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Potty training 5 yo with Autism
  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member

    Hi all!  I'm new here, but need thoughts, ideas, help, encouragement, etc.  My DS has autism.  He's 5 1/2 and stillllllll in pull-ups.  He's showing most of the classic signs of being ready--wants changed as soon as he poops, and tells me he does it, etc.

    So, today, I decided was the day. He was still wearing a pullup because he hadn't gone yet this morning, and wouldn't on the potty.  He KNEW he was going to go, you could see it in how he was sitting.  As soon as he started going, he told me.  (YAY!!)  But, as soon as he got up to have me change him, his flooded pull-up literally overflowed pee onto my new couch and me.  (GRRRRR) 

    I immediately grabbed a towel to soak it up, but now it STINKS.  How do it get the smell out of the couch?  The cushions do not come off, and it's microfiber.  Do I just Febreze it and hope for the best?

    While I was typing this, he did go in and sit on the potty and made allll sorts of grunting noises, but then said "the poopies won't come out..." So, we shall see.  So far, he has soaked one outfit today.  Now he's just in his underwear.  Thank goodness the floors are hardwood.  LOL

    This is also the longest I think the TV has been off all summer.  LOL  He is begging to watch Batman or Max and Ruby (what a combination, right?), but I keep telling him no TV until he goes on the potty.  He is actually sitting at the table coloring with DD6.5 right now...it's kinda cracking me up.

     

    Thoughts?  Ideas?  Help?  Anyone?  AGH!!!!

     

  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    For cleaning the couch, I'd use as many towels as it takes to squish the pee into the towel (blotting). Then apply baking soda and put a fan on it. Vacuum baking soda off when dry and surface clean it. I'd use the febreze last.
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  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    I've got two kids with Autism *but* only one was really hard to train. I can share what we did, but that doesn't mean it will work.

    I spent weeks in the bathroom. It was horrible. 

    Every fifteen minutes we took him to the bathroom. He wanted books to look at, so we brought in a tray table. I sat on stool and waited. If he couldn't make it to fifteen minutes (there were times) we took him every ten or five minutes. Once he regularly got to the fifteen minute mark, I took him every twenty, then every twenty-five, then every thirty, then every forty-five, then once an hour... I think you get the idea.

    Pooping in the toilet is a completely different sensation than peeing and can be alarming for some kids. Sometimes, we just sat in there and waited for something to happen. It was important that I didn't make him stay if he was agitated otherwise he'd start to refuse to sit on the toilet. 
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  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member

    @Gingersnap Will the baking soda and fan be effective if the spot is dry?   I soaked up the pee this morning, but as the day goes on it's getting stinkier.

  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    Sorry, I almost forgot. DS had trouble recognizing that he needed to poop or pee when he was excited, in foreign environments (playground, store), or deeply absorbed in play/tv watching. It's like his brain couldn't process the information. 
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  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    @JustMEG - Maybe it would be a good idea to rewet the area? Pee has stuff dissolved in it (hence the smell). Somehow you've got to flush it out... That cushion is like a big sponge. 
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  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    Oh, we also made DS drink quite a bit of water to help with the potty training. 
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  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member
    Those are great ideas...I have been pushing fluids.  DH is NOT pleased that the kid is running around in his underwear all day.  I told him if he isgoing to stay home and do this, he could use his method--otherwise THIS is what I am doing.  lol
  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    LOL - my son was running around naked most of the time. Underpants were optional. 
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  • GingersnapGingersnap
    Posts: 7,293Member
    Also, I don't know how verbal your son is. At school they used a PECS, but we just used sign. 
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  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member
    I'm supposed to  be getting an "If, Then" photo card from his case worker, soon...because he responds well to pictures.  But, he is also pretty verbal--to me, anyway.  He's speaking on around a 3yo level.
  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member

    AARRGGHH!!!!! 

    So, I started off making him go into the bathroom ever 30 minutes or so--he has really good bladder control (ie, he can hold it for 12 hours--dry pull up at 8pm, still dry at 8-all the way til 10:15 am).  Little man got really angry that I kept making him go in there.  So, now...he melts down when I try to force him in to the bathroom...so I don't want to force him to avoid having this be a long-term issue. 

    However, NOW...the stinker will run up to his room, poop in his underwear, then come downstairs and want to put it in the potty and flush.  He will pee on the floor, too, but then immediately grabs a towel to clean it up. 

    ACK!!!!   WHAT THE HELL DO I DO NOW?!?!?!

  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member
    Ohmigod!!!!!! Finally!!!!! He peed!!!!! He looked sooooo proud of himself, too! Let's see if he keeps it up....
  • BIG_SM_695
    Posts: 81Member
    I had a student once that had some issues similar to your DS. Since we can't spend a lot of time with 1 student in the bathroom we gave him a watch with an alarm. It went off in 30 minute intervals to remind him to go. It took a while but he eventually firgured it out. HTH
  • tothemoonandbacktothemoonandback
    Posts: 2,128Member
    Another thing you can try for the stain/smell.. Natures Miracle or any other deodorizer/cleaner designed for pet stains, they usually have stuff in them to eat up the enzymes or PH or whatever it is that pee and poo have in them :)
    Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. - Marilyn Monroe
  • JustMEG
    Posts: 13Member
    I will look for that product, thanks!! I think a watch with a timer would piss him off as much as forcing him into the bathroom. Lol. He wanted to go play in his room a bit ago. Told him he needed to go potty again first---HE DID!!

    But, then he hid in his closet and pooped. LOL. I keep trying to tell myself to work on baby steps. He did tell me as soon as he did it--that's a move in the right direction, right?!?
  • CrashCrash
    Posts: 8,185Member
    I haven't seen this post before tonight, but it sounds like you're on the right track, @JustMeg. 

    On a slightly irrelevant note, the lack of tv will do a world of good for autistic kids, they need to interact with people, not get more material to stim off of. I'm a total hypocrite on this, but there is definitely an up side to no tv, no matter what the reason is. Lol.

    Good luck with the potty training!
    See ya in another life, sister!
  • Kizd4AFool
    Posts: 19Member
    I would use vinegar (in a spray bottle with water) to clean your couch.  Vinegar is a wonderful natural cleaning agent and safe on most fabrics (according to google it is safe for microfiber as well).  I would also as stated by someone else take him to the potty every 5, 10, 15 minutes etc.  They actually sell "potty watches" on Amazon.com and elsewhere that have an alarm that goes off at the time you set to remind the child to go to the bathroom.
  • peach27
    Posts: 126Member
    In regards to the couch, I always clean my couch with a mixture of baking soda, water, and detergent. If that doesn't work use vinegar first. Vinegar will even get cat pee out of almost anything. It's fucking awesome. I have a 6 year old with autism. She is fully potty trained, but I do know this can often be a difficult task with kids on the spectrum. I would keep a potty somewhere that he wants to go, like his bedroom or living room. When he masters that move him into the bathroom. Give lots of rewards for success and don't punish failure. I also ate the potty candy when my daughter refused to wipe herself. Now she does it herself every time! Just keep trying and find what works for you. 
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