Being able to potty train a child can be a real challenge for their parents, and even more so if the child has special needs that make it difficult for them to hear, understand or do things. Depending on the type or severity of these needs, most of these children can be potty trained.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Prepare yourself
Step 1. Learn to modulate your expectations
All children with special needs are different. Not only depending on the type of needs they have, but also children with the same needs, such as those who are blind, may be different in the way they face new goals or how they react to them.
- Since potty training begins at a very young age, children with any special needs may have a harder time understanding or doing what is expected of them.
- Parents need to understand that these children are likely to need more support, encouragement and commitment to use the bathroom than others.
Step 2. Be patient and understanding
It is important for parents to remember that urinating and defecating are bodily functions that occur naturally when certain organs in the body are full. Potty training means teaching the child how to sense when these organs are close to being filled, so that he can get to the bathroom in time instead of getting it in the diaper.
- If the child has difficulty recognizing their own body's signs of the holding capacities of these organs, there will be minor accidents. Children, whether they have special needs or not, should never be yelled at, hurt or ridiculed for these incidents. These negative actions of adults lead to slowing down the child's progression, stopping it or even making it regress.
- Instead, parents need to remain positive, calm, present and patient when potty training. If they are stressed by the lack of progress, they should lean on each other or another adult when the child doesn't seem to want to hear them.
Part 2 of 4: Potty Training Children with Special Physical Needs
Step 1. Recognize the potential difficulties in potty training children with physical disabilities
As mentioned earlier, children with special needs are different. Those with special physical needs may require to be potty trained a little differently, depending on the type of physical need.
- For example, if a child has special needs that make it difficult for them to stand or walk, they will need to be taught a different way to sit on the toilet.
- A blind child will require that they be taught how to find toilet paper without unrolling it by mistake.
- There is also the possibility that these children, especially those with nerve damage, may have difficulty recognizing the feeling of fullness of their internal organs.
Step 2. Help the child know when his bladder is full
If there are no mental disabilities, and the child is able to understand the parents, it is possible to teach him to understand when the bladder is full by making him drink a lot and taking him to the bathroom frequently.
Step 3. Consider using a portable potty for children with physical disabilities
One method to use to help potty train children with physical disabilities, depending on how severe they are, is to use a portable potty.
- This allows the child to have easy access to a bathroom no matter where he is. It can be a potty built into a walker, when it's still small enough to use.
- However, for children too old for a potty walker, parents can use a portable adult toilet such as those used for the elderly or infirm adults.
Part 3 of 4: Potty Training Children with Special Mental and Emotional Needs
Step 1. Understand the potential difficulties in potty training children with mental disabilities
Children with special mental or emotional needs may be more difficult to potty train than those with physical needs because they may not understand what their parents are trying to get them to do.
- Some of these children may seem completely oblivious to their surroundings, but they can be reached and many of them can be potty trained successfully. Since every child is different, the key to achieving it is typically different.
- Sometimes, using a fetish like a doll to show the procedure for using a restroom while explaining each and every step can work.
Step 2. Allow your child to watch you use the bathroom
Some children with mental disabilities are educated to use the bathroom simply by observing the same-sex parent doing the same thing several times.
- Some parents may feel uncomfortable letting their child watch them go to the bathroom, but it's worth a little embarrassment if it works in teaching them to use the bathroom on their own.
- And anyway, only parents know they use this method, so there's no reason to be embarrassed.
Step 3. Establish an educational program
One method that can work to potty train a child with mental or emotional disabilities is to establish a fairly precise daily schedule that is based on the times of the day when the child urinates and defecates in the diaper.
- Our body usually has an internal schedule, and by observing when the baby goes to the toilet, parents can take him to the bathroom before he uses the diaper.
- If the child uses the toilet successfully, you should congratulate him and show him the urine and feces in the toilet so that he begins to make a connection about how his body feels when he has to go to the toilet.
Part 4 of 4: Seeking Outside Help
Step 1. Take the child to a specialist
If parents are unable to successfully potty train their child with special needs, they should consult with their pediatrician or a specialist related to their condition. These professionals can give tips and guidelines to help parents.
Step 2. Join a support group or organization
Joining a group or organization of other parents with children with the same special needs can help.
- Many of these parents are likely to have had similar difficulties in potty training before, so they may have some good advice to give.
- Parenting groups can also be an excellent source of emotional support for the parents of a child with special needs.
