even though is is capable! He has gone number 1 consistently before only w/in the house never oustside, did number 2 a few times almost like an experiment for him, he got a kick out of it, now he stalled-he said he likes his diapers and does not use the potty at all...he'll probably do this in his own time as I've heard from others but just wanted to know if you moms out there have some tips with potty training a child who is on the spectrum, thanks. Also, my child is on the high end of the spectrum.
I have a (almost) 4 year old who is typically developing who has NO interest in the potty either. Everyone says just to wait... they will do it eventually. Hang in there-- I know it is frustrating.
You wait, eventually they figure it out.
Alex is still a work in progress, he is 4, and also what I would call "high functioning" on the spectrum...but he basically was not interested. If I set the timer and made him try every 20 minutes we would still have hit and miss. He has an Elmo dvd that talks about potty training that he likes, honestly the biggest break through we have had has been preschool. They go on a regular basis, he sees other kids doing it, so he wants to do it too...now at home, not so much. I think he will catch on sooner rather than later, it is just going to take him a little longer, I think the bigger issue is to not make a HUGE deal about it, so that he has a reason to start to dislike it. I would say small rewards, to encourage. A sticker chart worked for us for like a day LOL....Alex has a short attention span for things like that, but he always likes chocolate, so I keep kisses and M&M's on hand for a good job treat.
you can try this web site : http://www.theautismexperience.com/index.cgi?board=pottyt...
good luck!
My husband and I went to a potty training class held by our local early intervention agency. While our child is not on the spectrum, she does have some sensory and self-regulation issues. At age three, we were having difficulties even getting our daughter to sit on the potty. She always tantrumed and said she didn't have to go pee. And we kept getting into a power struggle about it. Sooo frustrating! In the potty training class, we learned to back off and wait until she expressed more interest. And the best thing we learned was to chart her wet diapers for a whole week, every 1/2 hour, to determine her typical pee schedule. Once we knew when she most likely needed to pee, they suggested giving her salty foods (goldfish crackers) and something to drink, and she would REALLY need to go in about 20 minutes. That is when they suggested we try the potty. So we did, and she was so much more willing to sit, because she could feel her bladder was full. And she peed! Of course we did tons of praise and even used m&m's as the early interventionist recommended. So for a couple of weeks, we did this at the same time each day, without stressing out about getting her to sit on it at other times of the day. Soon, she could recognize when she had to go and started wanting to sit on it herself. After a couple more days, she was willing to go whenever, and we switched to big girl panties. She never had an accident, and was potty trained soooo fast! Give the salty foods and juice a try, and then sit on the potty. It might work for you too!
