New Intro and ? about #2 training | Autism PDD

Hello.

My name is Yolanda. I am mom to 7 1/2 year old Hunter, who was diagnosed as being autistic August, 2001. He stopped speaking at 15 months and did not use his voice again until he was 3 1/2. He began EI at the age of two and has come a long way since that day. He is now considered high functioning.

It took us a long time to get him comfortable with peeing in the toilet. He's been doing that now for over a year. However, he still refuses to poop there. I'd like to ask any of you for advice on this subject. His lack of this skill has been accepted by his school system (he will begin 1st grade this fall) because he has an IEP. Although I doubt his teacher would agree with that statement. No one at his new school has any special education training, but I can go on about that subject and his Kindergarten teacher extensively.

Anyway - an autism consultant was in contact with his teacher this past school year, and with her help we tried many things with Hunter in hopes he would use the toilet correctly. He is not in diapers or Pull-Ups. Both my husband and I agree that Hunter understands teasing and fear what his classmates would say if they were to see him in Pull-Ups at school.

We have tried social stories, spent an entire day in the bathroom, rewards, restrictions, spanking (uncomfortable with that), and through all of this, I have spoken with him about the germs, bacteria, etc., that poop has in it. The importance of putting poop in its' proper place. It is very important to talk to him like he can hold a conversation, which he is getting better at.

My husband and the family doctor (no experience with autism) both agree that Hunter should be given a laxitive. Yes, it will clean out his system of the poop he tends to hold in (he has never dirtied his underwear in school or public places, he always waits until he's at home, or we reach our destination), but the last time I used a laxitive it took awhile and was uncomfortable. I don't want Hunter to experience this and be more inclined to refuse to poop in the toilet, and I'll admit, I don't want to clean up the mess if I don't get him to the toilet in time.

If any of you can give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. He's missing out on swimming in pools this summer, and he knows this, because of his refusal to use the toilet.

Thank you,

Yolanda

I have a son who will be 6 in November who was potty trained for urine for almost 2 years before he finally started pooping in the toilet. I think it was a combination of things that finally got him to start going. He also would hold it in until he got home from preschool.

We used the promise of a big reward which helped a lot. The reward was a "big rocket", one of those rockets that you actually light and shoot into the air. They have these at WalMart, and every time we would go he would sit in front of these rockets and look at them, then he would get up and ask for a "big rocket". Then I'd tell him that he couldn't have a big rocket until he pooped in the potty, and then I'd ask him if he was ready to poop in the potty, and he'd shake his head "no". This went on for a long time, and meanwhile we were encouraging him to go all the time at home.

Finally, we were out of state on a trip, he out of the blue said I want to poop on the potty, and did. We hadn't even been trying to get him to while we were on our trip, thinking if he wouldn't do it at home, he surely wouldn't do it at a hotel. So then we had to find a WalMart in this other state and go get the big rocket. When we got home his Dad set it off for him one day.

We were very excited then, but he just did it that one time, and then started asking for pullups again. So I started refusing to put a pullup on him, knowing that he was freaked out by going in his underwear. Now, if you have a kid that doesn't mind going in his underwear, then this will be tougher for sure. I was also afraid that he would start holding it again and really get constipated. However, he has a twin brother, who has low functioning autism, who is still not potty trained at all, so we had pullups for his brother out. Well he would go get his own pullup and poop in it. So then I started locking up the pullups, and finally about 6 months after the big rocket he started going in the toilet all the time.

Another thing I did during all this was change his pullup in the bathroom, and have him help me empty the poop into the toilet saying "Poop goes in the potty", and then have him flush it. Just so he knew the bathroom was always going to be involved, even if he didn't poop in the toilet. If you can have him be around other boys his age who go in the toilet, my son knew that the other boys at school went in the potty and that helped him to realize it was a "safe" thing to do.

 

I have had the same problem with my boys. They just turned five, and have been "peepee" trained for a few months. They do pretty well, with a few off days every once in a while. The poop thing baffles me. Part of the problem is that even as infants they had no problem being wet or poopy. Most babies will cry when they mess in their diaper. Mine never did once. It was like they liked wearing a dirty diaper. Now that they are potty trained, they will NOT sit on the potty to poop. Jonah will actually poop in the bathroom floor and pick it up and put in into the potty if I don't catch him. That happens every once in a while. Usually though, they just hold it until they have a pull-up on at night. Once they lay down to go to sleep, they poop. Then I have to get them back up and change them.

I honestly don't mind all that much, since at least they wear big-boy underwear all day, and it seems like their little bodies have gotten into this routine, the same as how men poop every morning!

BUT It sure would be nice if they pooped in the potty. I have absolutely NO idea how to get them into that though.
Hi Yolanda and welcome my son Nick sounds exactly like your son he will only use the big potty to urinate but absolutely refuses to sit on it to poop!!!! He is terrified we just finally got him to sit on a small potty chair at the age of 5. But there are not potty chairs everywhere you go so he does alot of holding if we are gone away. He holds it at school also...sometimes he is running for the bathroom as soon as I get him off the bus. Have you had any success with a potty chair? Sorry I don't have much advice on this subject I am kinda in the same boat as you I figure it took us 5 yrs to get him to use a potty chair it may tak e another 5 to get him to sit on a regular toilet!!!
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