I wanted to share ideas on how and when to decide to work on toilet training with children who have autism. Looking back, I thought this was something that had to be accomplished and fast. I decided that during the summer months of my son’s 3rd year of life, I would tackle toilet training. Big Mistake!!!!! He clearly was not ready and I spent two long months of basically not leaving my house for long periods of time so I could be him in case he needed to pee or poop. My life and the life of my family was revolved around this. Not surprisingly when I didn’t see the results I wanted, I was not happy, my son was not happy, and the rest of the family was not happy.
The best decision I made after that two month period was to let it go. I decided that it would happen when he was more ready. For now, I needed a break and needed some normalcy again (as normal as you can when you have a child with autism.) The summer later, without too much effort, Ylann (my son) learned to use the toilet. It was so much easier this time. Lesson learned? Developmental readiness plays an important role. My advice: don’t take on more than you absolutely have to. In the long run, who cares if he learned how to use the potty at four rather than three. It was more of my goal, than his. As soon as I realized this, I could let it go.
If any of you have stories you would like to share about potty training and readiness, please do.
