eSpecially Ben

At the time that I write this, Ben is in his 6th day in underwear. If you have followed us from the beginning, Ben started serious toilet training last August, at the end of camp. He wore a pull-up over underwear. For the entire school year, he has done an incredible job of using the toilet, staying dry and even trying to let us know when he needed the facilities with a Big Mac button, crawling to the bathroom or just yelling his head off. At the start of camp, with the advice of Ben's behavior therapist, Ben went cold turkey wearing just underwear. He is doing a great job. And if nothing else, his little bottom has got to be cooler!

 In September I wrote about our journey to the world of toilet training. At the point of writing the post, we were about 6 days into it. Now we are at the 6 month mark - which is cause for celebration, or at least a reason to buy some new Spidey underwear! Ben is doing fabulous at home and at school with toilet training. He is proud of himself, we are proud of ourselves and we only see progress ahead. That's not to say there are setbacks, which are usually caused by us not being on a consistent schedule with Ben.   Big Mack Button In the last months, we introduced a Big Mack button to try to help Ben communicate his toileting needs to us. Before Ben sits on his potty, he pushes the button and the recording says, "I have to go to the bathroom." Ben's school has been extremely supportive with our efforts to train Ben. At Ben's IEP meeting, the school agreed to use the same button, wording and process each time he used the bathroom. It is working! On a few o...

Toilet Training – just those two words can instill fear into the strongest of people. I embarked on my first experience with my middle son and I waited until he was 3 ½ - he was more than ready. In fact it was so easy, he went right into underwear with no accidents. He was annoyed when I followed him around asking if he needed to go potty. Logan is a typical child. Ben is six years old and the discussion of potty training has been going on for 3 years. He’s had his own potty for at least that long. Something clicked in my head the last weeks of summer and I knew it was time to get serious about toilet training. Here are some of the things I am learning along the way: 1. Are you ready? With a typical child, there is a toilet training method called the “Readiness Model.” This means that the child displays specific signs that mean they are ready to be potty trained, such as being uncomfortable in a dirty diaper, interest in the goings on in the bathroom, physically able to remove clot...