off kilter
02-10-2005, 09:28 AM
This is kind of embarrasing, just want to know if others deal with this. It's not exactly something you like to share with people who do not deal with Autism. Little Paul has been very slow to potty train he's 7 now still in pullups but usually goes when we take him. Last night after supper I took him and was super proud he did a BM. in the potty and was patting my self on the back for the progress he's made and told him great job. A hour or so later while playing in his room he did something he has not done in a long time. he had a BM and played with it. Kind of ran through it. put hand prints on the wall, touched some toys. Sorry TMI! He of course got a bath ( thank God dad was home to help) and I cleaned the rug,the walls,the toys. Tell me I'm not alone!
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sarahrose
02-10-2005, 10:06 AM
LOL!!! your not alone!! my son had a poo fetish not too long ago, he used to dig in his diaper and pull out poo and play with it, I was mortified!! But one day it just all stopped, partly because I put him in a snap t-shirt to keep him from having easy access to his diaper. I also used to tell him NO NO!! very loud everytime he did it, it at least got his attention and he stopped. Maybe he just needs to be more supervised when doing his duty for a while, just until he stops doing it. :wave: Good luck to you. :jester:
mango2
02-10-2005, 10:13 AM
Code Brown is no fun.
off kilter
02-10-2005, 10:57 AM
Sarahrose- I see where your son is 5 is he a little guy? I don't think I could find tee shirts that snap between the legs for Paul. He's a little over 4 ft. tall and weighs 65lbs. He just turned 7 the last week in Jan. He is working on potty training and dressing himself so We try to keep his clothes simple like elastic waist on his pants. On one hand we have to encourage him to undress and go potty but on the other hand we do not want him taking off his clothes elsewhere . It's been really hard to teach Little Paul new skills that he then turns around and gets in trouble with them. My husband just turned to me after the cleaning was done last night and pointed out we have been trying to teach Little Paul not to go in his pants and he didn't. He took off his pants before pooping in his room. There right next to the poop was his clean dry pants and diaper. it's just nice to know I'm not alone. We do try to keep an extra eye on Paul of course but it had been so long since he did something like this and he had just gone poop in the potty our guard was down.
Joey'smom
02-10-2005, 11:11 AM
Joey potty trained at 3 1/2, but he would wipe poop on my bathroom wall after having a BM. It drove me insane. He would never tell me when he had to have to go. I would walk in to the bathroom and see his art work! He has not done this in about a year.
IBGECKO
02-10-2005, 11:33 AM
Yep. Connor did this all the time between the ages of two and three. Then it just stopped. He was potty trained for peeing by 3 1/2, but it took another year to get him to poop in the toilet. He's always been obsessed with the computer, and even as a two year old would spend hours playing computer games. If we left him alone, he would play with his poop while playing on the computer, and get it all over the keyboard. Talk about a disgusting mess!
sarahrose
02-10-2005, 01:54 PM
oopsie double posted :D
sarahrose
02-10-2005, 01:56 PM
I forgot that having him in overalls helped too, but that's just me, I figured, make the access more difficult and he won't do it, he did for a while, but then gave up, and yes, Sam is small for a 5 yr old, he is only 44 lbs and about 44 inches tall, and still fits into the extra large onesies, but is quickly outgrowing them. :jester:
Al & Matt's Mom
02-10-2005, 03:15 PM
How did you get him to poop on the toilet? My 3 1/2 yr old will pee on the potty, but I've never gotten him to poop. Any tips?
off kilter
02-10-2005, 04:07 PM
Paul's being ready for potty training was a whole different ballgame then my older boys. Paul enjoys messy play and really does not care if his pants are wet or messy. For Paul and the way Autism affects him our focus is more on making it just something that is to be done like eating lunch,sleeping, going to school sort of factual. He is non verble and only has one or two signs, so readiness for him was more waiting for him to understand basic commands like sit, wait, put it in.. We take him on a sort of reguler basics. School takes him every 1 and 1/2 hour at home we found setting timers nerve racking so we go about every 2 hours. I made up a cacapoopie song he seemed to enjoy and noticed he tends to go poop about a 1/2 after meals so we go to the bathroom and i tell him to sit and wait for caca. if he gets antsy i sing the song. in the beginning I had to allow him to get up and play with sink water or walk around the bathroom sitting occasionally but very gently blocking the exit. usually never more the 20 min. sometimes if I saw him getting ready to go I would encourage him to sit. if he got really antsy i would help him pull up his pants and praise him for trying. Often he would poop in his pants a few minutes later. if he went poop in the potty we made a big deal out of it and the whole flushing,washing hands thing. Paul had to learn how to sit at school and what they call attention to task before we even tried. gradually he has been able to sit and " attend to task for longer periods of time." Paul does not tell us when he has to go or show any signs of going to the bathroom on his own. hence the mess he made last night in his room. Just paul sitting and trying to go is amazing progress he poops in the potty once or twice a day now. he has learn to sign more and all done so If I ask him if he's all done on the potty he will sign if he is all done or has to go more. But alone playing in his room he just didn't think it was important to get us and tell us he had to go. 2 other pieces of advice that might help, i took up the bathroom rugs and went to easy to wash towels and A friend of mine whose son has Autism encouraged me to have Paul dressed with his pants around his ankles while he used the potty. Her son would sit on the potty naked before he got in the tub and it took her over a year to teach him he did not have to be naked to use the potty. It was hard at school and in public bathrooms that he would not use the potty unless he took off all of his clothes. Isn't Autism wonderful?
