With Holding

Poop. I can't believe my first blog post after a summer break is about poop(or lack there of). Poop.

Emily has always had severe issues with bowel movements. Bowel movements, I suppose, is the appropriate term I should use. Although I have the urge to scream SHIT many times.  She potty trained fairly easily and I always knew when she needed to poop as a baby. She got that look. You know the one. After the first few times on the potty, she became hesitant to poop and wanted complete privacy when she did it. She would get on and off the toilet many times when pooping. After each little bit, she would get up and walk around and then go back and do more. This was MESSY as she could not wipe herself and would not allow me in the bathroom with her. Her bowel movements were not that frequent so I was just pleased anytime she went. She would cry while going, but her stools were never hard. This was a complete sensory issue for her. She didn't like the feel of it at all and thus began her journey with holding.

She also never went to poop anywhere other than home. Once she started school, the with holding became even worse. I would give her laxatives to stimulate her to go, and that still would not work. We tried miralax to no avail. The only solid thing that seemed to help on occasion was sweet tea. Once she started on the risperdal, her sensory issues became less intense. She would sit on the potty the entire time to complete her poop. I was THRILLED! No more crying or running around with shit all over her and the bathroom. It was a milestone I will never forget. However, she was with holding for weeks. She would refuse to eat, because she knew the urge to poop would follow. It became more of a control issue than sensory.

This for us has been one of the more difficult issues associated with her Autism Spectrum Disorder. Children on the spectrum often with hold their bowel movements. For Emily, the need to poop is there, but for reasons only known to her, she refuses. This inability to eliminate the wastes that have been building up in her body creates massive meltdowns and behavior issues. A simple trip to the bathroom to tinkle can end up with her on the floor screaming, because she knows if she sits to urinate the urge to poop will be there.

So while I am typing this post, she is at school feeling the need to poop after a very long two weeks. I am picking her up before lunch, getting her some sweet tea from Milo's and bringing her some to an empty house in hopes that TODAY is the day that she poops.

Thanks for reading~
Jessica

*Side Note*
A friend thought my grammatical contradications were funny. She liked how I used the word "shit" along with words like "tinkle". I will say this. I don't use the word shit loosely and don't like to say it at all, but when it is contained in a potty or diaper, it is referred to as poop. When it is in the hair down to the toes and there are brown footprints on every surface of your house, it then becomes "shit".