Published on 12, July, 2020
Little man is 3yr and 8month old and was diagnosed with autism last December.
This last week I've done a few experimental trips to the loo with him and have had some success, though I now suspect it was a fluke. He got lots of praise and a sticker to put on his bed end which he *seemed* to really appreciate (as long as I put the sticky there and he wasn't made to touch it!!)
I made the decision to start toilet training this weekend and see how it went. He's coming up to 4 years old and I'm getting a lot of pressure from friends/family to get him out of nappies especially before he starts reception next september or they may not take him!
We made a start yesterday evening after nursery and he was dry for 4 hours with one trip to the loo (sticky was given, of course)
This morning I got him up and out of his nappy, sat him on the loo and did the usual waiting game with some encouragement but nothing happened. 10 minutes after getting off the loo he did a wee on the floor.
I expected accidents and shrugged it off, cleaning up with as little fanfare as possible. Reminded him that it would be nice if he would try to use the loo next time.
We're getting to the end of the day and despite the fact that i have sat him on the loo every half hour, or less when I saw him fiddling, he's not done anything at all in the loo but pee'd all over the lounge instead. He's quite happy to sit in soiled underwear, he doesn't understand when I ask him to use the loo and he hasn't got the communication skills to tell me when he needs to go.
I guess what I'm looking for is confirmation that he's not ready or if you guys think he is ready to train, please can you give me any tips or suggestions at all to help get the message across. visual cards have had no impact on him up until this point either so that's not an option.
Hi hopelessly devoted.
i just wanted to say I know what you are going through. My little girl will be 4 in jan and was diagnosed this Oct past. She is also not showing any signs at all that she is ready so we have not tried pushing it again. We do change her in the toilet when she goes just so she can associate the toilet with pooing etc. Also I just wanted to say I don’t think your sons school can stop him attending school if he is not toilet trained if he has special needs it is against the law I think to stop him attending x
Hi there just seen this thread and thought I should give you comfort in knowing your not the only ones going through this, we are in exactly the same situation at present. My son had just turned 3. He has not got the communication verbal or non verbal yet to indicate to us he needs to use the toilet. I tried an intense toilet training programme a few months ago. Literally moved into the bathroom and on the 4th day we had to give up he just wasn’t ready and I thought to myself if he can’t communicate yet to indicate his need to go we are already failing at this. We decided we need to focus on the communication before trying the potty training
Yes. I tried him on a potty first but he hates it so I decided it wasn't worth confusing him by training him to go on the potty and getting him used to that being the 'norm' then starting all over again with the toilet.
Have you tried him with a potty?
@Graham Thank you for the link. I hadn't seen that video and it has offered some useful tips. I appreciate the effort.
As it stands, little monkey went to bed last night having not done a single thing on the loo, but greatly enjoying washing his hands in it and throwing a few toys in to see what happened! Never turn your back on a toddler for even a second haha. I have determined that he's pretty close to readiness but not quite able to make it all fit together just yet. I'm going to leave it another month and try again with the helpful tips about breaking things down into sections.
Thanks everyone for the support, it does make me feel slightly less alone in the world.
@NAS50060 Good luck! Nice to know I'm not the only one struggling with this. I hope you and your little bundle manage to make it work. :)
Hi there my son is the same he will not use the toilet whatsoever, he started pooing on the toilet then all of sudden it was straight back in his pants nappy he's 4 in August xxx
Toilet training and accidents is something all infants go through, autistic or not.
He may improve rapidly as he gets a bit older.
I still remember my first day at school at the age of five. I had no idea how to ask for a toilet. I just peed myself through my clothes all the way through.