Anyone Potty-Train a Non-Talker?

my son was the same way. i let him run around naked and at first put the potty chair in the room that we occupied most of the time. then he would just go and use it when he had to. as he got more proficient at it, i moved the chair into the bathroom. all he really needs to say is "potty" if he can say this, when he says it, take him. that's what my son did.

oh, my son was about 28 months when he potty trained fully daytime. my daughter was 2.5yo. if they are ready and showing interest, then i say go for it. i worked in the 2yo room in the daycare i worked at and i had to have them all potty trained by the time they moved up to the 3's. they all were. some took longer because they weren't quite ready, but if they are ready it usually takes maybe 2 weeks or less. good luck

If you are truelly trying to potty train I wouldn't ask if he has to go the bathroom. You should have him go in and try like every hour ot two ( however long you think is good for him to have to go) inbetween the time I would just keep reminding him to let you know if he needs to go. My first daughter trained at 22months very quick and easy really no accidents. My second trained at 16months. She took longer because she would still have occasional accidents and I always needed to remind her to go but I was a stay at home mom with 1 car at the time so I didnt mind dealing with accidents (since I didnt need to buy diapers except for night and I had would floors). I personally dont like pull ups because they are just a diaper so mine went straight into underwear when we started. I watch 2 little girls now that are 2yr 4mth and just 2 and neither one is ready to train. I have tried underwear (no success and brand new house that I dont want peed all over) so I have them sit on potty if diaper is dry but they still havent gone yet on it. I also told both moms not to push it (dr said to push) we will keep trying when they seem more interested in it and can undrstand more. Good Luck.
ps. I started my second at 16mth because one day she hadnt pooped all day so at night I asked if she had to go and wanted to try the potty and she shook her head and ran to the bathroom and went. She was not fully talking at all then but she understood the concept of it.

If he is in the middle of a significant language growth phase, it might be best to wait a couple of months. Some research has indicated that the developing brain can only fully attend to one type of growth at a time. It's like middle schoolers who are growing 6 inches and at the same time displaying little scholastic growth, indeed total brain frreeze. When the growth spurt ends, the academic gains begin again. Best of luck.

Hi J.! My son was about the same age, when he just started using words again (long complicated story). He self potty trained completely by 2.5 yrs old. Since he was a baby, he came in the bathroom with momma as I went potty, brushed my teeth, and put on my make up. It was our morning habit. Later, I got him a small potty, but just set it in the bathroom, didn't make a big deal out of it. He has used it as a chair, but being pretty tall, he has always used our toilet. it just happened. The training with #2 took a bit longer- so that was probably by about 2.5 yrs old. But so far, he has only wet his bed 2x's and he is now 3 yrs and 3 months.

How about learning some basic sign language? My 18 month old grandson knows the sign for needing to go potty and will SOMETIMES tell Mom and Dad that he needs to go...he isn't vocal enough to tell them in words...but the sign language does help a lot. Just google baby sign language and see what you think. Both of my grandsons started learning sign language at birth...one of them used it a LOT more than the other...but it really keeps things from getting too frustrating because they can "tell" you what they want even if they don't have the language capabilty to speak their desires.

I think when we potty trained my son he had more than 30-40 words (probably closer to 100-150), but really he only needs to know one word to tell you he has to go, "potty." My son mastered that one after a day of training. We tried sign language too, but the single word worked better for us.

You should be able to train him IF he understands you when you tell him he needs to sit on the potty, and he uses it on his own regardless of if he tells you or not that he needs to. Like you say he understands a lot more than the words he speaks, he doesn't need to be able to converse back and forth about it to understand.

Stop ASKING if he wants to use the potty, TELL him it's time to sit on the potty and try. Amazon sells a cute "Potty Watch" for $10 to alert a child with lights and music to go and try. It resets itself so he doesn't have to be constantly reminded and puts the responsibility on him to go. Maybe since he isn't so verbal yet this would work as a good reminder?
http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Time-Watch-Blue/dp/B001AH8JNC...

Remember that potty training is about him, not you, he will train when his body and mind are ready. Try it, if he isn't successful stop a few weeks or months depending on the amount of resistance and readiness, then retry it again.

Can he pull his pants up and down (this really only matters if you have a younger child to take care of too)? If he can't (and if you do have a baby), then don't potty train right now. You can always make up a sign for potty (or use the real sign if you know it). That can help for when he can't speak.

This might be crossing over into info you're not asking for, so if so, just stop reading now...hehe

I have four kidlets now. I've tried potty training at age 2, and by child #3, I realized I'm wasting my energy to try at age 2. Not saying it won't work. it will. I've had my son trained at age 2...but the amount of work involved to train him AND the amount of work involved to help him go to the potty each time was just silly compared to how much easier it is when they train when they are three (when he trained at 2, I felt like I was the main one potty trained, not him...even though he was).

All of mine have become interested at age 2. Now I let them explore it and will see if they become more interested on their own. Usually all they want to do is explore. My 3rd just potty trained. It was SO EASY. She had maybe two accidents and was potty trained within a few days. It took a week or so for me to feel confidient that she really was trained. But she does it all herself. She doesn't have to rely on me for anything, except wiping when she goes #2. This works well for me since I have a baby and am prego with #5.

And, whenever you do potty train, I've had the best success with bare bummed potty training:-) You put nothing on them (other than a shirt if they want), have them sit on towels when on the couch/chairs, etc, and they seem to be a lot more aware than when they have anything else on. They potty train fast!

But back to your actual question - doing the potty sign can work to communicate. My first wasn't speaking much at all at age 3 when she potty trained. We signed.