I know you said Sawyer likes to eat mostly fruit & am assuming that his problem is loose bowel movements. I don't know if you have reached out to his doctor & let him know this particular struggle you are dealing with. There are supplements that can be added to juices to bulk him up if he needs it. Maybe that would get him more regular and get him the feeling of the urge to go & be easier for you to take care of.I am a RN & have dealt with all kinds of bowel problems. You are doing awesome Emily don't beat yourself up. The kids are blessed to have you as their mom.
Yes I love the silence when it snows. It finally snowed some here in PA and it's SO quiet outside. I'm so sorry for everything. I honestly don't know how you guys do it. You are incredible parents.
Don't worry. I hear you. I've got autism and it can be very difficult for parents when their child who is having a meltdown out of their control is able to understand how to control their temper, especially if it's like an overload
I feel for you and what you're expressing is totally normal emotions. I'm sure it gets very frustrating with the bathroom issue - it would for anyone. Also we are human and in frustration it's extremely hard to try to show no emotions. You are doing an incredible job and we ALL know YOU are WONDERFUL!
So two things: my mom says that when I was younger she wanted it so bad like you did and everyone told her to wait til he was older. That’s what she did and we had to wait til almost 12 years old to get trained. And once it clicked I just started going in the toilet everyday both one and two. Dream come true. It was all about timing and maturity really and being emotionally and verbally ready. As for meltdowns my mom’s other saying is this: He’s not giving you a hard time. He’s having a hard time. This is how he learns. But you gotta love him anyway on both the good and the bad days no matter what he throws at you.
I understand your upset & frustration - both as a human & a mother Emily. Something I was taught in my teens when I worked in daycares, was if in that moment, any of us staff became incredibly overwhelmed (we often ‘joked’ we knew when it was a full moon because all of the kids would just go bonkers at once; but just like in real life, we really did have some very naughty children who would bite (& make others bleed) / scratch / kick / punch etc) - to call someone else over to take over just for a minute & walk away to catch our breath, because in that moment, if any of us raised our voices, they do reciprocate that tenfold & feed off of it. With Sawyer especially, he can’t break down the normal human emotions that you & I cycle through, at least not fully. He doesn’t understand what he’s done wrong. Remember when you had that awful time at the dentists when you took him, & you broke down when you got home? The same nearly happened when you took him to an appointment that got cancelled? For Sawyer - it’s the unknown he can’t comprehend. The toilet / potty is the unknown for him, he can’t quite process his bodily functions > toilet & everything in between / after, which is why this song is so important, because one day it will click & he’ll just get it. I think someone else mentioned as well that fruit has a laxative effect on bowel movements, perhaps limiting his fruit intake may help for the time being until he is more potty trained. Try asking Will to take over with Sawyer & grab yourself 5 minutes just to breathe Emily, it’s normal to need that. Maybe going to his room just to get down on his level & explain why you were upset may help him process everything better too. Hugs. X
I understand, Autism is hard. My son is 18 and I'm still learning. It will take some time to understand how his little brain works. Lots of love. Meltdowns are so, so hard.
The snow absorbs sound that’s why it’s so quiet. Wonderful vlog as always! Edit: Some autistic people (including myself) have trouble with interoception, which is being aware of your own body, especially internal stuff like hunger, thirst, or having to go to the bathroom. I won’t pretend to know what your struggles with potty training are like, but I feel for you and Sawyer both. He doesn’t understand because he lacks tools to succeed, whether it just hasn’t clicked yet or he can’t feel when he needs to go. Don’t punish him for an accident, he won’t get any lesson out of the punishment if he doesn’t understand the reason behind the consequences.
Emily I feel you girl! We're struggling with the same thing with our 4 and a half year old. Like Sawyer, he is so smart but for some reason he's just not getting it and my days are spent changing wet or dirty underpants. It's frustrating as hell. You're only human and it can be very hard dealing with one special needs child, let alone two, so please go easy on yourself.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing your best. Always remember that. We all have lost our cool and yell etc. don’t let anyone tell you different!! What you are going through is totally normal.
Dear Emily i am sending you a big hug xx it is so hard for you when all these things happen at once. Sawyer needs time to process from what he used to do (in his diapper , nappy over here) to what he must do now. This can take a little while to grasp. Maybe keep some number toy in the bathroom so that if he goes to the bathroom he gets a reward of this toy. This toy must not be kept anywhere else so he sees it as a special treat. I can understand your frustration, you have a right to your feelings as well. Do not let this get to you, you are a brilliant parent, you donso well with what you have been given. X
Oh Emily you and Will are doing what you humanly can for your children. Please don't be hard on yourself. Sawyer may understand more then you think. My heart goes out to you all. Hugs
Loose bowel movements are hard to control, they often happen spontaneously and can't always get to the bathroom. You can get bulking powder to add to a drink as we have used them. Helps control much easier
It’s so hard, I’m so sorry Emily. I can’t really give you any advice, but know you have people praying hard for you all and who love you ?❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’m so sorry! We are going through this with my 4 year old. We are still working on getting the services that my 4 year old needs. It’s so overwhelming.
Autism is hard. My son is 18 and I am still learning. We worked with my son till he was 10 or older on potty training.. Keep going momma you got this..
I see you! What I try to do is putting myself in his place, try to focus on his feelings and not yours, even though is hard, always remember that for him is very hard also not to be communicating like his siblings and he gets frustrated too … God bless you!
