulty getting him potty trained, until she found Wiggles underwear. He loves the Wiggles, and because he didn't want to get them wet or dirty, he used the potty. Maybe this would help you.
R.
N....There is an autism center in Milford that may be of assistance to you. It's on Meijer Drive. I also have a grandson with severe autism and they finally got him potty trained. He is also 6 yrs old. It was not easy. Good luck......M. B.
N., I just wanted to share this testimonial with you. I don't know about potty training but read the story from my friend and if you want more information Just let me know
God Bless You and all the Moms out there who have autistic children I know it's really hard.
M.
I have personally seen what Melaleuca does for autism. I just haven't gotten around to posting a testimonial. Frankly, I credit Melaleuca for giving me back my child. I'll try to make this as short as possible.
I signed up through MomExecs last March, and two months later we found out Tim had autism. He was two months away from turning three. He only spoke about thirty words, was losing words all the time. He could only use two-word phrases. He was not sleeping through the night, by any means! He had around twenty tantrums a day--not normal tantrums that can be stopped by ignoring them, or disciplining. These would last at least thirty minutes, he would self-mutilate, then come out of it like he was scared, he had no idea what had just happened to him. I had to hold him in my arms securing his arms so that he didn't leave marks on his body.
I ordered the Provex-Plus, the Vita Bears, and the Calmicid. The day my order came in, I gave him the Provex-Plus. I am not kidding you at all, the next day he said his first sentence! It was four words long. I was hooked from that moment!
Within six months, his vocabulary had grown to over 100 words, I've lost count. He now uses full sentences, although they're out of order sometimes. A great deal of his autistic behaviors, such as sensory issues, spinning, lining things up, have gradually decreased or stopped. He rarely has a full-blown tantrum now, but when he does they're still really bad. I'd say no more than one a week... He's also in his own room now, which was another issue with him.
How do I know all this is because of the Melaleuca? Because, he's had very little therapy, just what I do with him at home. Which, is a lot, but I'm not a professional. He still has issues, he'll never be 'cured', but using (Melaleuca products) has made life easier for him and me, and the whole family...~~Angie Lindsay
Nicole,
I would look into a DAN doctor (Defeat Autistm Now) Here is a link: http://www.autism.com/dan/danusdis.htm
Read Jenny McCarthy's books on autistm, very interesting and amazing work she has done. Here is a link to her website for Generation Rescue: http://www.generationrescue.org/
God bless you as you work with your child(ren).
D. Easthon CD(DONA), LCCE, ELCS, CHBE
Waterbirth Credentialed
www.heart2heartbirthmatters.com
