potty training a non verbal child

my son is 8 he is non verbal,and is not potty trained.i need help on potty training dont know where to start.he was dx mild autism with devopmental delay,please help if you can,jebs mom

Hi jebs mom, and welcome to IAN.

Toileting is a huge issue for all parents, but successfully teaching a child with ASD toileting skills is often even more of a challenge than usual, especially if the child has intellectual disability, sensory issues, gastrointestinal issues, behavioral "stuckness" (as in they get rigid about routines and resist change), or other problems that complicate matters.

Generally, because both physical and psychological readiness must be in place to train, it is a good idea to consult with your treatment team about toileting and physical, developmental, sensory, and behavioral issues. For example, the pediatrician could be consulted to make sure there is no physical issue (such as GI issues) interfering, and to provide general guidance about readiness.

So...one question usually is: is there anything physical going on? Is there some physicial discomfort or issue which is the cause of some of the behavior, or possibly the effect of the behavior? (This can be a "chicken and egg" question: are they determined not to poop, so get constipated, or are they constipated and it hurts to poop, so they don't want to?)

If you have an OT, they are generally knowledgeable about sensory issues, and may have some helpful input regarding that area.

More than anything, you may need help from someone knowledgeable about behavioral interventions and individuals with ASD. Experts in behavior can help eliminate negative behaviors while encouraging positive ones, and usually have some good ideas about how to make some positive steps forward towards the behavior you want to see more of.

The Autism Treatment Network (ATN) is helping research and test toileting methods, and Autism Speaks plans to release a family Toileting Toolkit based on their findings, but I do not believe that is available yet. Still...it should be coming. You might want to write the Autism Speaks' Autism Response Team at familyservices@autismspeaks.org and ask if they know when the toolkit will be ready.

There is advice available from various advocacy and parent groups if you google "autism" and "toileting," but there is not a lot of solid research available at this point. So many parents have asked for help with this issue, I hope to include an article on what we do know so far on IAN Community soon.