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Toilet Training Basics for the Child with Special Needs: Part One of a Two-Part Series |
There are different degrees of being toilet trained but your ultimate goal is for your child to walk to the potty, undress, urinate or have a bowel movement, and pull up his pants without reminders. Some children will learn to control their bladders first and others start with bowel control. Bladder control through the night normally occurs significantly later than daytime control. Most children are ready to be toilet trained between 24 and 36 months of age, but this may need to be adjusted if your child is developmentally delayed and functioning on a younger level than his chronological age.
The following signs indicate that your child is ready to be trained:
Your child understands what "pee", "poop", "dry", "wet", "clean", "messy", and "potty" mean. (teach him as many of these words as he is capable of learning)
Your child understands what the potty is for. (Teach this by having your child watch parents, older siblings, and children near his age use the toilet correctly)
Your child prefers dry, clean diapers (change your child frequently to encourage this preference)
Your child likes to be changed. (As soon as she is able to walk, teach her to come to you immediately whenever she is wet or dirty. Praise her for coming to you for a change)
Your child understands the connection between dry pants and using the potty.
Your child can recognize the feeling of a full bladder and the urge to have a bowel movement; that is, he paces, jumps up and down, holds his genitals, pulls at his pants, squats down, or tells you. (Clarify for him: "The poop (or pee) wants to come out. It needs your help.)
The way to train your child is to offer encouragement and praise, be patient, and make the process fun. Avoid any pressure or punishment. Your child must feel in control of the process.
Buy supplies.
Potty chair (floor level type). If your child's feet hit the floor while he sits on the potty he has leverage for pushing and a sense of security. He also can get on and off whenever he likes.
Favorite treats (such as fruit slices, raisins, animal crackers, or cookies) for rewards
Stickers or stars for rewards
Make the potty chair one of your child's favorite possessions.
Allow your child to participate in buying the potty chair and decorate it to make it his own special chair.
Allow your child to sit on it fully clothed until she is comfortable with using it for a chair.
Have your child use it while watching TV, eating snacks, playing games, or looking at books.
Keep it in the room in which your child usually plays.
Only after your child clearly has good feelings about the potty chair, proceed to actual toilet training.
Encourage practice runs on the potty.
Do a practice run whenever your child gives a signal that looks promising, such as a certain facial expression, grunting, holding the genital area, pulling at his pants, pacing, squatting, squirming, or passing gas. Other good times are after naps or 20 minutes after meals.
Encourage your child to walk to the potty and sit there with his diapers or pants off. You child can then be told "Try to go pee pee in the potty". If he is reluctant to cooperate, he can be encouraged to sit on the potty but doing something fun like reading a story.
If he wants to get up after one minute of encouragement let him get up. Never force your child to sit there and never physically hold or strap him in.
Each session should end after 5 minutes unless something is happening.
Praise or reward your child for cooperation or any success.
All cooperation with the practice session should be praised.
If your child urinates into the potty, she can be rewarded with treats or stickers as well as praise and hugs. Big rewards (such as going to get ice cream) should be reserved for when your child walks over to the potty on her own and uses it or asks to go there with you and then uses it.
Once your child uses the potty by herself two or more times, you can stop the practice runs. For the following week continue to praise your child frequently for dryness and for using the potty.
Change your child after accidents.
Change your child as soon as possible after the accident, but respond sympathetically. Say something like "You wanted to go pee-pee in the potty, but you went pee-pee in your pants. You like to be dry, and you'll get better at this."
Then change your child into a dry diaper or training pants in as pleasant and non-angry a way as possible. Avoid physical punishment, yelling, or scolding.
Introduce training pants after your child starts using the potty
Switch from diapers to training pants after your child is cooperative about sitting on the potty chair and passes about half of her urine and bowel movements there.
Once you start using training pants, use diapers only for naps and nighttime.