The "Why" Questions

We are super blessed that Dominic is talking and even though he is behind with his speech, 95% of the time he can communicate to us what he wants and needs. Being able to answer the "why" questions still present a huge challenge for him. While most of the time I have tons of patience with Dominic, I sometimes have those times when I hit my limit. About six weeks or so ago, after being fully trained with the potty training for several months, he decided that he was all done. He started having accidents and lots of anxiety. I have been down this road with him before, but it was after he had a migraine. That was not the case this time, so I was more than a little perplexed. The more I pushed, the more he resisted. Potty training is all about the control, right?? It reached the point that I was almost ready to put him back in diapers (yes, I was THAT frustrated). I relayed my concerns to Dominic's teacher at school and he made a picture schedule that helped. Last week, when I was having lunch with a close friend, I was telling her about how frustrated I was with Dominic that he couldn't tell me "why" he was resisting the potty training so much. She looked right at me and said, "he probably doesn't know." Hmm, that sure put things back into perspective for me! What a wise friend I have :) The whole potty training "road" we have been on with Dominic has definitely been a long and bumpy one. I think the first time we introduced the concept to him was when he was around three years old. He is now over 9 1/2. When a typically developing child masters potty training, it's done and you move on. With Dominic, I liken it to a roller coaster ride, it's been up, down and round and round, with seemingly no end. I finally came to the conclusion that if I didn't make a big deal out of it, he had less anxiety. I was like, "okay, whatever, do it or don't do it." The "reverse psychology" approach seems to be working (at least for now). Once he lets us know "why" he has such issues with the toilet training, my next question for Dominic is "why" does he have such a fascination with his nose?!?!?!!

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