toilet training - some advice please

[hazeyjane]

Ds is 5, he has a genetic condition. He has low muscle tone. His understanding is pretty good, although he has very limited verbal communication and relies on signing and an AAC talker. He loves routine, structure and can be incredibly defiant, he has some sensory issues (for example, bathing him is like dunking him in acid)

He is under a continence nurse, who says she thinks he lacks the sensation to know whether he is going to the toilet, partly due to low tone and partly due to years of constipation - we have had to do a few 'clearouts' with movicol (12 sachets a day). He pretty much always has some poo in his nappy.

We have sat him on the potty chair and toilet a few times, and occasionally, by chance, he has done a wee, but never a poo. He is more reluctant to sit on it now, and just has no interest.

School have accepted that he has a medical reason for his incontinence, they are a resource base for complex needs in a ms primary, so are fully equipped for nappy changes, but happy to go along with any sort of toileting we want to introduce.

Dh feels we should be trying to potty train him in the way we did with our dds

My question is, should I be doing what I did with my dds - ie a nappy free, bring on the accidents week, with lots of encouragement and rewards with a spanking new pack of Spiderman pants at the end (he would still need pads in these, as I think the constant poo will still be an issue)....

....or should we continue as we are??

[Piratejones]

Try it, but don't expect it to be the way to potty train him.
Leaving his nappy off for a while will help you find out a few thing so you can plan what to do next. The first is if he can hold his pee at all, The second is if he can hold but needs timed visits to the toilet because he can't judge his bladder, the third is how bad his fecal leaking is.

[Piratejones]

Find those out and you'll know the best way to continue.