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why does my son keep soiling his pants at 9 years of age

[Autistic4Life]

Not enough information in question.... does he have accidents?  Does he ask to be cleaned up right away?  Is he wearing diapers now?  Has he been seen by professionals yet?

The bottom line is that: *it won't resolve itself*  When I was a child I liked things like mud, stinky things that felt like mud.... and so being that my interest, I developed a whole alternate lifestyle in which I didn't care what anyone thought of me.... I pooped in my pants on purpose and intentionally, until age 15!  For me it didn't end until Civil Authorities and doctors put me in prescription diapers!  Then my alternate universe was finally burst and I had to climb out of a huge hole to get back to reality and on top of that relearn physical control!  It never started as anything overtly bad, and I didn't even see it as wrong back then, and it never became anything overtly wrong for me.  I did it because I liked the whole sensory stimulation of doing it - and that's it, simple as that.  The longer it went on, the more it ballooned into much more than that though - abuse by peers, not being accepted, it became more and more of a problem with depression and an endless emotional daily cycling event!

Please, get some professional Help ASAP!  You may have to look around several places - try using the internet to get in touch with one who knows all about this - if he's doing it on purpose, you have to get him to stop and get him back on track in life!  Take it from personal experience!  This has existed since I was a little boy in the eighties and I don't even understand why... "some kids just seem to like pooping in their pants".... Because they don't know how gross that is.  What's even more surprising to know is the number of kids who don't soil their pants, but will be friends with a kid that does, and parents relying on peer pressure and social isolation may find that doesn't work as a treatment.  And being accepted by *anyone* in filthy pants further cements the idea - this isn't that big of a deal - and often the child cares even less about their unusual interest and they begin acting out even more in it!  The Main thing though is that It Is Unsanitary and put's other children at risk because of it.  So It Is A Big Deal.  All those germs go everywhere the pants go, and other children coming behind... well!  If your son is doing this at school or at playgrounds, please immediately order some plastic pants to cover his underwear for the safety of other children!  My five year old has Autism too, and we use cloth pull-on diapers and pull-on plastic covers at home and disposables away from home to keep her motivated to keep trying for potty success!  You can get those products from here: clothdiaper.com (If he's bigger than 4T, type "youth" in the search and you'll see some products just for youth on there as well - the diapers go down to 16" waist and the covers to 13" waist - and they both pull-up) -and- pottytrainingconncepts.com , also has lots of toddler products and advice on potty-training regressions that may be able to help some.  Basically, you have to think about other kids' health in this situation and at the very very least use just a plastic cover over regular underwear to contain the germs, and pursue professional evaluations...

It really takes a professional to be able to find out what's *really* causing the problem with pants soilings.  When breaking down the problem there could be a whole universe of problems as the cause, and you gotta find out what the *actual* cause is .... a professional would know how to sift through the possibilities and figure out the real cause.  Because it can even be linked to depression, and some people could be manic-depressive, or have prolonged depression, and this act is a way of either feeling release or trying to make themselves feel even worse.... say giving up on everything that matters!  Interesting thing about certain kinds of child depression- it can be squashed down at times, like school, or with friends, but surfaces when the child is all alone!

My Mother did the best she could, but the ignore it idea, or ask a few questions, but never take it to a doctor.... meant it went on for so long, until finally dealt with, diapers became mandatory!  Civil Authorities demanded them be used, and a doctor filled out a prescription for them!  But if you go to a page I made on here: Parent Of An Older Child That Goes Potty In Their Pants On Purpose?? It gives the example of how it started and how it was reversed in my childhood for me, and I had the ability to break FREE from all that! :D

Start: with physical and medical, if it's ruled out: Immediately go to emotional!  And that's my advice, start contacting several professionals: #1: Pediatrician specializes in this situation in young children, #2: Urologist specializes in the bowels and bowel muscles and nerves, #3: Neurologist specializes in the brain's ability to send and receive signals of the muscles.  For a single person to have complete mastery of this you need nerves, muscles, and brain cells, all these things properly functioning, including #4: A Child Dietitian specializes in healthy diets to keep things running correctly.  So you go down the line checking each area, the same way you would diagnose a car!  IF all the medical is ruled out, then you go for therapy sessions, but one who is well versed in helping this specific problem: i.e. emotional attachments to childhood things - It will be easier to locate the Specialist if you go from the direction of a specialist, specializing in:  "children's unhealthily attachment to age inappropriate things" i.e. to a pacifier or a baby bottle, or a much outgrown Lovey..... they would also be able to help you with pants pooping because it relates to childhood in closely the same way!  If the specialist knows how to get to the root cause of a nine yr old who still carries a blankie everywhere with her, and can break her of it; then he can use that same expertise to find out why your son is doing what he's doing and work on breaking him of it!

I Hope that this Helps Anyone needing some help in this situation! :)

[RockRose]

Sounds like possibly encopresis.  Was he ever better toilet trained - and does he have a history of constipation and picky eating?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002537/