Yes, we understand how difficult it is to deal with meltdowns! We have had 28 years of practice. It will get easier. Just hold on for today. We love you and are praying for you Emily!
I have an autistic son who like Sawyer his favorite thing is numbers. He was resistant to using the potty as well. What finally helped was we got a special potty watch that counted down the time and when it beeped it was time to go sit on the potty. He loved watching it countdown and would let us know when it was time. We started with every 10 minutes because he was what I called a free pee-er. He just dribbled all the time. I know every 10 minutes is not doable for your family. But it helped him want to sit on the potty and it helped make him aware of his bodies signals. You could maybe start with every hour. I hope this helps. I am a long time subscriber. Lots of love to your beautiful family.
I hope that you got the nice afternoon after that. Sounds so frustrating, but you and Will are great parents. This was just a moment. He will potty train, just takes so much more.
We have had snow and rain on and off in Idaho. It is a slushy mess right now. We have a 15 yr. old autistic grandson that is not podee trained and I hate having to change his diaper. It is so bad. I feel for you. It is hard.
Sawyer could have I.B.S and maybe that’s why he finds it harder to let you know when he needs to go hopefully your doctor could help you with this if that is the issue. I feel for you as my grandson is autistic and he had a hard time potty training but he is now 15 and all is good with him . Please be reassured that you are a great mum and are doing your best for your children. My daughter used to have to step away from the situation if she found herself losing it because my grandson was like Sawyer did not like loud voices or loud noises. Happy new year to you and your family xxx
My son also scripts when I raise my voice. It is so frustrating that your not allowed to be mad and it makes discipline so hard - especially when they don't understand why.
Firstly I hope in my life I get to experience snow the way you just showed us here. Wow. It looks sooo angelic and pretty 😍. Also sending you so much hugs and love for all the hard and tough times you are managing. Special needs kids are never easy. 🙏💗😘
Precious Emily....you are an amazing Mom, Wife, individual. You are doing SO well coping with life. I have never experienced what you are going through but know that you will be prayed for as well as your husband and children. Things are hard now but perhaps it will improve in the future. If you need to go in your room, lock the door and just yell into your pillow....DO IT! Just hang in there.
We have our 5 year old 22q11.2/autistic Son and during his developmental evaluation they told us how he wasn't gonna understand basic schooling etc. So I asked about potty training as he has absolutely no interest they said he would not potty train if he did wouldn't be till he was 7/8/9 ish. I still have people trying to push him I would love him too but it's not worth my exhaustion or tears. When I know he's mentally not ready to potty train. His dad has the same condition and potty trained at 15 months, so it's not a across the board issue. His little sister is 1 with the same deletion and another genetic condition on top of that and she is seemingly so far more advanced than my 5 year old was at this point, but we look at the difference of what we have learned from him that we apply to her. He was always sick and had seizures consistently till Covid quarantine hit then he managed to get better. She has been quarantined alot as she was born in 2020 and she hasn't been nearly as sick still has bad lungs due to aspirating etc. But we have managed to keep her home because we changed our family dynamics and we all live school work play from our farm. My two oldest kids play hockey. And my older daughter does skating and we have other activities we try to include them in outside the home so they have away time from the two special needs children that can be very overwhelming. But all in all we so far hopefully found what works for us to protect the two as best we can. My 5 year old has killer meltdowns and my 1 year old is definitely developing some of the same issues. So will see what the future brings there. I'm so glad I found your channel as it's feels so similar to my life ❤️
Hey darling, I can’t believe I got on here so soon🙌🏼🙌🏼 I have prayed for you and your family and I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New year 🎊. Sweetie, it can only get better this year. I truly wish y’all the best.
Whenever I see people from up north being impressed with snowfall even though they've been used to it all their lives, I truly feel like I'm totally missing out on the magic as a Floridian..
Poor sawyer 😢😢😢 I feel bad for him that he can’t really understand his feelings well he can feel them but it is hard for him to tell people what he is feeling
You’re saying the honest, best things. “I’m human-and it’s hard.” Thanks for sharing. I feel your pain. You’re helping others to understand the hard challenges and emotions. Maybe you’re helping others to have some compassion for themselves because we’re all only human. I’ll share something that might give you a laugh. When our daughter was in middle school and mother and sibling with disability lived with us, one day our 80 lb dog apparently decided to eat a large bag of Skittles from our daughter’s desk. I walked into her bedroom to find the dog had had explosive diarrhea, which was colored by Skittles. It got onto just about everything., including the walls and furniture!! Omg 😱 I was in shock and disgust, with some anger about the job ahead of me! But if I exhibited anger, the dog (who was already kind of punished by the discomfort of his intestines) wouldn’t make the connection. Also, anger in me could trigger my strong adult sibling to act out in physical anger, which could get dangerous for others. Somehow, like you, I got a big garbage bag and other supplies, and just started a long job of cleaning rainbow diarrhea off every surface! The point is -I experienced human emotions similar to yours, from shock and disgust to anger and tears. Had to stifle the anger or maybe put it into scrubbing. Many years later, the “rainbow diarrhea” story is kind of funny. You’re right, too, about our emotions usually coming and passing like waves. We’re out here for you, understand your challenges, admire your “realness” and personal wisdom! Sending support ((💖)). May tomorrow be a better day. Sawyer was adorable seeing the snow! We’re in Upstate, not far from where you lived. It’s been pretty cold, often gray, no major snow yet. But you know we’ll get dumped on this month! ❄️ ⛄️
I totally get it! It Is HARD!!! I blew up at my 13 year old a few days ago and I felt so bad afterwards. She doesn’t understand what is socially correct and what’s not and she’s rather monotone so things she says can often times be taken as her being rude. My other kids get really frustrated with it which is understandable. I hate that I did this but in frustration I asked her why she doesn’t get it and she met me with the same frustration saying that she doesn’t know why I don’t get it. Then she said that she can’t wait til she dies because no one understands her. My heart broke! I grabbed her and hugged her so tight and in that moment I really wished I could put the toothpaste back in the toothpaste tube! I am so sorry that you’re going through this too… To say that it is hard is such an understatement.
