Today started similarly to yesterday, so my guard was up. I only had one more day of having him home and having control of what happened. I had to see success. So, after an early accident, I decided we were going to avoid any other morning accidents and after breakfast we would give him extra milk and he was going to urinate in the toilet. So, after breakfast, we went downstairs to play. Big Brother started playing on the Wii. Ballerina took over the iPhone. And Music Man came with me to sit on the toilet. This was 7:39am.
I'm still sore from sitting on the ceramic tile yesterday for over 2 hours. And Music Man doesn't care. He sat down quietly and was willing. I decided that he probably wasn't going to do anything right away (he had JUST finished breakfast), so I gave him a treat.....I offered him an episode of "Bunnytown" on the iPod. I had it resting on my shoulder so he could clearly see it, and I watched him. I was looking for any signs that he was ready to let a stream come out. But nothing came.
The show ended and the iPod went away. I promised him he could have it back, but he needed go "Go Pee Pee in the Potty" first. He was actually pretty happy sitting there. And he kept sitting. And sitting. And sitting. Finally, the other kids and Dad headed upstairs for lunch. Music Man was still sitting on the potty. They came downstairs and Dad gave me a break so I could have lunch (bringing yet more milk for Music Man). Music Man continued to sit there. I returned from lunch and went back to sitting on that ceramic tile floor. Finally, at 1:54, that stream finally came out of that body. And did it go!!!!!! He peed like he hadn't peed before!!!!! So, when he was done he finally got to have his lunch (and his iPod).
Do the math. Go ahead..... Yup....he sat on that toilet for 6 hours and 15 minutes.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. Shortly after lunch he had a couple of more accidents (in quick succession). So, we knew that we needed to try again. So, when everyone (except for Music Man) went up for snack, we went back to the toilet. Again, he would have to stay there until he eliminated. I had quickly run upstairs to take care of laundry (and a few other things), so when I came down, I brought some milk (yes, more milk) and snack for him. We sat down and tried again. I just hoped it wasn't going to be another 6 hours. And it wasn't!!!! It was only just over an hour! And he STAYED DRY until it was time to get changed into pajamas!!!!!
So, we aren't there. But we have made progress. Tomorrow Music Man returns to school. And I am going to instruct them to keep him in underwear, no matter what. I'm sending 8 pairs of underwear and 5 or 6 pairs of pants with him to school. If it is absolutely necessary, they can put a Pull-Up over his underwear, but ONLY if they feel they have no other choice. And hopefully, eventually, we can get him there.
That sounds like success to me! I can't even get my daughter to sit on the potty without her diaper on. She's 6 yrs old and has a major fear of the potty that I cannot get her over. It used to be she wouldn't even sit on the potty with clothes on, so I'm happy she's willing to sit there at all! Small success is still success =)
ReplyDeleteDon't lose faith. Are you using a regular toilet or a potty for kids to train on? We decided to go with the actual toilet (and he has sat on all of them in this house except the master bathroom). We also don't use a ring -- he sits directly on the seat. I've heard mixed stories for autistic kids sitting there.
DeletePerhaps a fun potty would be easier for her to sit on? Perhaps not. I know it's hard. Is she afraid of the toilet or the bathroom (which can be noisy and very bright)?
I wish I had better advice, but clearly I'm not an expert here -- just don't lose heart. And I know that's much easier said than done.
Good luck!!!!!
-Ilene
I love this story about potty training Music Man! He is
ReplyDeletevery cute! I like your blog!
Thank you so much!!!! This was President's Day weekend (so late February). It's now July and he has never had a bathroom accident at school (urine OR BM). He's had some urine accidents at home, but those are reasonably rare. We don't trust him to anticipate, so we send him to the bathroom every hour to hour-and-a-half and it seems to work. BM is another story and we are walking away from that for now.
DeleteWelcome to my world!