Community Meetings

About Town
May 7, 2003: Carol Kranowitz presents two programs, The Out-of-Sync Child and The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun. For more information contact www.sensoryresources.com.

Ongoing support group (monthly): F.A.C.T. (Families with Autistic Children Together): Providing information and an opportunity for families to network with each other. Child care available. Call Hopkins Community Education for more information, (952) 988-4073

Everyday Living
In this section, The Therapy Place provides ideas and insights that can help parents and caregivers manage everyday life with a special needs child. Visit us regularly to see new topics. Please email us with ideas or topics you would like us to cover in future editions.

Toilet Training Autistic Children
Toilet training a child with autism is often very challenging. Not all children respond to the same teaching approaches. We offer several ideas that may help, based on various readings and our own staff experiences.

Consider the Child's Perspective
Certain characteristics of autism might contribute to a child's difficulty in learning to use the toilet.
1. Children with autism often have trouble with reciprocal social relationships. While other two- or three-year-olds might be proud of wearing "big boy or big girl pants" and be happy to please their parents, this type of motivation is not common in the child with autism.

2. A child with autism may not understand what is being expected of him or her when asked to use the toilet, due to difficulties in understanding language or imitating others.

3. A child with autism has trouble paying attention (called "attending") to important information consistently. Following all the steps of toilet use and staying focused on them are big challenges.

4. It is very hard for the child with autism to stop and change routines. Children on the autism spectrum have difficulty understanding why they need to change a routine they have had for several years (going in their diaper vs. going in the toilet).

5. The child with autism often has sensory challenges. The connection between body sensations and everyday activities can be hard for the child to understand. Heightened sensory awareness can lead to difficult behaviors, such as smearing feces. The child may have overwhelming fears regarding the bathroom environment, the toilet, or the noise. Preliminary steps, such as removing clothing, can bring on awareness of temperature changes and cause breakdowns.