We're supposed to be getting anywhere from a dusting of snow up to 13 inches tomorrow ugh I'm dreading it so much.! I really just want it to miss us here..!!
Emily, Sawyer will get past this, My friends son had the same toilet problems, I have known him since 4 years old, he is now 45, totally trained since 10, you just need to be patient and keep at it, it was tough and they had to put up with him being mad and aggressive, but you have to be stronger, stick with it keep talking even as he gets louder, eventually you will win , he also made messes, Sawyer will understand, repartition ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love the snow. I grew up in Los Alamos, NM which is a gorgeous mountain community, is slightly NW of our largest city, Albuquerque. Here in Albuquerque, we are surrounded by mountains, the base of our city to the east, we have the Sandia Mountains and the Manzano Mountains to the SE of Albuquerque. Santa Fe has the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Los Alamos has the Pajarito Mountain, and also the Jemez Mountains to the West!!
I just WANT to say you are amazing and I hope someday you will learn not to be hard on yourself. Parenting does not come with a manual and isn't black and white. Each child is different, learn differently, reach milestones at different ages, react differently,, etc. You are in a similar situation as us in that realistically you have to realize that your children may never reach some milestones. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just remember you can't control your child's destiny no matter how hard you try. BUT REMEMBER YOU ARE A DARN GOOD MOM WHO IS A FIGHTER AND YOU ARE DOING THE BEST YOU CAN. HUGS and I pray in 2022 that you and Will can find someone who you can trust and can handle the needs of your children she ial needs so you can have a date every month. You both deserve it.
EMILY&WILL, my heart goes out to you. Potty training is difficult esp..with boys. Sawyer has added obstacles but he's bright as anyone can see. I don't blame you for crying and having your own meltdown. I have a suggestion. You may think I'm crazy for mentioning. Make a strict bathroom routine for Sawyer. The other kids can help him understand. First thing upon awaking ..on the Potty. First thing after eating...Potty. I'm no expert but food and drink triggers the bowel response. Your doctors should be able to advise you. Someone always stay with him there...even one of the older kids. It will become a habit. Show him where that stuff is suppose to go and what to do with it. It WILL sink in. It's a messy subject but it's a nessesary life function and highly important to tackle at an early age. Habits become second nature. Good luck and many blessings💙
Hi Emily, This video really hit home with me. I felt the same last night. It’s such a crazy roller coaster lots of ups and downs and feeling sad to see our kids struggle so much sometimes I feel like my son is doing so well and the next day bam everything comes crashing down. My son is almost 5 and he is potty trained, yes it has made life much easier. One tip I can give you is to not stress it that much! I know it’s hard and everyday is getting harder to change him but one dr once told me that kiddos can sense your feelings and stress and I believe it, we were pushing our son to go potty from 2.5 tried again at 3 and 3.5, NOTHING! He wasn’t ready. As soon as he turned 4 it seemed almost natural he went and hasn’t went back to diapers, he immediately got the concept of standing to pee and daddy really helped by modeling. I think you reading that lovely book and singing the song will help him with all the repetition and maybe showing him videos about potty training also one thing that helped us so so much was an app called “See me go potty” by Avakid I believe it’s $1.99 in the App Store... it’s a very simple app that you can customize w/ Sawyers name and pick and avatar. Sawyer can mess around with the app and hopefully soon he will be on his way to the potty I know he is very capable all he needs is a bit more time but trust me Sawyer will one day be potty trained.
Repeating think back is him trying to understand. I’m not trying to tell you how to parent but he probably didn’t think he was in trouble especially if he didn’t understand the situation. The only thing I can think of telling you is to take deep breath‘s and calm yourself down first regardless of what he is doing you need to take that deep breath before you want to yell at him. I know it’s hard to deal with kids sometimes when they’re doing behaviors that are frustrating and upsetting you and you feel like they’re old enough to not do these behaviors anymore but in that instance you just have to remember to take deep breath‘s and try to calm your self down I hope the rest of your day got better.
I totally feel you neither of my children are autistic but the are non verbal. My oldest is almost nine and just got potty trained around 7 in a half. my youngest is 4 and still is in diapers. It’s hard. I totally agree and it’s even more difficult not to get frustrated. There’s hope though even if it doesn’t seem like there is. We have to believe that it will happen. it will happen for Sawyer. Can you feed him more binding food like bananas. at least bind his bowels up a bit to make the messy situations a bit less messy to clean up?
