Several methods of behavioral therapy may be useful for toilet training children with autism and mental retardation.
This article talked about nine different applied behavior analysis (ABA) methods for toilet training. The most common method was called graduated guidance. This method uses prompts to teach each step of behaviors needed to go to the bathroom independently. Prompts include word and hand gestures. Reward for successes and taking away rewards for mistakes may be a helpful system for toilet training. Other methods include setting schedules for sitting on the toilet, following the child's own personal schedule for when they usually need to go, and giving plenty of liquids so they need to go often. Another approach is to ask the person to make up for mistakes when they happen, like cleaning up accidents. Also, showing children videos about the process of going to the bathroom can help them understand what it is they will be doing.
Twitter
Facebook
By Email
RSS Feed
Please comment on this autism topic.
Travelling with Special Needs Children
Dec 10, 2008 by AnonymousTEN TIPS TO EASE HOLIDAY TRAVELS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN:
Pediatric Therapist Aviva Weiss Tells How to Prepare for Good Times Together
Philadelphia, PA, December 8, 2008 - The chaos of packing, airport crowds and security, lengthy car rides and yes, even overexposure to family and friends is enough to erode any holiday traveler's festive spirit. Add traveling with children into the equation, especially when special needs are involved, and some parents might wish they could just stay home. But a few preparations, says Fun and Function LLC founder Aviva Weiss, can go a long way toward ensuring a good time for everyone.
Traveling disrupts routines and familiarity with the surrounding environment and can be difficult for children with special needs notes Weiss, a certified pediatric occupational therapist. A mother of four, including a daughter with sensory processing disorder, she says parents of special needs children can pave the way toward less stressful trips by observing these ten guidelines:
1. Prepare the child in advance as much as possible. Practice for the trip for a period leading up to the actual travels. Talk about the upcoming experience to help your child overcome anxiety. Act out or role play anticipated events in advance, from taking off shoes for airport security to applauding after a toast.
2. Redirect anxious energy into constructive activity. To take the edge off the potential anxiety of seeing many less familiar faces all at once, make the event a fun and educational by creating a special activity. Create a small photo album featuring people who will be at the event, and help your child play "Family Bingo," checking off each person he or she greets or sees across the room. Or, create a pictogram of your itinerary or agenda and help your child follow along.
3. Encourage creative expression. For those able to write or draw, a pocket journal or sketchbook for illustrating what they're experiencing can provide another useful outlet. Children who are more observers than participants may appreciate assignments such as taking pictures with a digital camera.
4. Don't expect perfection. Whenever you travel with children, it's best to "expect the unexpected," or at least leave room for something to pop up to divert you from your agenda.
5. Secure an extra set of hands. Try traveling with a friend, family member or caregiver to help keep things in order when you're on the move, provide manpower for carrying belongings and an extra set of eyes, and even make bathroom breaks with multiple children an easier task.
6. Manage expectations for you and your hosts. A pending visit from a special needs child may produce stress for the host as well as the child and the parent. Prepare everyone by communicating your child's needs in advance and asking for some general ground rules for inside the home, as a gesture toward making the visit as pleasant and peaceful as possible.
7. Bring along some "friends." Pack a bag of objects that are fun and familiar. Sensory gadgets/fidgets, noise reduction headphones, weighted vests, or favorite belongings from home will help filter out outside stimuli and provide a comforting connection to "home."
8. Minimize changes to eating habits. Try to keep your child's diet consistent to prevent constipation, indigestion, allergic reactions or other adverse developments. Feed your child something satisfying to comfort them before a long trip, and take along favorite utensils as a connection to more familiar situations. Don't expect your child to sit for an entire meal. Rather, prepare a spot where he or she can rest, play or calm down while the meal continues.
9. RX for safer travels. Ready a medicine kit with prescriptions, medical information and OTC products to confront fevers, allergies, cuts and other issues that may surface when you travel out of your home.
10. Preserve the moment but reserve time for breaks. The ingredients of posing for pictures - people huddled close together, bright flashes, noise and the need to stay still - can lead to overstimulation. Don't oblige your child to participate in all the photos, and be sure to take breaks in between.
"Traveling with a special needs child - or any child, for that matter - needn't be a stressful event," Weiss says. "In fact, it can be a great experience, offering lessons and fond memories for all. The keys are to prepare everyone in advance, include a few fun and familiar items and activities, and above all remember that it takes time and patience to learn how to manage change."
