Hi,

I have a 4 year old with CP who is non-verbal (we are trying to use the
sign for bathroom).  We are still in the middle of potty training.  He goes
to a pre-school where they prefer that he wear pull-ups.  They started with
symbols for "wet" and "dry" to make sure he understands the concept and to
start being aware of when he urinates.  However, Pull-ups are just like
diapers and it is almost impossible to feel wet and dry.  We now put real
underwear on him (when these are wet he feels it and his accuracy
indicating wet and dry increased dramatically) but we put a diaper over
them (cheaper than pull-ups).  This way, if there is an accident then his
clothes stay dry, the pre-school teachers don't need to change his clothes
and he isn't embarrassed in front of classmates with wet clothes.  Are 4
year olds embarrassed?  Anyway, now we are working on a scheduling program
and trying to teach him to communicate his need to go to the bathroom.

Just a suggestion.  Good luck,
Kim


At 03:07 PM 5/25/1999 EDT, you wrote:
>Hi-
>My daughter was vent dependent for 2 years and trached for 2 1/2, no w we
>want to potty train her.  She has CP and I was wondering how did it go for
>those that have passed that stage.
>We have not worried about it until now with the vent and trach but feel the
>time as come.  How will we know if she can control herself or not, verse just
>learning or muscle control?
>
>Kristina
>