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Discover How To Potty Train Your Child Who Has Autism

By Bonita Darula

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 18Nov2009 Word count: 631 Viewed: 354 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

How to potty train an autistic child may not be as difficult as you think. Most parents with an autistic child are extremely intimidated by thinking of potty training, due to the fact of introducing new and stressful things into the life of an autistic child. This may appear to be overwhelming and seem impossible. A child may feel perfectly comfortable wearing diapers, even as they age. It has been known for autistic children to remain in diapers, or some form of diaper protection, throughout their life, due to difficulty that parents did not want to grasp the concept, or willingness to attempt potty training or communicate it to them.

Many therapists have cautioned parents not to underestimate the autistic ability to learn new behavior or schedules. There may be areas of lack of communicating, but, through a behavioral reward system this is possible that the child will learn and understand what he or she has to do and follow instructions. Every autistic child is different. If your child is unable to walk or use his or her, arms or legs, this would be a reason why it may not be a possibility. For the majority of people with autism, this is possible with the right knowledge and patience.

The first step most parents and doctors recommend is to eliminate the use of diapers. This may be a shocking step, and will at times be messy, but it is an important first step. The child needs to attempt to understand what you are trying to do, and by keeping the diapers in sight, you are sending mixed signals. You can transition into diapers, such as pull-ups, that have the look and feel of underwear during the initial transition. After a short period of time, you want to introduce the child to wear regular cotton underwear with a plastic outside liner. It might be fun to purchase colored and creative underwear with cartoon characters for patterns, or exciting designs, to relieve some of the stress and help the child to feel more comfortable.

During this transition, one must be patient. The child will need to feel the uncomfortable feeling of being wet to grasp what is expected of he or she. At this point, allow the autistic child to be in the bathroom with one of the parents, of the same sex, so they can imitate what you are trying to encourage them to do for potty training.

The challenging part is the next step, where you teach the child a signal, or verbal cue to give you, when they are ready to go to the bathroom. By this time frame, the feeling of being wet is not something they like to feel or smell, and they may begin to communicate to you, before you teach them a sign or cue. Make sure the child always has the availability to get to a bathroom easily, that doors are never locked and that the bathroom is a safe place for the child. If you see the child beginning to have an accident in their underwear, immediately take them to the bathroom, whether they are finished or not. By taking this action and going to the bathroom with them, this will become a regular routine to them, and they will start to progress on their own.

After the child begins to use the bathroom, it is important that all caretakers are strict with bathroom use, and any time you visit a new place you show the child where the bathroom is. Never get angry with an autistic child while you are going through this process. Reward them with praise is extremely important. How to potty train an autistic child is not something one should dread. Love and patience is the key along with consistency.

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