I have a 5 year old that is not potty trained yet I don't think he understands what we are trying to get him to do, I am raising 3 boys that are ASD, 2 are higher functioning but they test out between 1 and 6 year old so I get where you are coming from
Have you tried a letter board with Sawyer? He understands letters. Maybe he can "type" for you and understand if you "type" for him. I don't know honey, I saw kids that everybody was certain understood nothing blow everybody's expectations out of the water. There was a disconnect. They get hung up on details so quickly they can't process the general idea. Focusing on each letter let's them do that without getting stuck. At least, that's my understanding of it. That looks so hard. My son is 5 and so days are hard even with him able to sit down with me and talk to me but at least we can figure stuff out together. I can't imagine what you're going through. I can't. Try that letter board. See if that can be a bridge between you. If it doesn't work, you haven't lost anything.
Just something to ponder. When we have to go to the bathroom be it pee or bowel...our bodies tell us. And I see many that want to punish and do things because their child can not learn to go. (not talking about you here). But maybe...just maybe Sawyer is not getting the body signal and until he does, it will happen. Just think about it....if your body did not signal you that you need to go pee or poop...what would happen? You would have a mess in your pants. So, it is not Sawyer being bad. For some reason he is not getting the signal or his brain is not translating the signal to him. Hang in there.
I guess i am not allowed to comment? Tried twice and been deleted. First time i assumed cause i put a link. Second time no link, just mentioned another youtubers name Nothing hateful was said in either of the comments so not sure what is going on?🤷♀️ Usually my post is at the top on my side.
TH-cam is crazy just like facebook "fact checkers" I was trying to share another YT autism mommas journey in potty training her son who is now 10yrs old.... first i put a link. Then i just put their name. And both are no where to be seen. Not sure how else to get her info to you??? Email? FB messenger?
I have a son who was diagnosen with Aspergers syndrome when he was eleven years old. We, his parents, had known since he was about two years that something was not "right". Autism spectrum disorders are strange because as Sawyer some who are affected are "handicapted" but are also not. My son studied four languages in "gymnasiet" but still as an adult has to be reminded to shower. Sorry for bad english I am swedish.
You are only human Emily so don't beat yourself up....You are a special needs parent and it is Hard! You are doing a good job and Sawyer is So Smart.....It will get better.....Never give up.....Remember, You Are Wonderful!!
I wish they would find the cause of autism. Have u thought of adding probiotics to their diet for their gut. I’m trying to get both my daughters to get their kids to take as they each have a child with autism. Also vit D.
HELLO SOOO GLAD IT IS YOU INSTEAD OF US OLOL WE HAVE HAD SNOW AND ICE I TOTALY HATE SNOW. WAY TO COLD. CAUSES. VEHICLE ACCIDENTS. AND DEALTH AND I DONT HAVE A GARAGE DONT NO WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE !! YES IT IS SOO MUCH QUIET OUTSIDE. PEOPLE ARE INSIDE THE HOUSE. KIDS ARE NOT OUTSIDE RUNNING AROUND I AGREE SO MUCH QUITER !! YES POTTY TRAINING IS VERY HARD AND BOYS I FULLY UNDERSTAND. SOME KIDS. WILL. HIT BACK IF YOU SPANK THEM. BEEN THERE ! I FILL SORRY FOR YOU I HATE TO SEE YOU TORN UP. HUGS MAMA !! YES IT IS VERY HARD !!
Meltdowns suck for you and him. His tablet might be exactly what he needs to regulate himself so taking it away is adding to the fuel. He's reacting like I am trying I can't and doing everything he can to change to what you want he just can't.
Also Fathering Autisims older videos talk a lot about discipline and potty training with their non verbal autistic daughter Abbie, those may be helpful. I will tell you that they firmly believe that ABA is what has gotten Abbie as far as she has. They cannot discipline her either because it has 0 effect so they learned techniques thru ABA to help get compliance for important behaviors. They (especially Pricilla on Instagram DM’s or their email) are always willing to talk with other parents with autistic children more in depth about the things they do but they like to do stuff that has to do with in detail potty training or other more private things like that in a more private environment like dm’s or e-mail so they are not sharing the intimate details of it on a public platform or for those just curious, they just share that with parents needing help or ideas.
I know you said Sawyer likes to eat mostly fruit & am assuming that his problem is loose bowel movements. I don't know if you have reached out to his doctor & let him know this particular struggle you are dealing with. There are supplements that can be added to juices to bulk him up if he needs it. Maybe that would get him more regular and get him the feeling of the urge to go & be easier for you to take care of.I am a RN & have dealt with all kinds of bowel problems. You are doing awesome Emily don't beat yourself up. The kids are blessed to have you as their mom.
Yes I love the silence when it snows. It finally snowed some here in PA and it's SO quiet outside. I'm so sorry for everything. I honestly don't know how you guys do it. You are incredible parents.
Don't worry. I hear you. I've got autism and it can be very difficult for parents when their child who is having a meltdown out of their control is able to understand how to control their temper, especially if it's like an overload
I feel for you and what you're expressing is totally normal emotions. I'm sure it gets very frustrating with the bathroom issue - it would for anyone. Also we are human and in frustration it's extremely hard to try to show no emotions. You are doing an incredible job and we ALL know YOU are WONDERFUL!
Everything takes time
So two things: my mom says that when I was younger she wanted it so bad like you did and everyone told her to wait til he was older. That’s what she did and we had to wait til almost 12 years old to get trained. And once it clicked I just started going in the toilet everyday both one and two. Dream come true. It was all about timing and maturity really and being emotionally and verbally ready. As for meltdowns my mom’s other saying is this:
He’s not giving you a hard time. He’s having a hard time. This is how he learns. But you gotta love him anyway on both the good and the bad days no matter what he throws at you.
