Potty Training Special Needs Boys

For us, we used a portable DVD player (they didn't have iPad's 5 years ago) in the bathroom as a reinforcer. As soon as we'd see our son start to have "the face" we'd grab him and run to the toilet as fast as we could and rip his pants off. Majority of the time we made it, others, we had messes to clean up:( We told him if he'd poop on the potty he'd get to watch a show. Then, we'd only allow him to watch a few minutes at a time and we told him as soon as he wanted to go poop again he could watch more of his show. It seemed to keep him motivated as soon as he caught on. We also chose a show he was obsessed with and knew would keep him wanting more. I understand your frustration though, changing a big boys diaper isn't pleasant:( I should ask though, do they refuse so bad that they end up holding it in and cause encopresis?? Are their diapers more diarrhea then solid?

I have a 4 year old with a severe language delay...I was really struggling with potty training! I asked his preschool teacher (special ed preschool) if I could send him in underwear if he was still having accidents and what not (pull-ups did nothing - he just treated them like diapers). She said 'Go for it'...and he did WAY better at school than he did at home. At first the thought of having someone else deal with my child's 'messes' bothered me...but then, I figured - it's a special ed preschool...don't tell me they're not used to cleaning up messes! Anyway...so if either of your boys are in a special preschool/school - it may work to enlist the help of their teachers :)

We had success with "Ready, Set, Potty!" My son is four and Autistic. It is a fairly lengthy process, but this method promises results without tears. A BCBA we know did a workshop on it and we implemented it (after a fair amount of prep.) PM me if you want more info.

My suggestion is "Toilet Training in Less than a Day" by Azrin & Foxx. Their method was developed in the 1970s for special needs adults. I used it for my children at age 3 and it was fantastic. Hope it works for you! Good luck!!