Potty Training

Notice that i've called this post 'potty training'

and not 'potty trained'.

*Sigh.

I really shouldn't get down about it

as often kids with Autism

struggle with using the washroom and really

Marshall is just 3 and it is not

abnormal for him to not

be potty trained at this point.

The part that frustrates me is that M has been

doing everything for the last 6 months

that shows me that he is ready to be trained.

He has dry diapers in the morning,

every morning.

He grabs himself when he feels he has to go #1.

He holds his bum and runs around

uncomfortably saying "poopoo"

when the sensation is there.

He will stop in the middle of whatever he is

doing to get into his 'stance' and then

looks down at his diaper

while he pees.

He will stand in the bathtub, in his certain stance

and look down for a few seconds before

he pees in there.

Two weeks ago, Marshall started to pee

in the bath but the loofa floated into his stream...

(eww) and as i reached down to pull it

out of the way, M stopped peeing,

pointed at the loofa and started yelling.

I moved it out of the way.

Marshall looked back down at himself and finished

peeing. Total control is there.

It's annoying really.

He should be potty trained already.

Big sister D was SO easy to potty train...

but she had language and comprehension.

Once she was trained, she NEVER

had an accident at night.

If she has to go, she'd wake up and i'd take her.

I believe that if Marshall was a typical child

that training him would've been that easy too.

So what is our obstacle, you ask?

Well, at first i just couldn't even get him to sit

on the potty.

Melissa had suggested that M might be uncomfortable

with his legs/feet floating and that the floor

potty where he could be grounded

might work better.

It didn't.

Marshall would sit on thebig potty sometimes,

but it was extremely short lived.

He would push sometimes,

well, fake pushing,

but seemingly understanding his purpose

on there.

I would mainly try to take him first thing in the

morning when i knew his bladder was full.

He caught onto this routine quickly and

wouldn't even come into the

bathroom with me,

nevermind sitting down on the potty.

In all of this,

not once has he left anything for the

toilet's consumption.

So over the past several months,

Marshall will tell me, "peepee" or "poopoo"

either before he goes or after he goes...

or sometimes i think he just says it to get me

to react to him. lol.

When i met with Janel

and i told her our potty training adventures,

she agreed that he is totally ready

but that maybe i need to create an

insentive for him to sit on the potty, and then

use rewards for him for just sitting on the potty.

In that meeting i stated to her that i

strongly believe that if Marshall will go pee

just once, he will understand

what we are trying to do here and it will

be 'smooth sailing' from there.

She felt that was probably true also.

I used the suggestion of buying an electronic game

for Marshall to use while sitting on the potty.

This past week it has been introduced to him...

a Toy Story game

and he loves it!

He will sit on the potty to play it,

sometimes for up to 5 minutes!

Prior to this i was questioning if M had a phobia

about sitting on the potty...

well, that concern no longer exists.

I keep the game in a clear rubbermaid

container with a lid M cannot remove on his own.

This week Marshall has been running to the

bathroom and bringing me the

container more often than i need to take him to

even just try to pee, which is great.

Most of the time,

he will sit on the potty (the big potty)

and play his game and is happy...

but that's all it is, just sitting.

There has been several times where i am

sitting there with him as he plays and i can see

him become uncomfortable and i know

he feels like he has to pee.

He starts to whine and wants to climb off when

he feels it coming.

I try to get him to stay on of course...

i kinda hold him down or bring his attention back

to his game.

"all done" is all M wants.

So i let him get off and put his pull-up back on.

Then he will run into the livingroom

and pee in his diaper.

Then he comes back to me and says, "peepee"

and brings me the game,

so i bring him back onto the potty...

because i don't want to ignore his request even

though i know he's not going to go.

I think i'm doing the right thing.

Anyways...

So this is how the past few days have been and

even this morning.

M pees in his diaper and then wants to sit

on the potty and play his game.

He's a genious really...

he's turned my Toy Story game into a reward

for himself after he pees in his diaper.

Awesome. lol.

Soooooooo...

I'm not sure where to go from here.

I know that Next Step is on board with helping get M

potty trained which is great because

i'm kind of lost at this point.

I'm happy to have gotten him to at least

be comfortable sitting... step one right?!

I will continue to take him to the potty both when

i want him to try,

and when he asks to go.

And maybe one of these times he will pee

by accident! lol.

Seems this my only hope right now.

To be continued.....

hopefully with a success story at the

end of it next time!