I understand your upset & frustration - both as a human & a mother Emily. Something I was taught in my teens when I worked in daycares, was if in that moment, any of us staff became incredibly overwhelmed (we often ‘joked’ we knew when it was a full moon because all of the kids would just go bonkers at once; but just like in real life, we really did have some very naughty children who would bite (& make others bleed) / scratch / kick / punch etc) - to call someone else over to take over just for a minute & walk away to catch our breath, because in that moment, if any of us raised our voices, they do reciprocate that tenfold & feed off of it.
With Sawyer especially, he can’t break down the normal human emotions that you & I cycle through, at least not fully. He doesn’t understand what he’s done wrong. Remember when you had that awful time at the dentists when you took him, & you broke down when you got home? The same nearly happened when you took him to an appointment that got cancelled? For Sawyer - it’s the unknown he can’t comprehend. The toilet / potty is the unknown for him, he can’t quite process his bodily functions > toilet & everything in between / after, which is why this song is so important, because one day it will click & he’ll just get it. I think someone else mentioned as well that fruit has a laxative effect on bowel movements, perhaps limiting his fruit intake may help for the time being until he is more potty trained.
Try asking Will to take over with Sawyer & grab yourself 5 minutes just to breathe Emily, it’s normal to need that. Maybe going to his room just to get down on his level & explain why you were upset may help him process everything better too. Hugs. X
I understand, Autism is hard. My son is 18 and I'm still learning. It will take some time to understand how his little brain works. Lots of love. Meltdowns are so, so hard.
The snow absorbs sound that’s why it’s so quiet. Wonderful vlog as always!
Edit: Some autistic people (including myself) have trouble with interoception, which is being aware of your own body, especially internal stuff like hunger, thirst, or having to go to the bathroom. I won’t pretend to know what your struggles with potty training are like, but I feel for you and Sawyer both.
He doesn’t understand because he lacks tools to succeed, whether it just hasn’t clicked yet or he can’t feel when he needs to go. Don’t punish him for an accident, he won’t get any lesson out of the punishment if he doesn’t understand the reason behind the consequences.
Emily I feel you girl! We're struggling with the same thing with our 4 and a half year old. Like Sawyer, he is so smart but for some reason he's just not getting it and my days are spent changing wet or dirty underpants. It's frustrating as hell. You're only human and it can be very hard dealing with one special needs child, let alone two, so please go easy on yourself.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing your best. Always remember that. We all have lost our cool and yell etc. don’t let anyone tell you different!! What you are going through is totally normal.
Dear Emily i am sending you a big hug xx it is so hard for you when all these things happen at once. Sawyer needs time to process from what he used to do (in his diapper , nappy over here) to what he must do now. This can take a little while to grasp. Maybe keep some number toy in the bathroom so that if he goes to the bathroom he gets a reward of this toy. This toy must not be kept anywhere else so he sees it as a special treat.
I can understand your frustration, you have a right to your feelings as well. Do not let this get to you, you are a brilliant parent, you donso well with what you have been given. X
Oh Emily you and Will are doing what you humanly can for your children. Please don't be hard on yourself. Sawyer may understand more then you think. My heart goes out to you all. Hugs
Loose bowel movements are hard to control, they often happen spontaneously and can't always get to the bathroom.
You can get bulking powder to add to a drink as we have used them. Helps control much easier
Keeping you guys in my prayers love you guys
It’s so hard, I’m so sorry Emily. I can’t really give you any advice, but know you have people praying hard for you all and who love you ?❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’m so sorry! We are going through this with my 4 year old. We are still working on getting the services that my 4 year old needs. It’s so overwhelming.
Autism is hard. My son is 18 and I am still learning. We worked with my son till he was 10 or older on potty training.. Keep going momma you got this..
I see you! What I try to do is putting myself in his place, try to focus on his feelings and not yours, even though is hard, always remember that for him is very hard also not to be communicating like his siblings and he gets frustrated too … God bless you!
You’re a wonderful mom.
You’re making the best out of the hand you’re dealt ♥️
Yes, we understand how difficult it is to deal with meltdowns! We have had 28 years of practice. It will get easier. Just hold on for today. We love you and are praying for you Emily!
I have an autistic son who like Sawyer his favorite thing is numbers. He was resistant to using the potty as well. What finally helped was we got a special potty watch that counted down the time and when it beeped it was time to go sit on the potty. He loved watching it countdown and would let us know when it was time. We started with every 10 minutes because he was what I called a free pee-er. He just dribbled all the time. I know every 10 minutes is not doable for your family. But it helped him want to sit on the potty and it helped make him aware of his bodies signals. You could maybe start with every hour. I hope this helps. I am a long time subscriber. Lots of love to your beautiful family.
I hope that you got the nice afternoon after that. Sounds so frustrating, but you and Will are great parents. This was just a moment. He will potty train, just takes so much more.
I wish I could give you such a big hug. You are amazing. You are human. It's gonna be OK.
We have had snow and rain on and off in Idaho. It is a slushy mess right now. We have a 15 yr. old autistic grandson that is not podee trained and I hate having to change his diaper. It is so bad. I feel for you. It is hard.
