Potty Training for Children with Autism

Toilet training is one of the most common topics and concerns parents of autistic children frequently bring up. It may be one of the most challenging things to manage, especially with autistic individuals. However, once achieved, it is certainly the most rewarding because it greatly impacts the individual’s quality of life.

Understanding Resistance: Is Your Child Refusing to Use the Toilet?

If so, we need to address their refusal to sit on the toilet to pee or poo before tackling toileting itself.

Gradual Desensitization Techniques for Potty Training

One of the most common ways to address the refusal to sit in the toilet to pee or poo is a strategy called “Gradual Desensitization”. The goal is to help your child slowly become comfortable with sitting on the toilet without significant resistance.

“Gradual Desensitization” needs to be paired with positive rewards as a result of sitting in the toilet so that this can foster increased motivation for your child to sit in the toilet to pee or poo.

Here’s how to start:

• You can start off with encouraging your child to enter and stay in the bathroom for 3 minutes. When they are able to achieve this, they will get the agreed upon reward.

• Later on, you can get your child to sit on the toilet seat for 5 seconds. When they are able to achieve this, they gets the reward.

• The same procedure can be utilized for you child sitting on the toilet seat for gradual increase of length of time.

Transitioning from Diapers to Toilet

If your child is willing to sit on the toilet but is still not voiding, consider that they may be accustomed to peeing or pooing in diapers since birth. They might subconsciously associate diapers with the signal to void.

The purpose of toilet training is to replace this association. We want to help your child recognize the presence of the toilet in the bathroom, along with their bodily sensations of bowel or bladder movement, as the new signals for peeing or pooing.

Timing is Everything

To start, we need to find out at which times during the day your child would most likely going to pee or poo. This ensures that we can concentrate all our efforts on increasing the chance of success for your child peeing or pooing in the toilet. Once the time period is identified, then set pre-determined times that we would take them to the toilet (e.g. if morning is the time period during the day when they most likely would pee or poo, then set 0900, 1030 and 1200 as times to take your child to go to the toilet)

Making Potty Training Less Stressful

It may be possible that there’s an element of anxiety associated with peeing or pooing for your child. We should consider placing some toys or activities that they enjoy engaging in so that going to the toilet is not an unpleasant task for them.

Find the Right Motivation

Also, before we start toilet training, we need to determine what is considered to be the most highly rewarding for your child so that they feels motivated to pee or poo in the toilet. This reward needs to be exclusive to toilet training and can only be delivered as a result of successful voids in the toilet.

Fluids, Fluids, Fluids!

During toilet training period, don’t forget to get your child to drink plenty of fluids so that there are more opportunities for chances of successful voids in the toilet

Ditch the Diapers: Switching to Regular Underwear

When you’re ready to start toilet training, please be sure to only get your child to wear regular underwear, as we no longer want them to associate wearing diapers with voiding

When to Seek Professional Help

If these strategies do not result in any improvements in your child's peeing or pooing in the toilet, please consider:

Any underlying medical issues when it comes to voiding? If so, please consult your family doctor or other related specialists

Any other aspects of mental health leading to your child's refusal to void in the toilet? If so, please consult your child's counsellor, psychologist or psychiatrist

Need more Support?

If you’re still facing challenges with potty training, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Every child’s journey is unique, and sometimes personalized support can make all the difference. Schedule a behavior consultation with us today to get expert guidance tailored to your child’s needs. We’re here to help you and your child succeed!

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