Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if any of you people out there would be able to help us,

we have a autistic little girl of 4 who can not speak but we are now trying to train her to use the toilet my wife has stopped putting nappies on her for the last month or two and she just leaves her with her underwear on, she keeps taking her and sitting her on the toilet but she does nothing she just keeps weeing her self when and where she feels fit we can't seem to get her to understand

if anyone can help us it would be much appreciated

Kind regards to all

Nigel

You said your daughter was not speaking. Would she be able to point at pictures? If you asked her what would she like for a snack would she be able to point at a picture of a banana if that is what she wanted? That would be your first step, get her to communicate in some way her wants or needs and reward her for that with something she absolutely loves. Make different boards of different pictures. Food, toys, games etc. Once you have mastered those and she points to what she wants, put pictures of tasks... like brushing your teeth, cleaning up your toys and keep pointing to those pictures as you do the task together. Put her on the potty and point to the picture of the potty. Try every half hour putting her on the potty and pointing to the picture of the potty. Reward her only if she makes peepee or poop. Potty training is even hard for kids who are not on the autistic spectrum. It's making the connection what they feel, what they can control and what to do about it. Chocolate Hersey Kisses were my son's favorite. You need to find her motivator. I hope this is something helpful. Good luck. It is going to take time but she will get there.

Hi Nigel,

One book I would recommend for you is: Toilet Training for Individuals with Autism and Related Disorders, by Maria Wheeler.

Remember that, even though your DD doesn't speak, she may have some level of understanding when you talk to her. So do talk about wet & dry, big girls use the potty, etc.

In the USA there are autism behavioral specialists, some of whom have toilet-training sub-specialties. They can help the parents set up an effective training program, and periodically touch bases to make sure progress is being made.

Reward is very important. Sometimes the rewarding has to start with "little steps." Is there an older girl sibling or cousin who can demonstrate peeing in the pot? That sort of modelling can be very powerful, especially when the demonstrator gets a small reward immediately after producing, while your daughter observes.

Picture stories are also helpful. They show the desired behavior in positive terms. Again, an autism specialist can help.

Best wishes.

Thanks for your help its much apprecitaed and if anyone else has any ideas they will also be very welcome

Kind Regards Nigel