Sawyer could have I.B.S and maybe that’s why he finds it harder to let you know when he needs to go hopefully your doctor could help you with this if that is the issue. I feel for you as my grandson is autistic and he had a hard time potty training but he is now 15 and all is good with him . Please be reassured that you are a great mum and are doing your best for your children. My daughter used to have to step away from the situation if she found herself losing it because my grandson was like Sawyer did not like loud voices or loud noises. Happy new year to you and your family xxx
Emily it is quiet because the snow absorbs the sound. The quiet is amazing.
My son also scripts when I raise my voice. It is so frustrating that your not allowed to be mad and it makes discipline so hard - especially when they don't understand why.
There's only one piece of advice l can give you Emily, it helped me when my son was young. Tell yourself tomorrow will be better.
Firstly I hope in my life I get to experience snow the way you just showed us here. Wow. It looks sooo angelic and pretty 😍. Also sending you so much hugs and love for all the hard and tough times you are managing. Special needs kids are never easy. 🙏💗😘
Precious Emily....you are an amazing Mom, Wife, individual. You are doing SO well coping with life. I have never experienced what you are going through but know that you will be prayed for as well as your husband and children. Things are hard now but perhaps it will improve in the future. If you need to go in your room, lock the door and just yell into your pillow....DO IT! Just hang in there.
YOU EMILY ARE WONDERFUL ❤️‼️
We're having our first snow of 2022 too..!! Love y'all sooooooooo much.! You've got this 100%...!! Just have faith Emily..!!
We have our 5 year old 22q11.2/autistic Son and during his developmental evaluation they told us how he wasn't gonna understand basic schooling etc. So I asked about potty training as he has absolutely no interest they said he would not potty train if he did wouldn't be till he was 7/8/9 ish. I still have people trying to push him I would love him too but it's not worth my exhaustion or tears. When I know he's mentally not ready to potty train. His dad has the same condition and potty trained at 15 months, so it's not a across the board issue. His little sister is 1 with the same deletion and another genetic condition on top of that and she is seemingly so far more advanced than my 5 year old was at this point, but we look at the difference of what we have learned from him that we apply to her. He was always sick and had seizures consistently till Covid quarantine hit then he managed to get better. She has been quarantined alot as she was born in 2020 and she hasn't been nearly as sick still has bad lungs due to aspirating etc. But we have managed to keep her home because we changed our family dynamics and we all live school work play from our farm. My two oldest kids play hockey. And my older daughter does skating and we have other activities we try to include them in outside the home so they have away time from the two special needs children that can be very overwhelming. But all in all we so far hopefully found what works for us to protect the two as best we can. My 5 year old has killer meltdowns and my 1 year old is definitely developing some of the same issues. So will see what the future brings there. I'm so glad I found your channel as it's feels so similar to my life ❤️
Hey darling, I can’t believe I got on here so soon🙌🏼🙌🏼 I have prayed for you and your family and I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New year 🎊. Sweetie, it can only get better this year. I truly wish y’all the best.
Whenever I see people from up north being impressed with snowfall even though they've been used to it all their lives, I truly feel like I'm totally missing out on the magic as a Floridian..
Poor sawyer 😢😢😢 I feel bad for him that he can’t really understand his feelings well he can feel them but it is hard for him to tell people what he is feeling
You’re saying the honest, best things. “I’m human-and it’s hard.” Thanks for sharing. I feel your pain. You’re helping others to understand the hard challenges and emotions. Maybe you’re helping others to have some compassion for themselves because we’re all only human. I’ll share something that might give you a laugh. When our daughter was in middle school and mother and sibling with disability lived with us, one day our 80 lb dog apparently decided to eat a large bag of Skittles from our daughter’s desk. I walked into her bedroom to find the dog had had explosive diarrhea, which was colored by Skittles. It got onto just about everything., including the walls and furniture!! Omg 😱 I was in shock and disgust, with some anger about the job ahead of me! But if I exhibited anger, the dog (who was already kind of punished by the discomfort of his intestines) wouldn’t make the connection. Also, anger in me could trigger my strong adult sibling to act out in physical anger, which could get dangerous for others. Somehow, like you, I got a big garbage bag and other supplies, and just started a long job of cleaning rainbow diarrhea off every surface! The point is -I experienced human emotions similar to yours, from shock and disgust to anger and tears. Had to stifle the anger or maybe put it into scrubbing. Many years later, the “rainbow diarrhea” story is kind of funny.
You’re right, too, about our emotions usually coming and passing like waves. We’re out here for you, understand your challenges, admire your “realness” and personal wisdom! Sending support ((💖)). May tomorrow be a better day. Sawyer was adorable seeing the snow!
We’re in Upstate, not far from where you lived. It’s been pretty cold, often gray, no major snow yet. But you know we’ll get dumped on this month! ❄️ ⛄️
I am so sorry your having to go through this big hugs to you and your family
My mom is the same way with me if she yells at me all instant Start a meltdown and start crying
I totally get it! It Is HARD!!! I blew up at my 13 year old a few days ago and I felt so bad afterwards. She doesn’t understand what is socially correct and what’s not and she’s rather monotone so things she says can often times be taken as her being rude. My other kids get really frustrated with it which is understandable. I hate that I did this but in frustration I asked her why she doesn’t get it and she met me with the same frustration saying that she doesn’t know why I don’t get it. Then she said that she can’t wait til she dies because no one understands her. My heart broke! I grabbed her and hugged her so tight and in that moment I really wished I could put the toothpaste back in the toothpaste tube! I am so sorry that you’re going through this too… To say that it is hard is such an understatement.
