I need help! My daughter has Down syndrome and is 6 years old. Cognitively she is fairly high functioning, and she understands what we are saying. Our main goal these days is to get her potty trained. After 6+ years of diapers/Pull-ups, I'M DONE!!! She understands going pee-pee in the potty and does so whenever we take her. She gets it! However, she doesn't seem to have any control over WHEN she goes pee-pee. She doesn't seem to understand the concept of "holding it". I think the only reason we've been at all successful is just plain luck with the timing of the potty trips.
We've tried everything people have suggested… "big girl panties" under Pull-ups ; ‘big girl panties" with no Pull-up so she can feel uncomfortable when she pees; taking her to the bathroom every 30-45 minutes; incentives like stickers when she pee-pees in the potty; HUGE celebrations when she stays dry and when she pee-pees in the potty…. This morning, we've been taking her to the potty every 15 minutes because every 30-45 was too much time. Since 6:45am, she has been dry and then peed in the potty about 4 times (yea!), the rest of the time, she hasn't made it 15 minutes and it's not even noon yet. It's so frustrating!!!! She'll pee, and then less than 10 minutes later, she's peed in her pants and doesn't seem to care/notice. I've bought over 60 pairs of underwear for home, school and daycare and am doing laundry constantly!!!!
HELP! I'm trying so hard not to get upset with her. I truly don't think she understands about "holding it". I just don't know what to do. I don't want her to get to the point that she hates going potty because we're taking her so often…. Any suggestions?????
i would suggest maybe trying to explain how to hold it? you said that is very high functioning. i would tell her that she cant pee in her big girl undies and when she feels the pee she needs to squeeze so the pee cant come out and then have them come out on the potty. i know it sounds silly to have to explain, but it really might help! keep doing what your doing. spend a week going every 15 minutes, then push it to 20 and then to 30, then 45, so on and so forth. hope this helps!
Does she recieve OT services? Have they been of any help?
The other thing I can suggest is something called a Wet Stop alarm. It attaches to the underwear and makes a beeping sound when the child starts to wet her pants. Some kids I've worked with over the years have needed a clue other than the wet pants that they are starting to pee and the alarm stops them until you can get them to the potty.
I would talk to your doctor and make sure to rule out a yeast or bladder infection. They can go undected and that is a sign when you are going often. Wish I could help and had the answers. Good luck.
Dear Enid-- My name is Jenny and I am with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Resource Center, at the Institute for Human Development-UMKC. Here at the Resource Center, we have packets of information, free of charge about different developmental disabilities and topics that relate to developmental disabilities, including one on Toilet Training and Children with Developmental Disabilities. If you are interested in receiving this packet, please call me at 800-444-0821 or 816-235-1763. You can also send an e-mail request for the packet to [email protected] or go to our website, www.moddrc.org and enter the request by following the provided directions. I hope this information is helpful! Sincerely, Jenny Hatfield-Callen, Information and Resource Specialist, MODDRC, IHD-UCEDD, UMKC