4 y/o and no potty training | Autism PDD

HOlden loves stickers. so i I use a reward system. He uses the potty for #1 or #2 and he gets stickers. I relly try not to sccold him for not using the toilet, but my husband does. Me I'd rather hear him say " AH Pee" and run than get pissed that he pissed his pants.

Make them shine where they do. and encourage them they can

for all people.

here's what I've learned over the course of the last few years and from this great site:

Quit worrying and stressing over it.  Don't worry about what others think or say.  If it's gonna happen IT WILL HAPPEN IN ITS OWN TIME.  Just keep working on it little by little and definately don't force it.  If you force it you may NEVER win because this might cause even more issues for the child.  Oh and did I mention, DON'T STRESS YOURSELF OR YOUR KID OUT!!!

LOL!!

I know it's hard.  I have a 5 yr old in pullups because he will not do #2 in potty.  In fact, he only started doing #1 in potty on this past Christmas Eve!  And my 3 and 1/2 yr old DD is still completely in diapers.

Good luck to ya!

Rachelle

A lady in our Autism Support Group suggested that we remember that our child doesn't feel cold playing in the snow without his coat or doesn't know he is wet and it is raining so maybe he doesn't know when he has wet his pants.  He deals with sensory issues in so many other areas, this may be one too.  Who knows, we're still trying.

I have 5 yo twin boys, one speech delayed and the other low functioing/non-verbal autism. I also have a 12 year old daughter.

What seemed to work best for my more typical kids, was to be around other kids who were already potty trained. For my speech delayed son he was potty trained for urine at 3 and a half after starting preschool, because all the other kids were going to the potty and he wanted to be like them. Potty training for poop took a lot longer for him. He finally started pooping in the potty all the time right before he turned 5. And that took the promise of a big reward, plus him just being "ready" to do it. We had a "Potty Time" video that seemed to help him too.

My daughter trained pretty easily. But the critical factor for her was when her older (by a few years) girl cousin came to visit.  This cousin was using the potty of course, and also wearing some panties that my daughter really admired. So the promise of "Pocahantas panties" was what got her potty trained. (Pocahantas was the Disney movie that was popular at that time.)

We are still working with my low functioning son. By pairing rewards with going pee on the potty, he is now peeing on the potty everytime we put him on there. This is a kid that has very minimal receptive language. So we still have a long way to go with him, but I am very encouraged that he at least knows what to do when we put him on the toilet.

I would say rewards are key, wanting to be like peers is key, relieving anxiety is key, and them being ready to do it is key.

I found pull-ups didn't help because he liked them too much, not only did they not interfere with his playingbut he didn't care if they were wet or yukky.  Boxers sometimes helps for some reason and I am pretty sure you can get them for girls too.

My ds is trained at school/daycare but not at home.  He still has accidents here and is in pull-ups at night (he is almost 6).  I haven't pick this as one of our battles so I really don't have much to offer ... sorry

My 4 yr old nt dd was hard to potty train. And as I've posted before, she is incredibly smart and way ahead of her age. But because she is so hyper and active, she just didn't want to take the time out of her play to go to the potty. She finally got fully trained (besides the normal accidents young children have here and there) at about 3 1/2. She still has to wear pullups to bed because she sleeps like the dead. My husband is the same. I can kick and yell at him and splash him with water and if he isn't ready to wake up, he won't. DD is same. So she can't wake to go potty. I'm ok w/ this for now.

Now I have NO idea where to start w/ ds. He turned 2 so I realize that I should be getting started w/ him. First of all I don't know what to do for a boy. With dd i let her watch me pee lol. And she followed her little friends to the bthroom to copy them too. Ds has no friends and no interest in anyone but us. Dh REFUSES to pee w/ anyone in there lol. Maybe ds will understand better than I give him credit for never know. I just always thought by this point I'd be able to talk with him. Shouldn't he be able to let me know he's wet or needing to go?

Amber

Amber, 2 for a typical developing boy is still pretty young to train. Usually they are closer to 3. ASD kids are harder to train and  no amount of trying will make it happen any faster. They HAVE TO BE READY. Look on the side of a pull ups bag for signs of them being ready. when he expresses an interest and can be independent with those things then try. And try WITHOUT pullups.... they seem to be more trouble then they are worth.

Keep in mind too where your child is DEVELOPMENTALLY instead of chronologically.... it makes a HUGE difference!

Thank you. I think I may at least buy a potty chair and just let him play on it and sit on it and get him used to the idea. Then we'll just let things go slow from their and I'll try to read his cues. I'm really not in any hurry, I just don't want to screw anything up. I keep being told by people that they should be potty trained by 2 1/2 or earlier or at least somewhat and ds is 2 w/ no clue on it. I know I know stop listening to other well meaning people!

Amber

It would be quite interesting to see the data on potty training for normal kids.  Some of them don't potty trained until they are 4.  Then take into the account the asd kids, I really wonder what the stats are.  I mean if someone was 16 and they wasn't ready to drive a car, you wouldn't let them would you?  Then again with some of these drivers I believe they got thier license out of a box of cracker jacks.

Tammy

Maybe this might interest someone http://www.tinkletoonz.com/special_needs.html

LOL Amber! all these well meaners have no clue. I bet if you take a vote the majority of our kids didn't train until they were older.

Tyler was 5 1/2 before he trained..... Diagnosed with Infantile Autism / PDD NOS, OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Allergies, Exercised Induced Asthma, and un dx'd ADHD (but its there LOL)