Soiling not too worried

[Amanda137]

Many thanks for taking my question, I am trying to understand my 9 year old son who would stay in soiled clothes and not be too bothered? Its only when I can get a smell that he will wash and change, good in school goog friends what the porblem thanks again

[Amanda137]

Thank you so much for this advise. I will try this and actually I think it will work as I encourage other behaviour which is good and I have an excellent communication link with both my children, will but into practice reward for clean pants at regular intervals and see how it goes and thanks again xx take care Amanda and Family

[Jason C Bourret, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

Whether your son has autism or not, this problem is entirely treatable. It is often sufficient to arrange a relatively simple differential reinforcement procedure for this. Identify some of your son’s favorite activities and set them aside for him to earn for keeping “clean pants.” You’ll want to start by rewarding him for periods of time that he can handle easily. For example, if it’s a once-a-day sort of thing, perhaps a special treat can be earned at lunch for going the morning without soiling, a special treat at dinner for the afternoon, and one at bed for the evening. If he’s able to understand, make sure you explain the contingency to him. Also, it can be helpful to arrange, at first, regular intervals to check (e.g., every 15 minutes). This can help him become aware of what he’s doing and allows you to catch it relatively soon after he soils. If he’s having a very hard time, there are monitors that you can purchase for enuresis that will sound a little alarm if he becomes wet. Often these alone are enough to work for treatment as the child becomes aware of the sensations that precede soiling and is then able to avoid it.

[KarenDiane]

Is your son autistic or does he just have this one odd behavior? My daughter is 13 and autistic and I have to fight with her to take a shower. She's completely oblivious to her own hygeine.