Toileting Issues With Autism

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. David Hill and today we're going to be talking about toileting issues with autism. A child with autism spectrum disorder is going to have difficulty with many aspects of life, primarily because understanding communication of others and communicating with others is going to be quite difficult. Compounding that can be sensory issues that children with autism have. Sensations that are not normally disturbing for people are disturbing to children with autism. They may also be afraid of certain environments that other children may not be afraid of. All this can cause a real problem when it comes to potty training or learning to toilet. We know that constipation and other issues in the GI tract are especially common in children who have autism and it may take some really careful work with your child's therapist and physician to avoid these problems. One simple thing is to notice how your child's bowel habits are going. Does he seem to be having infrequent stools, less than once a day? Are the stools unusually hard or difficult to pass? Does he bleed? If this is the case, you want to get your child started on a stool softener early, because as constipation gets worse, it gets harder to treat and it tends to make itself worse in a sort of self reinforcing cycle. The stool gets harder to pass, it hurts more and so the child wants to stool even less. You may need to work on various aspects of the bathroom environment, sounds, textures, lighting, things that you know seem to upset your child, and remove those from the environment. You may try and make the environment more comfortable by bringing a favorite toy or something you know your child likes to play with. Most importantly, just be attuned to what your child particular strengths and weaknesses are. Know that if your autistic child is having a sudden deterioration in behavior, always think about constipation and other bowel problems because often that's the only way that we know this child is in pain, is that behavior gets worse. They may not tell us. So, remember if your child has autism, toilet training is going to be difficult. There are some things you may do to make it better. Be alert to signs of constipation and treat it early. And be aware that a sudden change in behavior in an autistic child often suggest a problem with the GI tract and should be evaluated by a physician. Talking about toileting issues with children with autism spectrum disorders, I'm Dr. David Hill."