Live in the moment with the kids you have and enjoy them for them and not what you wish they could do
We're supposed to be getting anywhere from a dusting of snow up to 13 inches tomorrow ugh I'm dreading it so much.! I really just want it to miss us here..!!
Sawyer is so so so cute and funny to me
I hear you, you got this❤
You’re doing an amazing job as a mother sending prayers
WTF
Emily, Sawyer will get past this, My friends son had the same toilet problems, I have known him since 4 years old, he is now 45, totally trained since 10, you just need to be patient and keep at it, it was tough and they had to put up with him being mad and aggressive, but you have to be stronger, stick with it keep talking even as he gets louder, eventually you will win , he also made messes, Sawyer will understand, repartition ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love the snow. I grew up in Los Alamos, NM which is a gorgeous mountain community, is slightly NW of our largest city, Albuquerque.
Here in Albuquerque, we are surrounded by mountains, the base of our city to the east, we have the Sandia Mountains and the Manzano Mountains to the SE of Albuquerque. Santa Fe has the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Los Alamos has the Pajarito Mountain, and also the Jemez Mountains to the West!!
wow 😯
Its gna be ok emily u have such good parenting skills
I just WANT to say you are amazing and I hope someday you will learn not to be hard on yourself. Parenting does not come with a manual and isn't black and white. Each child is different, learn differently, reach milestones at different ages, react differently,, etc. You are in a similar situation as us in that realistically you have to realize that your children may never reach some milestones. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just remember you can't control your child's destiny no matter how hard you try. BUT REMEMBER YOU ARE A DARN GOOD MOM WHO IS A FIGHTER AND YOU ARE DOING THE BEST YOU CAN. HUGS and I pray in 2022 that you and Will can find someone who you can trust and can handle the needs of your children she ial needs so you can have a date every month. You both deserve it.
You are wonderful! 😍
I love your honesty. Thanks
You are a wonderful mom♥️
I worked with a little boy that is autistic he could read also but didn't potty train till 8 yrs old. Just find patience . it will get better
Emily it'll definitely come for Sawyer remember that he's only 5 years old.
Hugs! We are here to vent too)m! You are a human being!
EMILY&WILL, my heart goes out to you.
Potty training is difficult esp..with boys. Sawyer has added obstacles but he's bright as anyone can see. I don't blame you for crying and having your own meltdown. I have a suggestion. You may think I'm crazy for mentioning. Make a strict bathroom routine for Sawyer. The other kids can help him understand. First thing upon awaking ..on the Potty. First thing after eating...Potty. I'm no expert but food and drink triggers the bowel response. Your doctors should be able to advise you. Someone always stay with him there...even one of the older kids. It will become a habit. Show him where that stuff is suppose to go and what to do with it. It WILL sink in. It's a messy subject but it's a nessesary life function and highly important to tackle at an early age. Habits become second nature. Good luck and many blessings💙
I understand mama, hugs xoxo
I totally agree and understand u coming from. Hugs and love to you
Hi Emily, This video really hit home with me. I felt the same last night. It’s such a crazy roller coaster lots of ups and downs and feeling sad to see our kids struggle so much sometimes I feel like my son is doing so well and the next day bam everything comes crashing down. My son is almost 5 and he is potty trained, yes it has made life much easier. One tip I can give you is to not stress it that much! I know it’s hard and everyday is getting harder to change him but one dr once told me that kiddos can sense your feelings and stress and I believe it, we were pushing our son to go potty from 2.5 tried again at 3 and 3.5, NOTHING! He wasn’t ready. As soon as he turned 4 it seemed almost natural he went and hasn’t went back to diapers, he immediately got the concept of standing to pee and daddy really helped by modeling. I think you reading that lovely book and singing the song will help him with all the repetition and maybe showing him videos about potty training also one thing that helped us so so much was an app called “See me go potty” by Avakid I believe it’s $1.99 in the App Store... it’s a very simple app that you can customize w/ Sawyers name and pick and avatar. Sawyer can mess around with the app and hopefully soon he will be on his way to the potty I know he is very capable all he needs is a bit more time but trust me Sawyer will one day be potty trained.
Wow thank you I’m definitely going to look into the app💖💖💖💖
Hope you have fun with the snow
Repeating think back is him trying to understand. I’m not trying to tell you how to parent but he probably didn’t think he was in trouble especially if he didn’t understand the situation.
The only thing I can think of telling you is to take deep breath‘s and calm yourself down first regardless of what he is doing you need to take that deep breath before you want to yell at him. I know it’s hard to deal with kids sometimes when they’re doing behaviors that are frustrating and upsetting you and you feel like they’re old enough to not do these behaviors anymore but in that instance you just have to remember to take deep breath‘s and try to calm your self down I hope the rest of your day got better.
Have you guys tried to put a toilet sign on his tablet
They are so cute
I totally feel you neither of my children are autistic but the are non verbal. My oldest is almost nine and just got potty trained around 7 in a half. my youngest is 4 and still is in diapers. It’s hard. I totally agree and it’s even more difficult not to get frustrated. There’s hope though even if it doesn’t seem like there is. We have to believe that it will happen. it will happen for Sawyer. Can you feed him more binding food like bananas. at least bind his bowels up a bit to make the messy situations a bit less messy to clean up?
