What Do You Say to Kids Who Don’t Know They Need to “Go”? Tell Them to Stand Up

photo-1453342664588-b702c83fc822For children with either low muscle tone or spasticity, toilet training can be a real challenge.  If it isn’t clothing management or making it to the potty on time, they can have a hard time perceiving that NOW is the time to start heading to the toilet.

Why?  Often, their interoception isn’t terrific.  What is interoception?  Think of it like proprioception, but internal.  It’s the ability to identify and interpret sensory information coming from organs and internal tissues.  Among them, the pressure of a full bladder or a full colon.  If you can’t feel and interpret sensation correctly, your only clue that you need the potty is when your pants are soiled.  Uh-oh.  A child with muscle tone issues is almost certainly going to have sensory issues.  Tone will affect the amount and quality of sensory feedback from their body.  When a child is sitting, interoceptive signaling from abdominal wall and bladder wall mechanoreceptors is diminished.  This means that a child has to have more awareness and more active attention to feel elimination urgency.  The truth?  They would rather keep playing Roblox.

It’s a nerve thing.  Sitting on the pudendal nerve in their pelvis will attenuate (diminish) signals from the bladder that it is full and they need to pee.  Standing up takes the pressure off that nerve and heightens awareness.  OOPS!

What can you do to help kids?  The simplest, and the fastest solution I have found, is to tell them to stand up and see if they have changed their mind.  Why?  Because in a sitting position, the force of a full bladder or colon on the abdominal wall and the pelvic floor isn’t as intense.  Gravity and intra-abdominal pressure increase those sensations in standing.  More sensation can lead to more awareness.

So the next time your child tells you they don’t have to “go”, ask them to stand up and reconsider their opinion.  Now, if they are trying to watch a show or play a game, you aren’t going to get very far.  So make sure that they don’t have any competition for their attention!

Looking for more information on toilet training?  

Well, I wrote a book for you!

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The Practical Guide To Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone gives you readiness checklists and ways to make readiness actually happen.  It has strategies you can use today to start making progress, regardless of your child’s level of communication and mobility.  Learn what occupational therapists know about how to teach this essential skill!  It is available on my website tranquil babies, on Amazon and on a terrific site for therapists and parents Your Therapy Source.  Read more about my unique book:The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone: Potty Training Help Has Arrived!

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By Cathy Collyer

I am a licensed occupational therapist, licensed massage therapist, and certified CBT-i sleep coach in private practice in the NYC area. I have over 25 years of professional experience in adult and pediatric treatment. It has been a joy to help people of all ages improve their ability to grow and thrive! Occupational therapists are focused on enhancing a client's functioning in everyday life. We are practical healthcare providers, interested in teaching, adapting actions and environments, and building a client's useful skills for living their best life, regardless of their challenges. I am the author of five books, including "Staying In The Room: Managing Medical And Dental Care When You Have DID" and "The Practical Guide To Toilet Training the Autistic Child". I lecture on many subjects, including sleep, trauma, and development. Contact me to learn more about how I can help you achieve YOUR goals!

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