Toilet Training

Intensive Toilet Training Program

Children affected by an autism spectrum disorder or similar diagnosis can be difficult to toilet train.  Toileting is an essential skill necessary for self-sufficiency and can be a critical obstacle to overcome.

Our Errorless Toilet Training Program is a 3-day, 36-hour program in which our trained therapists work one to one with your child in your home to teach independent toileting skills.

Behavioral Consulting of Tampa Bay therapists begin by meeting with the parents to determine the needs of the child during the initial toilet training intake meeting. Here, we define and set goals while assessing the readiness of the child.  During the program, therapists will not offer the child any verbal clues as to when he or she should use the bathroom, simply because the child will become dependent on these rather than on his or her own senses.

We begin by arranging the environment for success and providing immediate physical prompts when the child eliminates. Reinforcement is provided for successful elimination on the toilet and withheld if accidents occur.  Data is collected of each toileting occurrence as well as specific notes, to inform the parents and additional therapists covering  subsequent sessions of progress made.

Procedures are repeated until the child begins to self-initiate. When therapists have recorded 3 consecutive self-initiations, the child’s environment is expanded to outside the bathroom where training is occurring. If a child has difficulty with any step of the process, the therapist will back up a step until he or she is successful. Follow-up is provided for the week following the intensive toilet training session to ensure generalization and maintenance of the toileting skills.