Seeking Help in Potty Training - Orange,VA

Hi J.,

I know nothing about helping an autistic child learn anything but I can tell you how I'm dealing with my 3-yr-old. He, too, has no problem peeing in (or on!! lol) the toilet but asks for a diaper to poop in. I have no problem doing this as I feel he needs to advance at his own pace and when he feels comfortable enough with what must seem to him to be a HUGE hole (toilet) to sit on, he'll do it.

This is not an uncommon request from what I gather from friends and acquaintances; it's just how the diaper-request is handled by the parent that seems to differ.

In case you haven't done this, although I'm sure you have, : ) ask for guidance from his autism school. I'm sure they can give you helpful advice.

Good luck and God is truly blessing you!!

D.

I have 2 little boys myself, and let me tell ya, this was not easy. My youngest who is now 7, had problems going poop in the potty also. The one thing that finally worked for me was when I made him start washing the poop out of his underware himself. He thought it was so yucky that he finally stopped. I wish you luck!

There is a book called How to Potty Train in a Day by Azrin and Foxx, it is an excellent book and it has been shown to be effective with developmentally disabled as well as children with autism. You can can it on Amazon.com for a couple of dollars. I found it very helpful with my third child. Good Luck.

Hi J.!!!! I am not sure if any of this will help, but I thought I might give you a few suggestions. You might have already tried reinforcements. Have you taken note of the times when he goes poop in his underwear? If so, do you notice a regular pattern? You might be able to make him sit on the potty at certain times, and have the school do it as well, if they aren't already doing it. Especially if you have a pretty good idea of what times of day he is more likely to do it. Also, when he is sitting, maybe find something he likes to keep him sitting, and a BIG reward for when he actually does go. He would only get the thing he likes when when he is actually on the potty, and the BIG reward would be the same, he wouldn't get it any other time. I hope this helps in some way. Also I would love to correspond with you, as I have a three year old who has autism. My son is very visual, and he recognizes numbers and letters, so we have a laminated sheet that he gets ONLY when he is on the potty and ONLY if he stays sitting. We are in the beginning stages--we haven't gotten to the BIG reward yet!!!! And we had toilet training and some life skills included on his IEP. All the Best! Let me know how it goes!!!

N.