Newsgroups: bit.listserv.autism
Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 10:32:55 CST
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Jim Sinclair <GOLEM@UKANVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Toilet Training

On Thu, 21 Jan 1993 14:40:45 EST Daniel Mont said:
>We had a discussion about toilet training awhile back on the net (not
>suprisingly) and found (also not surprisingly) that a lot of our autistic
>children had difficulty with toilet training.  We found that Alex (our autistic
>son) improved a lot while Simon (our non-autistic son) was toilet training. We
>didn't think this was a "I want attention too" response. Rather I think all
>the talk about it made him more aware and reminded him that this was
>something to think about.  Similarly, he regressed at school the first
>few weeks (but not at home) but the teacher helped make it part of
>his routine (and reminded him about it) and that seemed to set him
>on track.  It depends on how high functioning your child is (mine is
>pretty high) but even things like telling him I was going, would
>he like to try too, was helpful.

I can't talk about this one from direct experience since I was toilet
trained by 18 months and don't remember the process, but I've talked to
some high-functioning adults who had trouble with it, including some who
still do have trouble knowing when they have to go.  Remember, it can be
difficult to interpret sensory data from *within* as well as from outside.
Making it a routine to be done at set times every day (which, come to think
of it, is what I do) gets around the necessity to wait for a recognizable
signal from the bladder or bowel.  Telling him you're going (or Simon is
going) and asking if he'd like to go too is a way to substitute an external
prompt for the internal ones he doesn't know how to recognize.  One high-
functioning autistic adult described the great relief she still experiences
at times when someone says, "I'm going to the bathroom.  Do you need to go
too?" and she realizes: YES!!!!  *That's* why she was feeling so un-
comfortable!  She feels the discomfort, but just doesn't make the connection
to what it means and what she can do about it.

I also had the experience of living with an autistic dog for 13 years.  He
was a year old when I got him, and his previous owner (who was a champion
dog trainer) hadn't managed to get him reliably housetrained.  I found that
he knew what he was supposed to do when he was taken outside, but he rarely
did anything to indicate that he needed to go out.  If I didn't keep track
of how long it had been since he'd last been out, and take him outside at
reasonable intervals, he would just wait until he couldn't hold it any more
and then urinate on the floor.  In fact, he did seem to have a belated "I
have to go outside" signal, because after giving absolutely no indication
(such as going to the door, pacing, or any of the other things my other dogs
do), he would come to wherever I was, stand directly in front of me, and
produce a puddle the size of which made it clear he'd been holding it for a
very long time--while staring at me as if to say, "I *had* to go out, and
you didn't take me."  Some autistics--human and canine--may just continue
to need external prompts and reminders all their lives.

JS
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