Potty Training and Verbal Apraxia

August 17, 2006

I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who has 'severe' verbal apraxia

into a *typical*

preschool program in the morning so that she can model her peers. She then will

be in a

self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the county.

However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2 weeks to do it. The

'typical' preschool

has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed. My daughter understands

going to the

potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it. She still lags in motor

skills/co-ordination, so it

could be a sequencing issue.

Anyone have any potty-training problems with their apraxic child? Any tips or

suggestions??

Thanks,

Lou

August 17, 2006

Lou,

My son developed potty training skills late, but during the summer I

would place the potty chair out on the patio in our private yard and

told him if he felt the urge to sit on the potty or pee in the

bushes. It was a lot easier with my girls who walked around with just

jumpers on . . . a lot of times they would be a little late and get

their leg wet, but they would get the idea of when they had to go. I

also did not force the issue. If they were not ready, I put the potty

away and waited another month.

Don't stress. It's not worth it.

Joanne

August 17, 2006

Lou-

My son is severely apraxic, globally, along with

sensory issues and low muscle tone. I kept holding

off potty training because I thought he was not ready

with all his developmental issues. He was in the

special ed program at our town and they did not push

it or help much with suggestions. So I finally

started freaking out because he was going to be going

into Kindergarden in the fall and he was 5.4 years

old. I hired an ABA consultant (even though my son is

not Autistic) as they are behavior consultants and I

thought it might be a behavioral issue to since that

is all he knew.

Anyways, I took the Feb vacation and used that week to

potty train him. We used a few things to help. First

a timer that went off every 10 minutes, which meant it

was time to go potty. We also used his favorite treat

as motivation. We did dry checks in between the 10

minutes and gave him treats everytime he was dry and

praised him greatly. We realized early on we needed to

use a soft potty seat or he would not even sit on the

potty. The other thing that might help is a strip

with the routine of the potty. A picture for each

step, and each time a step is completed the velcro

picture is handed to the therapist. When he had

accidents, we would bring him to the potty and say,

where does pee pee and poppie go, and pointed to

the potty. We also gave him books, and at one point

brought the TV in the bathroom so he could relax while

he tried to void.

Anyways, it took 2 full days, and one day of holding

pee for 7 hours and he peed for the first time. Since

he was a boy, it went all over. But I just clapped

and said good job instead. After that he did very

well with the pee. It took 4 days for his first poop

after that.

It is now 6 months later and while he is in my

presence he never has an accident. But when he is at

school he will not poop and if he has to go has an

accident. I know he knows when he has to go so I am

not sure if it is a issue with strangers taking him or

not wanting to miss out on anything. But we moved

recently and the new school approved an aide for him

since he cannot talk and still has potty issues.

The other thing you need to do is never go back to

diapers once you start. I do use pull ups at night,

but say they are only for night. He almost always

wakes up dry, but I still use them.

One last thing I remembered, during the potty training

week we had him drink tons of liquid, so we could get

him to practice peeing as much as possible.

Hope this helps. It is so hard with a child that

cannot verbalize and has motor planning difficulties.

But I thought my son could never do it and he did.

Good luck

Michele

--- Lou <emkay1012@...> wrote:

> I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who

> has 'severe' verbal apraxia into a *typical*

> preschool program in the morning so that she can

> model her peers. She then will be in a

> self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the

> county.

>

> However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2

> weeks to do it. The 'typical' preschool

> has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed.

> My daughter understands going to the

> potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it.

> She still lags in motor skills/co-ordination, so it

> could be a sequencing issue.

>

> Anyone have any potty-training problems with their

> apraxic child? Any tips or suggestions??

>

> Thanks,

> Lou

>

__________________________________________________

August 17, 2006

I have some older kids that went through daycare. When they were that age, the

classes would have a bathroom routine. They would time the kids and have set

bathroom times. Can your daughter handle the bathroom on her own? They may not

be willing to help her but if she knows what to do but just needs reminders when

to go and not what to do in there, they should be able to help with that.

