Toilet Training Your Child With Autism: Strategies For Success

This session provides a systematic and comprehensive approach to toilet training. Participants will learn the six elements essential to designing and implementing a successful toileting program: 1.) Determining readiness 2.) Creating effective communication 3.) Setting up the bathroom 4.) Recording and monitoring progress 5.) Developing new routines 6.) Utilizing behavioral principles. Using extensive examples and a wealth of practical information, this presentation will give parents the preparation they need to begin the toileting journey. Mastering continence is an essential life skill for all children.  Yet, for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, (ASD) and their caretakers, reaching this goal is sometimes distressing and often a considerable challenge. Many children with ASD have communication problems, so it is often unrealistic to expect them to tell us when they have to go to the toilet.  It is much more realistic to teach them to be independent toilet travelers. How is this accomplished? What are the essential elements that every provider needs to think about when initiating the toileting journey of each child with autism? What special considerations influence outcome?  What are the typical obstacles to achieving continence and how can they be overcome?  Toilet training for children with ASD requires persistence, patience and commitment from everyone who is a part of the child’s day.  Once the decision is made to embark on the journey, everyone must follow the plan. 

This engaging session provides a systematic and comprehensive approach to toilet training. Participants will learn the 5 elements essential to designing and implementing a successful toileting program: 1.) Determining readiness 2.) Creating effective communication 3.) Setting up the bathroom 3.)  Recording and monitoring progress 4.) Developing new routines 5.) Utilizing behavioral principles.

Using extensive examples from clinical experience and a wealth of practical information this presentation will give parents, teachers and others the preparation they need to embark on the toileting journey for children of all developmental levels.

The learning objectives are:

1. Participants will learn how to determine a child’s current toileting pattern.
2. Participants will learn how to set up a toileting schedule.
3. Participants will learn how to trouble shoot specific toileting problems.