Last weekend, Max and I sat down at the computer and ordered a purple-covered notebook and purple smiley-face stickers. I needed a new way to motivate him to potty train. They arrived on Saturday.
Max immediately wanted to put one in the book. "Nope, you have to go on the potty," I said. So he grabbed my hand and off we went to the potty. He sat there for two minutes, then jumped up. Nothing. I gave him the sticker for trying. He got one other one this weekend and one today, also for the effort.
Things are not going wondrously well with potty training. It's been a four year on-and-off ordeal. Nothing has worked—not treats, not peer pressure ("Max, Caleb likes to go potty!"), not the ecstatic potty dance I've done on the few times he has deigned to go.
At school, he goes more often. He tends to be a lot more independent at school, as I've mentioned here. So we know the plumbing's working.
Even when Max finally starts going on a regular basis, there are logistics to be worked out of how he'll pull down his own pants and generally care for himself. His dexterity poses challenges.
I am getting a little despondent. Another mom I know, whose six-year-old has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, would also like advice from other parents out there. Her child needs to be lifted onto the potty (and her mom has a weak back), and then has to be helped as well. This mom is worried about depriving her daughter of her dignity and pride. She's wondering whether she is setting herself up for failure since her child is in a wheelchair.
So, that's two of us who would really, really welcome your potty-training experiences and tips (and books, if there are good ones) for kids with special needs at a variety of ability levels. And, of course, your success stories.
Please, be potty-mouthed.
