Toilet Training - Blue Wave v Flamingo - Any views?

catherine2

Hello

We are about to start considering toilet training for my 3 year old son (CP, quad, dystonic athetosis).

I am a little apprehensive to say the least, particularly because he has no speech.

Our OT has suggested both the Blue Wave and Flamingo toilet chairs.

I have absolutely no experience of either and so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
C

mafala

My son has dystonic CP and we have had the Flamingo chair for years. He is nearly 9 and we started potty training around age 3. My son is verbal now, but I'm not sure he was then and it took a few months to get completely potty trained. I wanted to get my son potty trained like other kids because he was going to nursery and I didn't want him to be in nappies. I also think it helped with constipation as he could comfortably sit in this Flamingo chair and let gravity do its job. I used to take him to nursery in this training nappies but the staff were really good and told me not to do that and just let him soil himself, which did the trick. He was completely potty trained by age 4 with the odd accident until 6 years of age, which is normal even in non-CP kids. The summer is a good time to potty train, so good luck with it.

catherine2

Thank you, this is so encouraging - as is the point about your son being verbal now! Could your son walk or sit unaided at that point do you recall?

stephanie87

Hi, unfortunately I havent got an answer as I am in the same position as you apart from I have always assumed my son who is nearly 3 will always be in nappies. Can i ask if your child can sit unaided or talk because I am intrigued to know how you have been advised on how to approach this. It is something I would love to start but never considered it as an option?
Steph x

kingboy25

can't advise on toilet seats but a friend who had a non verbal child who only had control of his head toilet trained him. A lot of sitting him on the toilet seat at strategic times combined with working out of a system of signals. His signs for yes and no consisted of him turning his head and touching his right or left shoulder with his chin in response to a yes no question.
It takes a lot of work but there is no reason why most children with c.p cannot be toilet trained. They might nevertheless choose to go back to nappies in adulthood or an indwelling catheter. It will be their choice but at least you will have given them a choice.

mafala

My son doesn't walk or sit unaided. Dystonia affect the trunk mostly and his trunk is quite a affected so he wobbles a lot. On supportive seating he is a genius on wheels and a lot of fun to be around :-)