I also have a 2 year old (apraxic), that we are still working on this potty

issue. She is signed up for a little 2 yr old preschool class and they say we

don't need to worry about the pottying just yet.

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " Lou " <emkay1012@...>

I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who has 'severe' verbal apraxia

into a *typical*

preschool program in the morning so that she can model her peers. She then will

be in a

self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the county.

However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2 weeks to do it. The 'typical'

preschool

has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed. My daughter understands

going to the

potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it. She still lags in motor

skills/co-ordination, so it

could be a sequencing issue.

Anyone have any potty-training problems with their apraxic child? Any tips or

suggestions??

Thanks,

Lou

August 18, 2006

Lou,

My son developed potty training skills late, but during the summer I

would place the potty chair out on the patio in our private yard and

told him if he felt the urge to sit on the potty or pee in the

bushes. It was a lot easier with my girls who walked around with just

jumpers on . . . a lot of times they would be a little late and get

their leg wet, but they would get the idea of when they had to go. I

also did not force the issue. If they were not ready, I put the potty

away and waited another month.

Don't stress. It's not worth it.

Joanne

August 18, 2006

Lou-

My son is severely apraxic, globally, along with

sensory issues and low muscle tone. I kept holding

off potty training because I thought he was not ready

with all his developmental issues. He was in the

special ed program at our town and they did not push

it or help much with suggestions. So I finally

started freaking out because he was going to be going

into Kindergarden in the fall and he was 5.4 years

old. I hired an ABA consultant (even though my son is

not Autistic) as they are behavior consultants and I

thought it might be a behavioral issue to since that

is all he knew.

Anyways, I took the Feb vacation and used that week to

potty train him. We used a few things to help. First

a timer that went off every 10 minutes, which meant it

was time to go potty. We also used his favorite treat

as motivation. We did dry checks in between the 10

minutes and gave him treats everytime he was dry and

praised him greatly. We realized early on we needed to

use a soft potty seat or he would not even sit on the

potty. The other thing that might help is a strip

with the routine of the potty. A picture for each

step, and each time a step is completed the velcro

picture is handed to the therapist. When he had

accidents, we would bring him to the potty and say,

where does pee pee and poppie go, and pointed to

the potty. We also gave him books, and at one point

brought the TV in the bathroom so he could relax while

he tried to void.

Anyways, it took 2 full days, and one day of holding

pee for 7 hours and he peed for the first time. Since

he was a boy, it went all over. But I just clapped

and said good job instead. After that he did very

well with the pee. It took 4 days for his first poop

after that.

It is now 6 months later and while he is in my

presence he never has an accident. But when he is at

school he will not poop and if he has to go has an

accident. I know he knows when he has to go so I am

not sure if it is a issue with strangers taking him or

not wanting to miss out on anything. But we moved

recently and the new school approved an aide for him

since he cannot talk and still has potty issues.

The other thing you need to do is never go back to

diapers once you start. I do use pull ups at night,

but say they are only for night. He almost always

wakes up dry, but I still use them.

One last thing I remembered, during the potty training

week we had him drink tons of liquid, so we could get

him to practice peeing as much as possible.

Hope this helps. It is so hard with a child that

cannot verbalize and has motor planning difficulties.

But I thought my son could never do it and he did.

Good luck

Michele

--- Lou <emkay1012@...> wrote:

> I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who

> has 'severe' verbal apraxia into a *typical*

> preschool program in the morning so that she can

> model her peers. She then will be in a

> self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the

> county.

>

> However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2

> weeks to do it. The 'typical' preschool

> has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed.

> My daughter understands going to the

> potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it.

> She still lags in motor skills/co-ordination, so it

> could be a sequencing issue.

>

> Anyone have any potty-training problems with their

> apraxic child? Any tips or suggestions??

>

> Thanks,

> Lou

>

__________________________________________________

August 18, 2006

I have some older kids that went through daycare. When they were that age, the

classes would have a bathroom routine. They would time the kids and have set

bathroom times. Can your daughter handle the bathroom on her own? They may not

be willing to help her but if she knows what to do but just needs reminders when

to go and not what to do in there, they should be able to help with that.

