19th September 2014
No more nappies!
Taking away the complexity of toilet training; this case study shows the success of one child with Autism for independent toileting.
Johnny’s parents were having difficulties getting him toilet trained. He was still in nappies as a toddler and he was about to start nursery school. PEAT went out to the family home and implemented a programme that would ensure independent toileting behaviour. From the first day he was out of his nappies and in pants and his fluid intake was increased. As part of the programme Johnny was to make frequent trips to the bathroom to increase the likelihood of appropriate toilet behaviour. He was also taught to request ‘toilet’ by repeating back to the adult the word when it was presented prior to these frequent trips. Johnny was given lots of positive reinforcement for going to the bathroom; initially access to his ipad (to begin with, only for sitting on the toilet) but then more natural praise “you did it!†“Well done!†etc… whenever the desired behaviour (urination) occurred. The frequency of visits to the bathroom was reduced (based on progress) and after two days Johnny was independently requesting to go to the toilet. This behaviour now occurs in all environments where including in nursery, family member’s homes and new bathrooms while out and about with his parents. Johnny’s parents have now reported that he is now fully toilet trained both night and day.