Perhaps get your child Play-Doh, finger paint, water beads, or even shaving cream to play with. You could buy them a noise machine, squishy toys to offer tactile stimulation, and provide a variety of messy play opportunities. Make the child’s bedroom and playroom sensory-friendly. The clothes should help minimize, and in the long run, eliminate fecal smearing. There are special pajamas with fastenings which will ensure that the child cannot reach into their underwear and smear the poop around. Get pajamas and clothes that make it difficult for the child to reach into their diaper. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / ODUA IMAGES Adaptive clothing Place pictures around the house to remind your child and motivate them to engage in desirable toileting behavior. Take time to read books and create social stories with pictures of the child using the toilet properly. When an incident occurs, remain neutral but always engage in positive reinforcement when they use the toilet or go to bed without smearing poop. You can then use the information you gain to develop a schedule for the child that will eliminate smearing feces. You can look for a behavior expert such as a psychologist, occupational therapist, or behavioral therapist to help you identify the triggers of scatolia. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / ZSV3207 Develop a behavior plan A nutritionist can also help you refine your child’s diet to help them have better bowel movements. They can potentially help you eliminate medical causes of fecal smearing. Talk to the child’s pediatrician, nurse, or a nutritionist. That will help you find the trigger for it and assist you in resolving it. Keep a record of when the behavior happens, what is happening around the child, and what happens afterward. It is important to keep note of a child’s scatolia. Here are some more positive strategies to help children with this challenge. Harshly reprimanding a child is not generally thought to help in overcoming scatolia. Whether the smearing of feces is caused by behavioral factors, medical, or sensory challenges, it is crucial to help a child stop doing it for their own health and wellbeing. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / EVGENIIAND How to help a child overcome scatolia The child may use scatolia to express anxiety or communicate discomforts. People in the home may accidentally encourage the behavior, for instance, by laughing, and they will keep doing it. Behavioral factorsĬhildren may smear feces as a way to get attention or communicate something. Hypersensitive children may avoid going to the toilet because the toilet flushing or the feel of toilet paper bothers them. They may accidentally poop in bed and start playing with it. Poor interoception is when a child cannot feel internal sensations, such as when to go to the bathroom. Over-responsive children and those that have poor interoception may also start to smear feces. They may like the feel of poop in their hands or get more sensory input from smelling it when it’s closer. Kids who experience under-responsivity require more input to smell or feel something. Sensory challenges can contribute to fecal smearing. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / TANYA ROZHNOVSKAYA Sensory challenges If you can relieve their gastrointestinal discomfort, you will make a positive step towards the reduction and elimination of scatolia. Scatolia may occur if a child is constipated, has abdominal pain or has diarrhea. What causes a child to smear feces? Medical problems To eliminate fecal smearing behavior, it is crucial to first understand why it’s occurring with the child. “While toilet training is a common challenge among parents of children with autism, few people discuss the smearing of feces or bowel problems.” There are few resources available and research has not yet shown a consistent one-size-fits-all approach that will help every child,” says occupational therapist Kelly Beins, BHSc, OTR/L. “For parents who struggle with their child fecal smearing, it can be scary and overwhelming, frustrating, and confusing. When a parent notices their child fecal smearing, their first concern is probably for their physical and psychological health. It is one of the most common fecal behaviors in autistic children, although there is little research to explain it.įecal smearing, also known as scatolia, can be frightening when it is not understood. Fecal smearing occurs when a child smears their poop on themselves or all over their room. These parents might have to deal with pica (children eating feces), anal poking, and fecal smearing. Toilet training is challenging for any parent but especially for parents of children with autism.
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