Potty Party, Gathering Supplies (Part 1)

Gathering supplies and getting the house ready for our potty party has been fun. I took Tommy to buy new underwear and a potty seat last week. He did really good, we went to two stores to get underwear, and then, we went to target to get the potty seat. We usually get the shopping carts at target, but now that Tommy is more comfortable to go shopping, I want to face out the shopping carts. So we walked in to Target, he immediately stopped and looked at the shopping carts. I thought: "it's not going to work." But I told him that we would walk instead, it would be quick. So he complied! What a relief! When we found the potty seat that I wanted, Tommy helped by carrying the potty seat to the cashier. I am working on him by part of our shopping experience, so he also have to carry the shopping bags. 

Gathering "Potty Party" supplies at a local Target Store
Mom could capture the moment in video!

Potty Training Set-up

Cleaning supplies

I fixed under the bathroom sink like my cleaning warehouse. 

Extra paper towels, extra disinfectant cleaning wipes, 

extra underwear, extra shirts and extra wipes.

Where Potty Party takes place

We spent 3 days in the bathroom.

What I liked about the intensive program

is that reduces the area for accidents.

Most accidents were 6 ft away from the bathroom.

Activity Basket

I keep this basket in the bathroom for Tommy's entertainment

 while we wait to say hello to pee or poo! It has music toys, 

the potty time songs lyrics, Spanish books, etc.

Progress chart

At school they mention a progress chart, so I have this

one from the pass. I noticed that Tommy likes every time that

 I mark that he has done good. So  I am getting a new progress chart.

Vocabulary

The Potty Time with Rachel Coleman has helped a lot

in creating the foundation for the potty training vocabulary.

List of words: wet, dry, potty, timer, yucky, toilet, bathroom,

wash, wipe, faucet, soap, towel or paper towel,

underpants or underwear, poo-poo, pee-pee, pause,

reward, medal, sticker.

I use the phrase recommended by Mrs. Ashley Hickey,

who is a potty training specialist:  

"Wet pants are yucky. Let's change into dry underpants."

Looking for books about potty training to read to Tommy, I noticed all books are for toddlers. None of the books that I found where for an older child who has passed the age appropriate for potty training due to medical issues. The toddler books where not that interesting for Tommy, so I realized that the illustrations are not enticing him because he cannot relate with the younger characters. There are not many books with illustrations of kids that look older than toddlers and using the actual toilet. I kept searaching and I was able to find two books that really cut his attention because the main characters are boys and look older than a toddler, the stories have some sense of humor. He loves "Bloop, bloop goes the poop."

Getting all the information and supplies to potty train a child with special needs is not easy. It can be overwhelming. There are so many methods and ways to potty train a child, but every child is different. There is not guidance of potty training a child with special needs with challenges who has also passed the age appropriate for potty training and struggles to communicate due to his coexisting conditions. Searching for simple and short potty training method is how I found Ashley Hickey, who specializes in training children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and has had potty trained hundreds of children of all abilities, including: Down syndrome, visual impairments, Apraxia, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Prader-Willi Syndrome, among others. I believe that her intensive potty training method works for Tommy. I already contacted her, so we can have a consultation to effectively potty training my precious boy.