GO POTTY....GO POTTY NOW!

Many autistic children have difficulty initially getting potty trained, and even if they do get potty trained, many times there are accidents that follow for a long time afterward.  This has been true for Michael.

Michael is a twin, and I think that is a good thing.  He has a sibling, a very bossy sibling, who is the same age.  Mikayla was trained by the age of two without any problems at all.  She got to go to the private pre-school early because she was potty trained.  Not so for Michael.  If I remember right, he got potty trained by the time he was four.  I think this is a pretty good age for #1 being  a boy and #2  being a boy with autism.

Chris with the twins when they were 3.
 Mikayla trained, Michael not so much.

Even though he was mostly potty trained we continue to pack a "just in case" bag in his backpack for school. This "just in case bag" usually has a pair of underwear and pants, just in case of an accident.  He used it a few times during this last school year (first grade), and the one time I had cleaned out his bag and didn't put a "just in case" bag in his backpack, was the one time that he had a really big accident and there weren't any extra clothes for him.  That was the day that I had to run home very quickly, and missed co-teaching my 3rd grade math class.  *sigh  Luckily I work at the same school as the twins, so everyone was extremely forgiving.

So what is happening in Michael's head when he has an accident.  I believe it is called, "I am too busy doing what I am doing, and I don't have time for any interruptions, even if it is myself that is interrupting."  Many times he is building with his blocks, watching a TV show, or is on the computer playing a fun computer game.  I watch him clutching his crotch and practically dancing around the room.  I say to him, "Go potty, GO POTTY NOW!"  Sometimes he will run off and go to the bathroom just making it by the skin of his teeth.  Other time he will refuse, "I don't have to go to the bathroom," he replies, his eyes fixed on the computer screen and his dancing getting worse and worse.

Lately we have had many accidents in a row.  One was caused in the kitchen (thank goodness...easy to clean floor), in his swim suit.  He was trying to get a cup of water for himself and was stuck there.  His dilemma was to either finish getting the glass of water, or hurry off to the bathroom.  He chose the first option and peed on the floor.  The next day we had an accident up in his bedroom, he was playing with blocks and had to go, he stood there screaming from his bedroom holding himself.  He was stuck and couldn't "go anywhere",  he was holding handfuls of pee and was afraid to move.  I couldn't help him, as I am stuck on the couch with a broken foot (long story) and he was having a melt down because no one was coming to help him.  He then had two more accidents that day, so there was 4 in a matter of 2 days.  What in the

Having a broken foot that has 5 fusions is not easy
when you have an autistic kid.

world?

It doesn't help to get mad or upset at him.  I think when we do that, it kind of gets worse.  We talk to him and tell him he needs to be more aware of this situation.  Michael says, "I will try mommy."  This cannot be any good for his self esteem.  This isn't any good for his social image.  Right now first and second graders don't catch on as quickly, but in third and fourth grade?  He is going to be the "baby" who wets his pants and has to have him mommy pack him extra underwear.




Well, I blame the onslaught of accidents on summer vacation.  There isn't a real routine this last week before we go back to school.  There is no camp, no swim team.  The twins are sleeping in later.  There isn't a real schedule.  Michael thrives on schedule.  There is also too many "fun" things going on.  It is very hard for my "normal" kid, much less my autistic kid to break away from such fun.

I also believe that all of these accidents might be a sensory issue.  I do not think that Michael realizes he has to go half of the time until it is way too late.  Maybe he thinks he can get to the bathroom on time.  Does he actually feel the sensation to have to urinate?  Maybe the sensation is muted.

I also say in the back of my mind, maybe this is an attention deficit thing.  Many autistic children are also diagnosed ADD or ADHD.  Sometimes I think, "Maybe we should try ADD medicine, then he would pay attention to his body and go to the bathroom on time."  I am not one for medicine, but I slowly find Michael paying less and less attention.  I'll wait tho and see what his second grade teacher says.  If it is starting to affect academics in school, then we might have to seriously look at this.

We are looking forward to starting school again.  We will be on a more predictable routine, and hopefully we will have less accidents.  I will be packing a "just in case" bag again for second grade.  I will probably be packing this bag for a long time, because Michael will always be "Somewhere Over the Spectrum."