I have received a few questions on this subject since publishing my e-book, The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone. Parents are wondering how to expand daytime success through the night. Here is what I know about getting through the night high and dry: it is as much a physical…… Continue reading Why is Staying Dry at Night So Challenging For Some Children?
Category: self-care skills
Toilet Training Older Kids: Equipment Matters as Much as Approach
Is potty training after the toddler years different? Yes, and no. Here is what you need to consider when you are looking at the equipment for an older child that is still in a diaper or a pull-up. Whether they have language or not, whether they have rigid or stereotyped behaviors or not, your set-up…… Continue reading Toilet Training Older Kids: Equipment Matters as Much as Approach
Piddlers Make Potty Training Fun!
I laughed out loud the first time I saw a toddler pee onto one of these circles. Then he asked for more juice so that he could come back later and try again! Piddlers aren’t a new concept. Parents have been tossing cereal circles into a potty for “aiming practice” for a long time. These…… Continue reading Piddlers Make Potty Training Fun!
Is My Child Right or Left-Handed? How Handedness Emerges, And How You Can Influence Development
Parents can get worried about a lot of things, and slow development of a dominant hand is one of them. Therapists get worried about things too, but the development of dominance is usually not one of them. Except in one situation. And parents can make a bigger impact than they think. It is generally…… Continue reading Is My Child Right or Left-Handed? How Handedness Emerges, And How You Can Influence Development
The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone: Potty Training Help Has Arrived!
My most popular post, Why Low Muscle Tone Creates More Toilet Training Struggles for Toddlers (and Parents!) inspired me to write a manual to help parents with potty training. There was nothing in books or online that really helped families, just a few lines about being patient and…… Continue reading The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone: Potty Training Help Has Arrived!
Dressing Without Tears: Sensory-Sensitive Strategies That Work
If your child has tactile (touch) sensitivity, getting them dressed can mean more than a chore. It can mean tears. Tags in shirts, “scratchy” jeans, and all that pulling of clothing over their face! I know families that scheme for months to find clothes that their child will wear to a wedding or buy clothes…… Continue reading Dressing Without Tears: Sensory-Sensitive Strategies That Work
When Can You Start Toilet Training?
Just like walking, children cannot be toilet trained before they are physically ready. That usually happens around 18 months. But like walking, some children are physically ready a bit earlier. WAIT! Using the toilet by yourself is so much more than physical readiness. Potty training is a complex skill, with cognitive, sensory, motor and behavioral…… Continue reading When Can You Start Toilet Training?
The Ten Most Common Mistakes Parents Make During Toilet Training
Since writing The Practical Guide To Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone, I have been asked for a list of missteps that happen on the way to success. Here they are: Ignoring their own readiness issues. Parents who are unaware of their own lack of readiness will not be able to be the…… Continue reading The Ten Most Common Mistakes Parents Make During Toilet Training
Waiting for Toilet Training Readiness? Create It Instead!
I just watched a therapist on YouTube tell parents how to look for toilet training readiness signs. From her limited description, you would have a better chance of finding truffles in France! The signs of readiness in special needs children can be subtle, so do not ignore moves such as going behind the…… Continue reading Waiting for Toilet Training Readiness? Create It Instead!
Can You Toilet Train a Non-Verbal Child?
Parents of non-verbal children often delay toilet training, assuming that these kids need more communication skills to be successful. I disagree. I think children and their parents need other skills more. Here are my thoughts about what really matters for these kids: Their parents need excellent observation skills. A child that cannot easily communicate their…… Continue reading Can You Toilet Train a Non-Verbal Child?
Want Pincer Grasp Before Her First Birthday? Bet You’ll Be Surprised At What Moves (Hint) Build Hand Control!
The image of a baby popping cereal into her mouth and grinning is commercial genius. But what if your child is still raking them with a fist at 8 months? Is that late or just right? Is there a way to promote early grasp without offering a baby something tiny that she can choke on?…… Continue reading Want Pincer Grasp Before Her First Birthday? Bet You’ll Be Surprised At What Moves (Hint) Build Hand Control!
Teaching Children To Use Utensils to Eat: Use Good Tools, Good Food, and Good Timing
I gave a crash course in utensil instruction to an interested dad recently. Speaking with him, answering his questions, made me realize that I had spent years refining my approach to teaching young children how to use spoons and forks. I had never written it all down. Select your tools carefully. Many parents and…… Continue reading Teaching Children To Use Utensils to Eat: Use Good Tools, Good Food, and Good Timing
Toilet Training Has It’s Costs: Don’t Be Shocked
In speaking with families about their worries in anticipation of toilet training, one of the issues that rarely comes up are it’s costs. Sure, everyone laughs about the vacation they will take when they no longer buy diapers or pull-ups. Those huge boxes from Costco don’t come cheap. But there are costs during the…… Continue reading Toilet Training Has It’s Costs: Don’t Be Shocked
Is Slow Progress In Toilet Training A Failure?
Children that are slow to learn independent toileting come in many flavors. There are the children who resist training; they just don’t want to sit on the potty and rewards haven’t made them excited to train. Then there are the kids who develop fear of painful bowel movements. And also the children with language and/or…… Continue reading Is Slow Progress In Toilet Training A Failure?
Why Do Some Kids With ASD and SPD Refuse Toilet Training?
Toilet training is one of the few self-care skills that fall primarily on special needs parents. Speech therapists, feeding therapists, occupational therapists and ABA instructors all do assessments and create plans. Hints on toilet training from your therapy team are often very helpful, but “the boots on the ground” are yours as a parent. You…… Continue reading Why Do Some Kids With ASD and SPD Refuse Toilet Training?
Low Tone and Constipation: Why This Issue Delays Toilet Training Progress
Kids with low tone and sensory processing disorders are not the only children who struggle with constipation, but it is more common for them. The reasons are many: low abdominal and oral tone, less use of available musculature because they use compensatory sitting and standing (the schlump, the lean, the swayback) patterns, and even food…… Continue reading Low Tone and Constipation: Why This Issue Delays Toilet Training Progress
Low Tone and Toilet Training: How Your Child’s Therapists Can Help You
Over the years as an occupational therapist, I have been giving parents hints here and there. Writing my e-book this fall, and preparing an e-course (coming soon) to support families makes me realize that some clients did not ask me very many questions while they were toilet training their child. So….Are there aspects of therapy…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: How Your Child’s Therapists Can Help You
Low Tone and Toilet Training: What You Can Learn From Elimination Communication Theory
Yes, those folks who hold a 6 month-old over the toilet and let her defecate directly into the potty, not into a Pamper. Elimination Communication (EC) has committed fans, as well as people who think it is both useless and even punishing to kids. I am not taking sides here, but there is one thing…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: What You Can Learn From Elimination Communication Theory
Low Tone and Toilet Training: Parents And Children Need To Work Together
This one is simple to explain, but not so easy to achieve with some kids. Children whose interactional pattern is defiance or whining are going to be much harder to train, regardless of whether or not they have significant issues with low muscle tone. In fact, I would rather coach a very physically unstable but…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: Parents And Children Need To Work Together
Low Tone and Toilet Training: Kids Need To See How It’s Done
Low muscle tone creates more challenges for toilet training, but that means parents need to focus on getting all the parts of teaching and practicing down right. If your child is unfocused or inattentive when you speak about potty training, you can try books and videos. Sometimes the use of media will spark interest and…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: Kids Need To See How It’s Done