Re: Shane/Puberty

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uses Huggies pull ups. My wife has found them up to 125 lbs. Our boy is about 75 lbs. I forgot to add our "newest trick" the last 2 weeks. Now that he is almost 12, he occasionally wakes up with an erection. Our first duty of the day is to go potty, because he is dry 90% of the time now when he wakes up. We are teaching him to hold his penis down with his hand while he sits on the potty. But sometimes it's more fun to let go and spray the bathroom, or whoever is standing in front of him. I promptly put his hand back on his business and tell him to pee in the potty. But my wife usually screams, which gets roaring laughter from my son. She was all dressed for work the other day, and required a complete

change of clothes while dad had to "go handle your son", who was mischievously giggling about his morning accomplishments. Note to all you ladies out there. Don't reinforce your son's behavior. I don't have autism or down syndrome, and I LOVED to hear my momma scream when I did something that I was not supposed to. It is no different for our developmentally disabled boys. It's just part of being a boy. No different than the laughter that occurs at the supper table, when one of the "men" let loose a fart, and all the girls complain in disgust. Something that is not to be encouraged/modeled/reinforced in our kids. It's hard enough to extinguish it in the developmentally normal boys. Have a great week, you made my day. Shane Avery To: ds-asd@... Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 11:28 AM Subject: RE: Shane/Puberty

Hi Shane,We usually say "King " whenever he voids or poops in the toilet too, lol ! It is amazing the little things that make our day.I was wondering which pull-ups your son uses? is 58 lbs. and is close to bursting out of the largest size of Huggies pull-ups. I was thinking that we would have to transition to the smallest Good Nites size (which he wears at night) when the pull-ups no longer fit for during the day.BTW, loves to flush and slam the lid immediately so that we can't see what he did, all done with a mischievious grin and giggles. What a character!Best,Mom to , 8yrs. old, DS/PDD-NOSNorthern New JerseyTo: dehoff5@...;

From: ds-asd@...Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:24:59 -0800Subject: Re: Puberty

Piping in my 2 cents. Our son turns 12 in 2 weeks. If we take him to bathroom frequently enough he will pee and have a bowel movement. We trained him to urinate about a year ago, and to have BM's about 2 months ago. The only strategy that worked was sitting him on the toilet when we saw him straining in his pull-up. We clapped hands and generally told him he was a king when he pooped. He ate that up. He understands that he needs to wipe, but usually ends up with poop on his hands that he shakes off all over the wall. That is our current project. He can pull down his pants and pullup, put them in the trash/clothes basket. Sit and

void/BM. Then pull the

whole roll of toilet paper if we are not watching and unroll it in the toilet. He then flushes and SLAMS the lid down after we clean him up. We keep a stack of pullups on the back of the toilet and he just learned to take one and open it himself. He pulls them up on his own, about a 1/3 of the time backwards, but the world will not end. We still get messes in the pullups, but its progressing. I saw somewhere else that our kids usually aren't potty trained till about age 14 on average, and some never. Amazing the little things that we get excited about. Toothbrushing? I'd rather not talk about it. We get it done a few nights a week... Shane Averyfather of

To: Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 9:33 AM Subject: Re: Puberty

My son turned 12 in Dec. and is incontinent, too. Still in diapers. Getting better at toilet at school since they take him every hour but that just doesn't work at home. He is not showing any signs of puberty, though; he is only 4 feet tall and 47 pounds, with no growth in genitals or appearance of pubic hair at all. He gets a little combative but not too awful during diaper changes, mostly during teeth brushing. I'd talk to a behavioral psychologist if you can about behavioral strategies. I wish I could advise you more; just commiserating a bit.

Beth

To: dkrumrei ; " " < >Sent: Tue, January 24, 2012 8:23:47 AMSubject: Re: Puberty

Wow, I am so sorry that you are going thru all of this. It probably is puberty, and you may need to

consult a doctor about calming his behavior. It may not get better. Just wanted you to know that

I am going thru something a little bit similar, but not as bad. My daughter is 12 and is in

Goodnites pull-ups full-time - no bowel control at all, and we have to change her all the time.

She is into puberty, her body is changing, and I've had to start talking to her about periods because

that could start soon. I too turn 50 soon (in April) and can't believe that I have a 12-year-old in

pullups and still use a diaper bag, but there are far worse things out there. She is not combative,

but hormonally whine-y and gloomy. (An exception: she is very very combative during many

medical procedures. We've had to cancel 3 tests in the last few months because she fought

so hard.) She is headed to middle school in the fall and, because she is not potty-trained, there is

discussion about where she will end up, despite the fact that she can read (at maybe a 1st grade

level) and therefore learn. Schools don't like to wipe butts on big kids, and the ick factor will get

worse when she has a period. Sorry I can't help you more, but wanted to let you know that there's

someone else still doing "diaper duty" on a 12-yr-old. Have a good day today. - Theresa, Northern VA

To: Sent: Monday, January 23, 2012 8:46 PMSubject: Puberty

My son will be 12 in Feb. He is incontinent bowel and urine, so I still change his diaper. He started getting pubic hair at 11, and had increased interest with his privates, plus increase size. He is getting more aggressive. I used to be able to talk him down when changing his pants. Now he kicks and pinches, every time and I have to change him or dress him. It is almost unbearable. I have bruises and scratches all over my hands and arms. I have always frowned on medications, and have always been able to talk Nick down. Is it increased hormones? Anyone else have any similar issues. I am almost 50 and want to keep my son at home. One minute he makes kissy noises and laughs with me, but I try and dress him or change his pants and it is war.