IBGECKO
02-10-2005, 07:31 PM
How did you get him to poop on the toilet? My 3 1/2 yr old will pee on the potty, but I've never gotten him to poop. Any tips?
By the time he was 4 1/2, we had had enough, and one day when he asked for a pull-up to poop in, we just didn't give him one. In fact, we hid all his diapers and underwear, and left him naked. We waited it out until he hit critical mass and couldn't hold it in anymore. I kept calmly telling him that when he was ready I would help him, and showed him the toilet. After a few hours, he finally agreed, and took care of business, and we were done! I did the same thing with my daughter, who turned three last month. She pooped on the floor, and I told her if she was going to do that, then she would have to clean it up. I gave her a wipe, and told her to go put the poop in the toilet and flush it. She did as she was told, and immediately figured out that it was easier to poop in the toilet rather than clean up after herself, and she is completely done. No way I was going to let it get to the point I had with my son. Of course she is a NT girl, but I think if we had put the screws to my son earlier, we could have had him trained earlier.
By the time he was 4 1/2, we had had enough, and one day when he asked for a pull-up to poop in, we just didn't give him one. In fact, we hid all his diapers and underwear, and left him naked. We waited it out until he hit critical mass and couldn't hold it in anymore. I kept calmly telling him that when he was ready I would help him, and showed him the toilet. After a few hours, he finally agreed, and took care of business, and we were done! I did the same thing with my daughter, who turned three last month. She pooped on the floor, and I told her if she was going to do that, then she would have to clean it up. I gave her a wipe, and told her to go put the poop in the toilet and flush it. She did as she was told, and immediately figured out that it was easier to poop in the toilet rather than clean up after herself, and she is completely done. No way I was going to let it get to the point I had with my son. Of course she is a NT girl, but I think if we had put the screws to my son earlier, we could have had him trained earlier.
mango2
02-10-2005, 07:40 PM
Although my son is onthe severe end of the spectrum, he potty trained at the same age as other children. Maybe it's because he was regressive, or normal until about 18 months. He even pees standing up, just like dad, but he has that problem of feeling the need to totally undress to go #2.
We bought him some boots that he wears to school that he can't take off, or get his pants over. They have eliminated the barefoot problem and helped in the bathroom.
We bought him some boots that he wears to school that he can't take off, or get his pants over. They have eliminated the barefoot problem and helped in the bathroom.
off kilter
02-10-2005, 07:48 PM
I agree being firm can help with potty training, but we always have to remember the very wide range the Autism spectrum has. some children with Autism have no communication skills, there are all kinds of sensory issues involved for some of the kids. My friends son now 7 was a breeze to train because he refuses to go to the bathroom at all. he holds urine for 24 hours at a time and holds his BM's for 8 to 10 days. His mother and Dr.s find it a constant worry. What he does is not uncommon for some children on the spectrum. My son has always been a good sleeper usually sleeping 10 hours a night. But he has no real PEC skills,signs or lang skills. the fact you could tell your son you would help him and show him the potty tells me his receptive skills at 4&1/2 were far above Paul's he was still eating his BM's at that age and thought the toliet was something to stick his head in. Paul is 7 and some days i do feel fustrated over his slow progress with the potty issue. But I always remember a mom who once said "you can't force a blind child to tell red from green" I guess in some ways Paul is blind to the potty issue and I just have to keep the faith his vision will improve.
Al & Matt's Mom
02-10-2005, 08:57 PM
My son doesn't seem to know what poop is. If I ask him if he needs to poop he will say yes, but will only pee in the potty. I've tried showing it to him, but it doesn't seem to make the connection. Maybe if I just take him at regular intervals as you suggested I'll eventually catch him...
BetsyAnn
02-10-2005, 09:31 PM
I would like to ask a different question. Do any of you have an autistic child who did not go through the "playing with poop" phase? It seems that cleaning poop of the walls, floors, furniture, etc. is a rite of passage for parents of autistic children.
mango2
02-10-2005, 11:27 PM
I can't believe I'm posting on a public board that has poop threads. :eek:
I also did the like-father, like-son routine. He liked to help by getting the t.p. off the roll. It seemed to put bathrooming into that compulsive organization category, and we have very little trouble for a family with a severe Autistic child. Most of our 'code browns' occur only because he does things fast and sloppy and doesn't realize there is residue. He even has a penchant towards privacy, which may reinforce the idea that this bodily function is not meant to be shared.
I also did the like-father, like-son routine. He liked to help by getting the t.p. off the roll. It seemed to put bathrooming into that compulsive organization category, and we have very little trouble for a family with a severe Autistic child. Most of our 'code browns' occur only because he does things fast and sloppy and doesn't realize there is residue. He even has a penchant towards privacy, which may reinforce the idea that this bodily function is not meant to be shared.