soiled pants

My son, who has autism,  is 12 and was easily potty trained, but for a while now he has been soiling his pants.  He has always had trouble going to the bathroom.  He says that he does not know when he needs to go.  I believe this because even when I can smell it he will argue with me and try to prove that he has not gone to the bathroom in his pants.  It is not usually a lot.  I do not know what to do.  Do you have any suggestions?

[William H Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA]

Once a child toilet trains, independence in using the bathroom usually follows.  It is possible that your son "passes gas" and some fecal matter accompanies this.  The part of this that likely is of most concern to you is his lack of recognizing when this happens.  It is possible that if you could work out a schedule for him to use the restroom for pant checks, that he would become more aware of the problem.  It is also possible that there are other variables at play.  If this is a persistent then I would suggest contacting a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in our area for consultation.  BCBAs can be located by going to www.bacb.com and searching for one near your home.

Best of luck.