Five Quick Tips for Toilet Training
Positive Reinforcement • March 4, 2022
Readiness
For the average child, potty training begins sometime between 22 and 30 months, but every child is unique and age should not be the only factor in determining readiness. Before undertaking the larger task of potty training, a child should be able to do each individual part, including dressing and undressing from the waist down, washing hands, etc. A child also needs to have control of their bowel and bladder muscles. If they can stay dry for hours at a time and generally go on a schedule, this is a good sign.
Schedules
Schedules and timers are a common tool for toilet training. Children on the autism spectrum
can especially benefit from a visual schedule that shows exactly what will be expected. In this way, visual schedules can reduce anxiety and promote independence. Timers are also a great visual for reminding your child—or yourself—that it is time for a potty break.
Reinforcement
Harness the power of positive reinforcement by using tangible rewards and verbal praise each time your child uses the toilet. For best results, choose a reward that is highly-desired by your child and use it only for toilet training purposes. Reinforcement needs to be done immediately to be effective and should continue to be used until the child succeeds in using the toilet consistently.
Underwear
When your child is ready to begin potty training, make the switch to underwear—bonus points for favorite colors or familiar characters your child loves. Resist the urge to transition to pull-ups before regular underwear. Pull-ups are so good at absorbing liquid and drawing it away from the body that your child may not be able to feel that they are wet. They may need to feel the discomfort of wetness in order to associate this with making it to the toilet instead.
Accidents
Go into toilet training with the mindset that accidents happen. Do your best to downplay accidents and their clean up. Sometimes when parents fuss or give undue attention, they inadvertently reinforce accidents, which can lead to a child having accidents for the attention. Remind the child that next time they should ask to use the restroom, but then clean up and move on.
Positive Reinforcement offers ABA therapy in Bluemont, Middleburg, Upperville, Aldie, Chantilly, Manassas, Woodbridge, Winchester, Front Royal, Middletown, Round Hill, Leesburg, Ashburn, Charles Town, Ferguson, Science Hill, Pulaski and More!
..
One of the most common strategies of ABA therapy alongside individualized goals and positive reinforcement is something called backward chaining. Read on to discover what backward chaining is and how it is used by therapists.
The spring and summer months are some of the busiest months of the year for vacations and vacation planning. If your child has autism, there are several things you can do to make travel a little easier, whether you’re an experienced vacationer yourself or you’ve never ventured far from home.
In this day and age, rates of obesity are climbing in all demographics; however, people with autism are twice as likely to be obese than those in the neurotypical population. Over 30% of individuals with autism are obese.
Sibling relationships are always complex and often difficult—this may be even more likely if you are a sibling to someone who has autism. There is nothing you can do to make their autism go away, but there are steps you can take to be the best sibling you can to them.
Approximately 25% of children with autism are nonverbal or nonspeaking. Early intervention programs have lowered this percentage dramatically over the last decade or more.
Deficient motor skills is considered to be one of the primary symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).. Movement is a great way to slowly develop these skills in your child.
Art therapy is commonly used for stress relief and to help manage emotions in people of all ages. It is also used with young people who have autism as a complementary therapy.
Autism Spectrum Disorder affects a person’s ability to communicate in many ways. In some cases this is manifested in behavior—rocking, eye contact avoidance, even meltdowns are a form of communication.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, a lack of eye contact is among the most common signs of autism
Joint attention is a type of interaction where two people focus on the same object or event. For example, a parent and a child looking together at a plane in the sky or giving their attention to a toy that the child is playing with.