Toilet Training

[Lynden]

Do autistic children generally toilet train later?

 

Logan is 2.5 atm and showing no signs at all of being ready, nor do I expect him to for a while as he's developmentally delayed also. I was curious as to what the average sort of age for toilet training was as opposed to NT children.

 

Thanks

Lynne

[Bullet]

Ds1 is also two and a half and also nowhere near ready. The thing that worries me, is that even if he does start to recognise the signs, how is he going to be able to ask me, especially when we're out? For example, if we're at home he knows where the fridge is so if he wants a yoghurt or a drink he drags me over to it and puts my hands on the door. But if we're out, because he doesn't know how to ask or sign that he wants a drink (I sign "drink" to him but he's not picked it up yet) he won't ask. So it would probably be the same with toilets. I could possibly get him to learn what the toilet in our house was for - and maybe even get him into a routine. It would take time but it would be possible, I think. But then when we were out somewhere, if he didn't have the visual prompt of the toilet in our house, he wouldn't equate his need to go with asking to use a toilet. At least, not for a while.

[rainbow queen]

hi my son hasnt been dx as yet but has global developmental delay,i didnt even start to potty train him till 3 and half. hes now 4 and uses loo in day but in nappies at night.

so think it is normal that it takes longer ,also more hard work getting them to get used to it too,my son still dont like using other loos,or wiping his bum.

[Flora]

my youngest son just got dry during the day in time for starting school aged 4. He still needed a nappy for poo until he was 5. He's 9 now and still wears nappy pants for bed.

 

Lauren

[justamom]

My son was very late to be potty trained, around the age of 3 and half.. The school would not accept him until he had been trained it was awful but managed in the end..

[justamom]

Meant to add that he was not dry at night until the age of 11 he's 12 now

[Nikki]

My son was nearly 5 when we got him toilet trained.

 

We thought we would start trying around 2 yrs old & then we just gave up after about 8 months !

 

WE were told to just keep reminding him now and again & he finally decided it was time to put the poo in the toilet when his sister who was 2 1/2 was doing the same.

 

I thinks is so different for every child & sometimes the more you try the more stressed you end up getting.

 

We tried all the things suggested but funny enough we started pecs at around the same time and we used the pictures to show the toilet etc- maybe that helped - who knows??!!!

 

Fortunately my nursery took him as they understood the problem but we did get into a routine of watching him like a hawk.

 

Now he goes into the toilet, lock the door and about 1 minute later he shouts poo at the top of his voice

 

We wnt from 2 sets of nappied to none within a short time frame & now since then we have never had an accident - he never even wears pull ups to bed - one extreme to the other

 

dont give up hope - just chill & try not to worry

 

bye

nikki

[lil_me]

I have had problems with both of my boys, one NT one ASD. Luckily our local nursery deals with special needs and didn't mind them starting at 3 in pull ups. They also had spare clothes there when they came out of the pull ups. Still not dry at night. Luckily special needs health visitor has now provided bed pads that do work unlike those from retailers. She also provided nappies but unless I gaffa tape them to him, I don't think we'll ever get him to keep them on.

 

We also have times where the ASD one goes back over, pooing and weeing in trousers and on the floor.

 

I think the biggest problem I have now is he won't use other peoples toilets.

Edited February 12, 2006 by lil_me

[adamsmum]

K is 8 and can still have an ocasional acident. he wets bed most nights. Adam is not ready to try yet and he is 6.

[forbsay]

Hi

 

I have finally got my asd 5.5 yr old into boxer shorts during the day and at school Major achievement. He is still in nappies at night but he will come out of them when he is ready to!

 

He has got a thing about toilets but we will take one step at a time!

 

Forbsay

x

[kathkin99]

Hi

My son (not yet dx although apparently has flavours of Autism ) was three when he came out of the nappies during the day he is still not reliably dry at night and for a year and a half would not wear pull ups at night ( just wet the bed ) but now will he was five in September last.

Good luck

Kathy

xx

[smallworld]

pull-ups were bogof at tesco's last time I looked ! daren't buy any more, they are taking up too much space !!

 

wac

[Jill]

The Boy is 4 and still in nappies day and night.

 

We noticed him "thrusting" the other evening & sat him on the loo, (he's pretty much non verbal, so we have to try to train him with pictoral or physical prompts). He sat there as happy as larry for half an hour whilst we sang, danced, played with cars with him & then he hopped off the loo. Nothing down the pan - nada, zilch. We put him a fresh nappy on & he finished his poo. You've got to laff haven't you?

 

Methinks he may not be quite ready yet!

 

The special nursery he goes to said they have some strategies. We're waiting to see what they do & will then copy at home for consistency. Will let you know if it works!

[curra]

My son needed pull ups in the night until he was 7 and became too big for nappies or pull ups. Then he was treated at the bedwetting clininc with alarms and medications. He's 12 now and he still wets the bed in the night quite frequently and has occasional accidents at day time too.

 

Curra

[sylv]

My son soils.

 

He wears pull ups when he is home and during nights. He is 9 years old. It is just a pain in school as the other kids will tease him when he wears pull ups so we use normal underpants there. We see a specialist for this on a regulary basis and he is on meds because he is constantly constipated.

 

SylvXXX

[lindy-lou]

India,although i wouldnt class her as late,has been later than my NT daughters,we did have her completley out of nappys and she will poo on the loo now but we have had to put her back in nappys at night time,as she was wetting it every night and the washing was just too much to cope with,with all her other sleep problems,adding 1 more on top isnt right so nappys it is til she seems drier.

[microsoft_admin]

im 18 and still have problems with toilettig pm me to talk about it

[joshanddanfans]

my 2 asd/asperger boys both late one was nearly 4 and other 5 who still has 5 or so accidents a day. my NT (we think) sits on potty now and wipes and everything she is just 2. If your worried id say not to push it till three if they are not ready they are not ready. we had mad rush 3-3 1/2 to get them ready for school nursery. my 4 year old is big and is in 7-8 clothes so its hard finding larger nappies for him that dont cut him in half. alex

[Lynden]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. It was more of a curiosity thing - I have no intentions of even thinking about toilet training for a good while yet as Logan is nowhere near ready. I just wondered what the 'norm' was iyswim.

 

Thanks again

Lynne x