At my wit's end... poo on the wall...

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Ugh. This behavior has gone on for some time now. It's not a daily thing, but often enough that there's constantly a smear somewhere. My 7 year old son uses the restroom & leaves small poo smears on my walls. I've asked why he did it in the past & he said he didn't know. I've made him clean it up & he continues to do it! How do I make this stop & why is he doing it?

It's not a lot, but even a little is too much. I believe it's on his finger from wiping. The sink is right next to the toilet! Why not wash or use tissue or hand sanitizer even?!

Poop is something that many kids on the spectrum find repulsing or frightening. The sensory issues alone can be very overwhelming and lead to impulsive behavior. Perhaps provide him with flushable wipes that are right next to the toilet that he can wipe with as well as clean his fingers off. I would write a social story about what TO do when he goes as well as talk to him about WHY it is important to keep his hands and the wall clean. Remind him before you see him go into the bathroom as well.

I have this same problem with my 6 year old daughter (classic autism) but we are happy that she goes by herself at all and it is amazing if she tries to wipe but there are times when she may get some on her finger and she will wipe it on the wall. She doesnt like anything "dirty" on her fingers. We have wipes but she argues that they are for her butt and will not let us use them on her hands. I keep a lot of paper towels around when we eat because she will also wipe food on the table and wall (never on herself as that is the point). I personally would not make my child clean it up as in our case that would upset her about it even more and may set back her potty training in general. We just try to help her when she is in the bathroom. She sometimes asks for us to come but mainly we watch her and, as I said, we are also just happy that she uses the toilet. Everyone's kid is different though so its hard to tell what is going on with your son or how to handle it. Typically it is sensory and you could possibly try a PECS strip that shows the steps of using the toilet and washing hands then add some that show fingers wiping on the wall with a red circle and line (no wiping). Actually I may try that myself .

I'll get some wipes for the restroom, but I'm really not sure it will help. We've talked about it before, but he's been doing this for years. He's even done it a few times with blood, when he's gotten a bloody nose. I'm not really sure what the deal is, but it's disgusting!

Perhaps a second brand in a different style container could be introduced as being "for hands"?

That may work for you! I don't see Jay worrying about them being for other uses. Hopefully we can get this cleared up ASAP!

If it is that bad, go with him and hand over hand prompt if you need to.

He probably has encopresis. Both of my sons have had issues with this elimination disorder. My older son with classic autism intentionally smeared poop on the wall and shower curtains when stressed out a couple of years ago. My younger son, who is over 4 and knows where poop goes, still poops in his training pants.

Risk factors (if the child is over 4 and is intentionally putting poop on stuff) include ASD, selective mutism, OCD, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder. Basically, it is related to anxiety/mental health and behavioral interventions and medication for underlying mental health issues can be beneficial.

My older son actually had some enuresis--peeing on stuff--right before getting on Prozac, and several anxiety behaviors, including this one, were cured by the drugs.

My younger son with OCD is having a harder time.

I know of another person whose child with ASD was immediately cured of the encopresis when placed on meds.

Yeah, he's already on meds & no luck. I'm going to mention it at his next doc appt.

unless it is a developmental pediatrician, most doctors will have no idea what to do about this kind of problem. However, he could check into the medical issues to be sure it is not medical. You might need to followup with a behavioral specialist.

Well for one thing, he's a boy. I think there is something in most boys' genetic makeup that causes them to have no comprehension about washing their hands unless they are specifically told to do so. Our DS does the same thing occaisionally too and its exactly as someone else said, he gets a little on his fingers when he is wiping then he wipes his fingers on the closest thing to him that is not himself. For us this is the bathroom shower rug. Arrg! I did make him clean it up last time (wipe it with a disposable disinfecting wipe) and he hasn't done it since but I'm not really convinced we're done with this behavior. I think he has been doing it for so long without thinking about it that we'll probably have to reinforce this a lot before we're done with it for good.

I'm so glad that you got me thinking harder about the poop thing!

I decided to order the following book from amazon.com to see if I can get some more ideas to help my younger son with AS and OCD get potty trained.

http://www.amazon.com/Elimination-Disor ... 356&sr=8-3

He's been working with a private ABA therapist as much as I can afford, but I'm going to check with my parents to see if they will pay for additional weekly time with the therapist.

I also looked around on-line and found out that one of the local autism treatment centers offers both a potty training class for parents and an actual potty training program that you can put your child in.

We've already tried several things and my four-year-old is verbal and knows where the poop goes. He just does it in his pants anyway.

Although we've never had this exact issue, we've had multiple variations on the theme over the years: my son doesn't care about sanitation and doesn't want to care. The reasons and aggrevating factors are mixed, but I ended up seeing only one solution: help him, ride him, repeat, enforce until it becomes something he does out of habit and no longer has to think about. One problem area at a time, consistent effort over - literally - years. We've tried to keep it matter of fact, its just what gets done in our household.

Which means that if you have to be in the bathroom walking him through the steps of a proper wipe and wash every single time, you are in the bathroom every single time.

It works. Eventaully sanitation does simply become habit.

I will say that I have a list of steps for handwashing on the mirror and steps for toileting on the wall, which helps.

My older son with classic autism sometimes forgets to wipe (gross). A lot of verbal reminders, visual aids, the steps listed on posted pieces of paper, these have all helped with him to have proper bathroom habits.

Some kids on the spectrum are late to potty train due to developmental delay, so just teaching them what to do is the key.

Smearing poop on the walls--anything purposeful--tends to be a mental health thing, from what I've read.

I wouldn't say smearing on the walls is a mental health thing. That's taking it kind of far.

Have you tried a visual schedule in the bathroom, combined with some "extra special" hand wipes? Maybe get a container, allow him to help decorate it, put his name on, make a big deal.

When I said "mental health" thing, I was including anxiety disorders, like my sons' selective mutism and OCD. I've been diagnosed with anxiety and so has my husband. I didn't mean anything negative by using the words "mental health."

The visual schedule is often a good idea, though, I agree.