Toilet Talk

So, you have got comfortable and easy in your attitude around toileting. You have modeled how amazing and wonderful it is to use the toilet. You have shown your child with autism their own poop and where it goes, please continue doing all of this as you move to the next step.

Now……..it’s time to ditch the diapers! The best way for your child to be more aware of their own peeing and pooping occurrences is to put them in some underwear. So invest in some fun and interesting underwear that they can start wearing. If your child is younger and likes Spongebob or Mickey Mouse, get some character underwear. If your child is artistic, you could decorate some plain underwear with fabric pens together to prepare for wearing them. If they like letters and numbers, you could sew some on the underwear or use an iron on transfer. If your child is older, perhaps you could include them in the selection of the underwear you buy. Try different types, briefs, boxers, natural fibers if your child is sensitive, etc. If you are not ready to completely ditch the diapers yet, you could start with them wearing the underwear over the top of their pull-up or diaper to get used to this transition.

Letting go of the diapers is a really great way for your child to actually experience the feel of not having something that locks away the pee when they go. They will feel lighter and freer and could become more aware of what their body is telling them and how it feels when they are ready to go.

Prepare for some accidents – they will happen. If you have a nice Persian rug or leather couch you want to protect and it helps you, bring in some dustsheets or a cover to protect them and make sure you have plenty of extra clothes, underwear, old towels, wipes, plastic bags hand-sanitizer, etc on hand in each room so that you are never far away from an easy clean up. Doing this in the Son-Rise Program playroom is going to be the most suitable environment to do this because you will be able to be more present with your child and the cleanup will be confined to just one room.

Now as you watch for signs and you know they have a pee coming, start to bring awareness to their body and the toilet regularly throughout the day. Explain to them, “You know it’s been a couple of hours since you peed and it looks like you may need to go, I’m so excited! Let’s go to the toilet….” If they don’t make it - it’s important that you don’t react in a negative way, which could lead to them seeking this interesting reaction by doing it more or it being a less relaxed and easy experience for them which makes it harder to encourage and inspire. So instead of pulling a disapproving face and saying “Oh no, you did it on the floor/in your pants”, etc, keep it neutral “Oh, you peed! Did you know that next time you can totally put it in the toilet!” If they do have an accident, let them sit in their wet underwear for a couple of minutes, instead of rushing immediately to clean it up like it never happened, it may be useful for them to feel the wetness against their body where the diaper used to lock it away. Make a regular invitation to the toilet, even when you don’t see signs, beginning to get in to a routine is helpful. So perhaps once every 45 minutes to an hour you can do another playful invitation. 

Sumber - Autism Treatment Center of America