I also have a 2 year old (apraxic), that we are still working on this potty

issue. She is signed up for a little 2 yr old preschool class and they say we

don't need to worry about the pottying just yet.

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " Lou " <emkay1012@...>

I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who has 'severe' verbal apraxia

into a *typical*

preschool program in the morning so that she can model her peers. She then will

be in a

self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the county.

However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2 weeks to do it. The 'typical'

preschool

has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed. My daughter understands

going to the

potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it. She still lags in motor

skills/co-ordination, so it

could be a sequencing issue.

Anyone have any potty-training problems with their apraxic child? Any tips or

suggestions??

Thanks,

Lou

August 18, 2006

Hi

my when my son (not apraxic) was 3 and entering private preschool he was

still not potty trained and I talked to the director she said that he could

wear pull-up but they could not change him if he pooped they are not

licensed to do that with all the laws but I was " on call " so that they

would call me to come in and change him. My mother-in-law was a preschool

teacher before and told me that they CAN NOT refuse a child that is not

trained because it falls under the category of a disability. but they can

refuse to change them. I live in Massachusetts and don't know where you live

but i hope this helps.

Jean

[ ] Potty Training and Verbal Apraxia

>I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who has 'severe' verbal

>apraxia into a *typical*

> preschool program in the morning so that she can model her peers. She

> then will be in a

> self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the county.

>

> However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2 weeks to do it. The

> 'typical' preschool

> has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed. My daughter

> understands going to the

> potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it. She still lags in motor

> skills/co-ordination, so it

> could be a sequencing issue.

>

> Anyone have any potty-training problems with their apraxic child? Any

> tips or suggestions??

>

> Thanks,

> Lou

>

August 18, 2006

-

Hi Lou,

My son was only potty trained at 5.5 years old. If your

child has an ea during class that would be part of their job to

ensure that she is changed if need be.

had a resource teacher in nursery school that took care

of that. They too said that children had to be potty trained, but

since he had already been in the early intervention and received the

resource teacher he was allowed in.

When the time came for kindergarten, the topic of potty training

came up in our transition meeting and while they weren't thrilled

about it there wasn't much they could do about it either.

It seems a shame to put pressure on a child needlessly to potty

train. I tried every trick in the book with but the

truth is that when he was ready to do it he did.

Alot of kids with apraxia are late in training. I guess their bodies

are too busy dealing with the apraxia.

hope this helps

Sandy

-- In , " Lou " <emkay1012@...>

wrote:

>

> I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who has 'severe'

verbal apraxia into a *typical*

> preschool program in the morning so that she can model her peers.

She then will be in a

> self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the county.

>

> However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2 weeks to do

it. The 'typical' preschool

> has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed. My daughter

understands going to the

> potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it. She still lags

in motor skills/co-ordination, so it

> could be a sequencing issue.

>

> Anyone have any potty-training problems with their apraxic child?

Any tips or suggestions??

>

> Thanks,

> Lou

>

August 18, 2006

I have had the hardest time potty training my dd she is 3 1/2 and I have had no

luck. She also falls under the " severe " Apraxia. My dd is in special ed

preschool so they do change her. They also try at bathroom breaks to put her on

the potty. I would talk to the preschool program and see if you both can come up

with some type of a solution.

Lou <emkay1012@...> wrote:

I was able to register my 4 year old daughter who has 'severe' verbal apraxia

into a *typical*

preschool program in the morning so that she can model her peers. She then will

be in a

self-contained preK class in the afternoon with the county.

However, she is not potty-trained and I have 3-1/2 weeks to do it. The 'typical'

preschool

has already warned me that pull ups are not allowed. My daughter understands

going to the

potty but I don't think she is able to 'hold' it. She still lags in motor

skills/co-ordination, so it

could be a sequencing issue.

Anyone have any potty-training problems with their apraxic child? Any tips or

suggestions??

Thanks,

Lou

August 18, 2006