About Aviva Weiss and Fun and Function LLC
Aviva Weiss is founder of Fun and Function LLC, a Merion Station, Pa.-based provider of engaging, durable and functional play and therapy products at affordable prices, including an exclusive line of scooters and portable writing kits. A mother of a child with sensory processing disorder, she is also a certified pediatric occupational therapist with expertise in creating inclusive environments where all children can thrive together, and is currently working with developmental pediatrician Dr. Wendy Ross to guide children's museums toward improving experiences for children with special needs and their families. She previously worked at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher's Hospital, and earned her B.S. in Psychology from Touro College and her Masters in Occupational Therapy from The Richard Stockton College, graduating summa cum laude from both programs.
Weiss launched Fun and Function in 2005 when she first identified her daughter's challenges and was frustrated by the lack of kid-friendly styling and high prices of existing special-needs products. She began designing products that elicit the potential of all children, help them feel good and achieve their best. Today, the company offers hundreds of innovative products marked by affordability and durability, scoring points with parents, pediatric therapists and educators. For more information or a free catalog, visit www.funandfunction.com or call 1-800-231-6329.
Beating against the door
Apr 5, 2007 by AnonymousThomas had a pretty good week at school; no “difficult” days; one “good” and three “okays.” He has tomorrow and Monday off for Easter, so another mini-break is headed this way. Jonathan is thinking he may have to work on Saturday, so Easter Sunday may be the only time we have together as a family.
Ugh. I’m off tonight. The words aren’t flowing as naturally as they usually do. Thomas did well at school, but he had a hard time at home. Not so much the screaming, but he had a lot of crying meltdowns that were largely unexplainable. For some reason, he has a really hard time with Hayley drawing on the Magna-Doodle. Hayley asks me to draw a picture that she then likes to color in. Thomas cannot stand this and I don’t know why. He tries to take the toy away from Hayley, who then screeches, and before I know it, the two of them are in a vicious game of tug-of-war and the Magna-Doodle and I are in the middle. Thomas also really hates this doll Hayley has. He doesn’t want the doll until I try to pick it up and put it away, and he usually tries to take it from Hayley when she’s got it. He’s just been getting really upset about things that probably are a big deal to him, but I can’t understand why they’re bothering him. I’m just not getting what’s going on in his head and it troubles me.
I’m feeling a little bit like Thomas is still slipping away. Further than he’s been before, I mean. It’s hard to explain. Basically, either Thomas is getting worse, or I’m just noticing all of his autistic behaviors more than ever. The speech is a big thing. He talks all the time, but how much of it is actually communicative? Very little, the more I listen and try to draw him out. I’m sure it’s very difficult for parents of non-verbal autistic children to not be able to get a word out of their child for many years and sometimes ever, but Thomas doesn’t seem like he’s much better. I probably sound crazy to people who have autistic kids who don’t talk; if Thomas didn’t talk I’m sure I’d give anything to hear his little voice, even if he only repeated verbatim what I said. (I’m sure I sound really insensitive to those parents out there because I know how insensitive other people sound when trying to tell me how Thomas “seems just fine” and how he “must be really high-functioning” and how “lucky we are that he’s not really severe.”) I can talk to him and he responds, but it makes no sense much of the time. I try to imagine him being seven or ten and still talking like he does now. That breaks my heart.
My husband sometimes says that he doesn’t know Thomas. That he’s locked inside his head and we can’t get through the fog and confusion of autism to see Thomas and know him. I can’t decide if that’s right, or if Thomas is what he is; the Thomas we see and interact with every day is the real Thomas and there’s nothing locked away that we can’t know or get in touch with. I just don’t know. I want to believe that there’s another Thomas. But then again, I don’t. The thought of the real Thomas locked away in his head hurts so much. He’s in there and he can’t get out? Like being in jail…like being locked in his room and beating against the door, trying to get out, trying to call to us and we don’t know how to unlock the door. All we can do is try to talk to him through the door; try to teach him and help him through this impenetrable wall that blocks out our words and gestures, our mannerisms and even our affection. The door won’t let us hold him, the door is in the way of us touching him and having meaningful exchanges with him. All we can do is try to raise our son through this barrier. Is he in there? Is someone else really in there? A boy who likes cars but also likes reading books? A boy who can tell me how his day at school was? A boy who can tell me things and I can give a response that he will understand?
Or is this the Thomas he is; the Thomas who needs to roll around on an exercise ball to help him organize his brain? Thomas who needs to swing on a swing, wear a weighted vest at school so he can sit in a chair for five minutes during circle-time, and knows what he had for a snack at school but can’t tell me for some reason?
I still haven’t decided. I know which choice hurts more: Thomas locked in his brain. That means Thomas could live his whole life and we could live our whole lives and never know him.
I just don’t know. This is really hard, that’s what I do know.