Potty training with a late talker

[HeatherS83]

Can anyone give me some tips on how to potty train my son? He's a late talker, so most words come out as muffled sounds, so I can't always understand what he says (Have a SLT referral, but could be a while). He's 2yr9, and is beginning to show signs of being ready, and we've had a few successes just putting him on the loo. I'm just not sure if I start training whether he'll be able to tell me he needs to go. I've managed to teach him a few signs from Makaton (like Mr Tumble), just started this week. But these are mainly related to food items, so easy to (bribe/)teach him to do. Also, I'm not convinced by the Makaton signs for wee/poo, as I'm not sure I'd be happy signing them in public!

You can use your own signs for wee & poo - just make up something simple, unless you are wanting to avoid getting mixed up in case you need signing for other purposes. Would he/you understand other noises, eg "sssss" for pee (as in piss) & a sort of grunting noise for poo, or a simple sound like "caca"? These are often used as cue sounds for ECing for pre-verbal babies.

My DS talked late - I had no trouble potty training him at 2.7. My DD is a very early talker and we are having terrible trouble with potty training! I thought that because she had loads of language that it would be a piece of cake to train her - and I also thought that because my DS had very little language, he wouldn't understand. But he did understand - in a more physical sense. In 3 weeks, it was done with him. With DD, we have had 8 months of strife and are no closer to being trained!!

Thanks for those tips. I've been trying the "sssss" sound (as has 13mth old DD!), but no effect. Have just had someone else suggest using the sign for 'T' (as in toilet). Thanks for your encouragement that it is possible to do.

ds2 is a late talker too... but he understands perfectly well... we did toilet training about 2 months ago at 2.6 and it was fine, he just did a lot of clutching and pointing until we got the gist!

Well, I've started. I'm trying to use the signs, but generally, just like LadySanders, he's just clutching and making complaining noises, giving me time to get him on the loo fast. Seems to be going well, so thanks for all your tips.