Potty training help needed...

[hsmamainva]

My youngest daughter is 6 1/2. She has autism, and I've been having a terrible time potty training her!

 

A little background first...

 

We had some success when she was in a special education preschool. She would pee-pee on the potty and wait until she came home to poop.

 

The same thing happened in Kindergarten, until they took her one-on-one aide away. For a month and a half, we waited until another aide could be found. They found a good one, who happened to know my daughter's special education preschool teacher. After a week on the job, the aide came back from her lunch break unexpectedly early and asked the special education teacher where my daughter was and, after stammering an answer, explained that, every day, during the aide's lunch break, she was locking my daughter in the bathroom!! For 30 minutes at a time!!!!

 

The aide called my daughter's former preschool teacher, who called me and told me what had happened. Needless to say, that was my daughter's last day in public school. (The teacher has since been fired). That was around the 1st of May and I completely laid off all thoughts of potty training, because my daughter was terribly afraid of bathrooms (understandably).

 

Well, we've had a great summer...and, for the past 3-4 weeks, my daughter has been changing herself. After she wets her Pull-up, she goes to the stack, gets a fresh one, and puts it on. If she's messy, she'll bring me a clean Pull-up, and the diaper wipes, and ask me to change her.

 

I feel that she now completely understands what she's doing and what her body is doing, too. So today, I presented her with some Dora the Explorer underwear (she loves Dora) and I put a chart on the wall for her to fill in with happy face stickers when she uses the potty, and my daughter has had a knock down, throw herself on the floor, red-faced screaming temper tantrum ever since!! As I type this, my 17 year old has her in the bathroom, with the door open, and she's reading her a story while she sits on the potty....

 

So my question is this...what would you do? What have you done, if you've been in a similar situation? Does anyone have any advice for me?

 

Thanks in advance!!

[Ottakee]

If you daughter is not too big for a potty chair, how about a potty chair in a different location---her bedroom, the kitchen, etc. if the bathroom itself triggers her?

[hsmamainva]

I may have to look into getting a potty chair (we had one, for years, but finally tossed it because she was using the regular potty...until the incident in the spring)

 

She has sat on the potty two more times today, but she hasn't done anything. I'm praising her anyway, just for trying...and she seems to be fine, as long as I keep the door open all the way.

 

We'll keep trying!! (I *know* she can do it...she's just afraid.)

[hsmamainva]

I just wanted to post an update.

 

My daughter's former preschool teacher called me last night just to catch up and chat and I happened to mention the fact that my daughter had a complete melt-down over using the potty earlier this week.

 

That's when she told me the rest of the story..... (remember, the aide that my dd had in Kindergarten used to work for the preschool teacher, so they're friends, and the aide told the former teacher more than she told me)

 

Not only did this special ed Kindergarten teacher lock my child in the bathroom, she would hold my daughter down, on the potty, and make her drink glass after glass after glass of water, hoping she would pee.

 

To say I am TICKED is an understatement!!!! :cursing: Yes, she was fired, but I'd like to see her tarred and feathered!!! How could anyone do that to any child, let alone one with special needs???

 

So I cried a great deal last night after hearing that. :(

 

Btw...my hubby said that, yesterday, when my daughter was with him, and I was taking my oldest to her college classes, she went into the bathroom and used the potty, all by herself! :)