Potty Training a 3 Yrs Old

That is not true. My Best Friend has a child with Down Syndrome. She is three years old. She has been potty training her for the past couple of weeks. It takes time and patience. Give her a sign that you will use when she needs to go potty. My friends daughter just pats the area and says pee pee. You can look up the sign for it though(sign langage) which you should be teaching her anyways if she is delayed. Use words and signing togther so it will avoid both of you getting so frustrated when you can not understand each other. It is very doable!!!!

Yes there is a correlation. My son had an expressive speech delay. I did a lot of research and found that there is often a relationship between delayed verbal abilities and delayed potty training. I noticed with my son that once he started talking, he literally potty trained within a week or so. It was also easier becasue he could finally communicate, etc.

I'm not saying that this will necessarily be your experience; however, I think it's pretty normal for children with delays to be delayed in potty training as well. I also know kiddos who do not have delays, who are 3 and still in diapers too. I think they potty learn when they're ready and sometimes you just can't push it. Just keep talking about it, let them see you use it, read them books about it, etc. to keep the idea fresh and alive!

I wouldn't worry about pushing a schedule on a child. Most of my friends stressed over potty training thier kids at 18 mos to 2 yrs. I waited until 3 1/2 for all of mine. I never had to potty train them, they were just ready. They never wet the bed at night, no accidents, very easy -when they were ready. I have adopted 2 specials needs babies with motor and speech delays. They may be a bit older.

Bur for the speech delays, I wanted to suggest some videos that we watch daily that have helped immensly with communication and really made the terrible twos non existant. It is signing times videos that teach simple sign language in a fun way. Chidren as young as 6 months can sign. I found them at http://www.signingtime.com/ . I am not affiliated with them, sell them or anything else. I have 2 babies (9 mos and 25 mos) with delays and this has really made a change in our lives. Check it out.

M.,
I have to agree with Lisa on this. I am a preschool teacher and have been teaching for 20 years. The last thing you want to do is stress your daughter out with potty training. Work hard on her speech delay and if you use sign language with her now she might be able to communicate with you that way. It's been my experience that the corrilation with the two is there, and sometimes potty training happens over night. Be patient, she has plenty of time. CS

I have read that you can potty train before your kids talk. There is a site Potty training in Three days. I used it for my daughter when she was 23 months and she was trained in five days, completely.(third child!)
Good Luck!
J.

Like the other ladies said, don't push the issue. Maybe start by buying a potty, showing her what it's for and then see how she react to it.

My older son had a receptive speech delay and some other issues. His occupational therapist helped us a bunch when potty training him (he was 4 by then). YOu might want to talk to his therapist(s) and see what they say. I was surprised at the amount of input they had on the issue!!

Good luck!!

Hello M.,
I don't know about the connection between potty training and talking but it would seem to me if you can communicate with your daughter it should be enough. My children went to a day care with a different idea; they say that potty training is connected to motor skills so if for example she can clime stairs she's ready.
Now for a little trick my mom used on my three year old son: every time he went on the potty she rewarded him with a dinosaur. It worked great!
Good luck!!
A.
P.S. don't compare your kids developement to others!!!
every kid is different, I'm sure your daughter will be fine!

That's not true. My own daughter has been diagnosed with pdd-nos and I only share that because i don't want you to be discouraged. She did not speak much either at first, but I potty trained my own daughter when she was three as well and I didn't even know about the delay. This will take a lot of work on your part in the beginning, but it will be worth it. What worked for me was taking her to the bathroom every hour even when she did not want to go and especially right before bed time. Even though she may not reply back to you, she is listening and she does hear you. Pull ups don't work. It's like an underwear that you can pee in for a kid. That's at least the way they see it. Let her wear big kid underwear. She will know the difference right away. The key is to take her even before she has an accident. That is why I say it will take some work, because you have to keep taking her to the bathroom, especially after every meal and after drinking anything. It worked for me. I trained my daughter in one day! Once a whole week passed by without any accidents I knew she had gotten it. My daughter did not wet the bed once! If she has to go #2 or #1, apply the same method. Taking her constantly and emphasizing the importance will work. Hang in there! Good luck. By the way, have you tried speech therapy. It has worked for my daughter and also the Gluten Free casein Free diet has worked wonders. My daughter is a chatter box now! Again good luck! Oh, and don't forget positive reinforcement, give lots of praise, and hugs when she does go.

Can she follow simple instructions? ex: pick up block from floor and put it on the table? If she is not able to follow instructions, potty training will be difficult as it can be anyway.

Good luck!