Autism & Potty Training

I have a special needs daughter and it just clicked with her- right before her 4th b-day. the rewards and stuff didn't work. we let her go naked (in jan/feb) and set a timer. she is very timer driven so it worked.
good luck!

Kids with autism train later. Be patient. Talk to your doctor. Good luck.

Hi T.!
I used to teach young kids with autism before becoming a stay at home mom. Some of my students didn't get fully trained til 7 or 8. It clicked for others at 5 or 6. Some came to my class done. They are all different! I agree totally with the other post, it has to be a consistent, team approach with family, school, and therapists all on board with the same exact approach. In our class, my educational consultant had us using the Fox & Azrin approach. It was very involved, but worked good, so long as everyone was on board with it (which was hard because it was so time consuming). But being your son is younger and not in Kindergarten yet, it might be easier with being at home more instead of in school full time. I'm sure you could google it, but if you can't find it let me know! All in all, my staff and I were able to help fully potty train 7 kids using that approach. Good luck to you all, patience and consistency are key!

My son has Asperger's and he was about 4-3/4 when he did. We tried everything and nothing worked, even using his then current obsession (Thomas the tank engine). I finally asked him when he thought he would be ready to start wearing big boy pants and he said definitely before he was 5. Two months before his birthday, he finally got it like a light switched on. Everyone said he would do it when he was ready and they were right. Just be patient, he will figure it out. Good luck.
G.

Hi, T.:

Here is a web site: http://www.cdadc.com/ds/potty-training.htm

I don't know if it is still available. If not, please let me know.
Good luck. D.

My daughter has Autism and she potty trained when she was 3, I used a rewars system. My understanding is that kids with autism train later and boys later than girls, so I wouldn't stress about it. If you have not tried a consistent rewards system, it had to be very hands on and tactile for my daughter, then try that, if you have and it has not worked perhaps google some other methods, I had a back up list at the time if that didn't work and there were times I previous that I had stopped trying completely for a few months because she just was not ready and it was frustrating for both of us, so perhaps take a few months off and try with a new technique then. Good luck, PT is frustrating even with a child not on the spectrum.

Hi, T.,

I can hardly believe I'm answering your post and not still asking for advice myself. The whole team and I had been trying for years to potty train my ASD son with reward systems and such, with no luck but MUCH frustration. He went to an inclusive camp last summer in underwear for 8 weeks (b/c kids there had to be potty trained), and we got through it without too many incidents. Then a few weeks after it started to click for him. He was about 4 3/4. Other moms had told me their sons finally got it about the age of 5, too. It was incredible! I have the feeling that for a variety of reasons (hypotonia, inattention, processing and physical delays) my son just didn't and couldn't get it until then, no matter how often I took him potty, searched for a more enticing reward, etc. I have to say that I'm glad now that I didn't spend any more time before last summer keeping him in underwear, only to have him have accidents and us all go through even more frustration (which is what the BSC & TSS had been urging me to do). Just when you think it won't ever happen, somehow it will. It may be on his terms, though, rather than yours. Hang in there! Try not to let it dominate your lives.

We will be attempting potty training my 5 year old autisctic daughter this summer. It will be a hands-on approach with all of her therapists involved. The process includes breaking the task down into smaller tasks (go into bathroom, turn on light, put chair in place - step one/ pull down panties, sit on potty - step 2/ etc.) We will have pictures for each step posted in the bathroom, in her word book, etc. We will work on each step until she masters the step. We will be using positive reinforcement. We will be doing potty timing for the first 6 - 8 weeks. Basically her potty training will take about 3 months and we will all be involved in it. You cannot expect an autistic child to necessarily train like a typical child. There is a good chance my daughter does not feel when she has to go (she has extreme sensory issues) or when she is wet. Ask your therapy team. Tell them you need to break it down into small steps, just like they teach your son everything else. Make sure speech is using potty words, OT is looking at hypotonia, that OT has weighed in on sitting and positioning (my daughter has low pelvic tone), that all of your caregivers are in on the timing and the procedure. In other words, it can take an army to potty train but I have been told this is successful. Finally, if she is not ready, we will take a step back and try again. My daughter struggles with every task in every moment of her life, she should have the opportunity to not succeed and not be punished for it.