I have a 5 year old that is not potty trained yet I don't think he understands what we are trying to get him to do, I am raising 3 boys that are ASD, 2 are higher functioning but they test out between 1 and 6 year old so I get where you are coming from
Sorry to hear that Emily my brother did that but not the bathroom we still can’t yell at him it’s hard I know
Have you tried a letter board with Sawyer? He understands letters. Maybe he can "type" for you and understand if you "type" for him. I don't know honey, I saw kids that everybody was certain understood nothing blow everybody's expectations out of the water. There was a disconnect. They get hung up on details so quickly they can't process the general idea. Focusing on each letter let's them do that without getting stuck. At least, that's my understanding of it. That looks so hard. My son is 5 and so days are hard even with him able to sit down with me and talk to me but at least we can figure stuff out together. I can't imagine what you're going through. I can't. Try that letter board. See if that can be a bridge between you. If it doesn't work, you haven't lost anything.
I so wish I was there to hug you so very much. Things will get better, I'm sure. God bless you sweetheart
O Emily my heart go out to you guys. It is so hard....you are wonder
Internet hugs for your hard days..🤗
Just something to ponder. When we have to go to the bathroom be it pee or bowel...our bodies tell us. And I see many that want to punish and do things because their child can not learn to go. (not talking about you here). But maybe...just maybe Sawyer is not getting the body signal and until he does, it will happen. Just think about it....if your body did not signal you that you need to go pee or poop...what would happen? You would have a mess in your pants. So, it is not Sawyer being bad. For some reason he is not getting the signal or his brain is not translating the signal to him. Hang in there.
I guess i am not allowed to comment? Tried twice and been deleted. First time i assumed cause i put a link.
Second time no link, just mentioned another youtubers name
Nothing hateful was said in either of the comments so not sure what is going on?🤷♀️
Usually my post is at the top on my side.
Not sure. We haven't removed any of your comments so maybe it was a TH-cam thing.
TH-cam is crazy just like facebook "fact checkers"
I was trying to share another YT autism mommas journey in potty training her son who is now 10yrs old.... first i put a link. Then i just put their name. And both are no where to be seen.
Not sure how else to get her info to you??? Email? FB messenger?
Glad wynn did good with her surgery. Hope for a speedy recovery and answers so she can be treated correctly
You got this mama I know it's hard my mom and many others think my son just needs a good old fashioned ass whooping or scolding it just doesn't work
I have a son who was diagnosen with Aspergers syndrome when he was eleven years old. We, his parents, had known since he was about two years that something was not "right".
Autism spectrum disorders are strange because as Sawyer some who are affected are "handicapted" but are also not.
My son studied four languages in "gymnasiet" but still as an adult has to be reminded to shower.
Sorry for bad english I am swedish.
You are only human Emily so don't beat yourself up....You are a special needs parent and it is Hard! You are doing a good job and Sawyer is So Smart.....It will get better.....Never give up.....Remember, You Are Wonderful!!
@11:03
Hi , from ohio , hey
I’m sorry! 😔
For my understanding...is it like his reasoning is compromised?
I wish they would find the cause of autism. Have u thought of adding probiotics to their diet for their gut. I’m trying to get both my daughters to get their kids to take as they each have a child with autism. Also vit D.
HELLO SOOO GLAD IT IS YOU INSTEAD OF US OLOL WE HAVE HAD SNOW AND ICE I TOTALY HATE SNOW. WAY TO COLD. CAUSES. VEHICLE ACCIDENTS. AND DEALTH AND I DONT HAVE A GARAGE DONT NO WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE !! YES IT IS SOO MUCH QUIET OUTSIDE. PEOPLE ARE INSIDE THE HOUSE. KIDS ARE NOT OUTSIDE RUNNING AROUND I AGREE SO MUCH QUITER !! YES POTTY TRAINING IS VERY HARD AND BOYS I FULLY UNDERSTAND. SOME KIDS. WILL. HIT BACK IF YOU SPANK THEM. BEEN THERE ! I FILL SORRY FOR YOU I HATE TO SEE YOU TORN UP. HUGS MAMA !! YES IT IS VERY HARD !!
Meltdowns suck for you and him. His tablet might be exactly what he needs to regulate himself so taking it away is adding to the fuel. He's reacting like I am trying I can't and doing everything he can to change to what you want he just can't.
Also Fathering Autisims older videos talk a lot about discipline and potty training with their non verbal autistic daughter Abbie, those may be helpful. I will tell you that they firmly believe that ABA is what has gotten Abbie as far as she has. They cannot discipline her either because it has 0 effect so they learned techniques thru ABA to help get compliance for important behaviors. They (especially Pricilla on Instagram DM’s or their email) are always willing to talk with other parents with autistic children more in depth about the things they do but they like to do stuff that has to do with in detail potty training or other more private things like that in a more private environment like dm’s or e-mail so they are not sharing the intimate details of it on a public platform or for those just curious, they just share that with parents needing help or ideas.
Question a bit confused why did he lose some off his tablet time?? For pooing or for melting down??
You shouldn't have raised your voice to him, especially when potty training!
Accept my condolences. Never easy to raise a special needs child.
@@anothergoldilocks1077 Just an expression of sympathy, most often associated with a death, but not always. Please consult a dictionary.