Potty Training at Last!! Hurray!!

For any parent potty training is a challenge.  For us, parents of ASD children, potty training can be downright difficult, hair pulling and just plain awful at times.  Before we knew that Aleks was on the spectrum, we thought she would be potty trained sometime after her second birthday.  Then came her third birthday and we thought for sure that this is it!  Then came the autism diagnosis and we just prayed that potty training would eventually happen.  We thought last August that we might be close.  She went on the toilet, told us she had to go, had a great day wearing panties then kaput she was done with it.  Seriously, done!  She wanted nothing to do with going the bathroom and would actually freak out if we suggested it.  

This past fall had its ups and downs with potty training.  Some days she would go for her teachers at school.  Other days she would have a wet Pull Up.  We were sending her to school with panties and a Pull Up over them.  It was suggested that this would help her to recognize when she was wet and would help avoid accidents by having the Pull-Up as a backup.  The good news is that she would be so excited when she went at school and got a sticker for going.  We were also doing the stickers, reading the 'potty' book and rewarding her with a sticker on her potty progress chart here at home.  We also tried pictures to explain the process and were setting the timer as a reminder.  It was a sloooow process.  

Finally, last Sunday I had an epiphany.  All of her teachers and therapists were telling us how smart she is.  They were telling me that she understands and is capable of so much more than even we all know.  So I decided that if this is true and I believe it is, then wearing a Pull Up was just giving her the excuse to go in her panties/Pull Up combo.  So on Sunday, I told her no more Pull Ups and that she was going to wear panties today and go on the toilet.  She still wasn't telling me when she had to go so I would set a small timer, put it on the coffee table and when it went off we would head to the bathroom.  What I found out is that she can hold it a long time and is capable of being potty trained.  In fact it's been a week now and we've had just a couple of accidents.  She still isn't telling us when she has to go, but she also is willing to go on the toilet when she has to and understands the premise.  She's going to school dry, coming home dry and using the toilet at school as well.  Even today she went after her gym class at the gym!  

Potty training is not something I ever thought I would openly talk about like this.  It's also not something that I would have thought would be such a celebration and prayer laden activity.  For some children it's just a right of passage, but for our daughter with autism it is another miracle and huge developmental accomplishment.  It is huge in our world and in hers.  I didn't know if we would be here by her 4th birthday (March 27th) but I thank God that we are.  It just shows me that she is capable of so much and has come so far.

Blessings-

Melissa