How to Toilet Train a Special Needs Child

Toilet training any child can be an exhaustive process, but it can be even more so with a special needs child. It can be hard to know when a special needs child is physically, developmentally and emotionally ready for toilet training. Patience and persistence are the keys to success in this endeavor.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Specialty potty
• Adapted equipment

1. Determine if your child is ready to be toilet training. Remember that with children with special needs it's usually their developmental age that matters more than their chronological age. Ask yourself if your child can follow instructions, knows when she needs to go to the bathroom and dislikes wearing dirty diapers and being changed.

2. Buy an appropriate potty chair for your child. If your child has physical limitations you may need to get a specially designed potty to accommodate her.

3. Present the potty to your child like a gift and allow her to decorate it if he or she wishes. That way your child will have a positive association with the potty.

4. Create a potty routine with your child. Whenever it looks like the child needs to eliminate or tells you she or he has to go, take the child to the potty, pull down the clothes for the child to sit on the potty. After dressing, train the child to wash his or her hands.

5. Focus on consistency and positive reinforcement. Stick to the same routine every time and praise and/or reward the child for successfully using the potty.

Tips & Warnings

• If your child can stay dry for several hours at a time, asks to be changed and wants to wear underwear instead of diapers, these are signs he or she may be ready to begin toilet training.
• Let your child sit on the potty at playtime or when watching TV to get used to it. You want the potty to be a familiar item to your child.
• Take your child to the potty even more than he or she has to use it. First ask if your child needs to go to the potty, and then take the child to the potty either way. Repetition will allow you to train your child more efficiently.
• Don't rush your child. Different children will learn at a different pace, and some children with special needs may never become fully toilet trained and will experience occasional to frequent accidents.
• Don't start trying to toilet train your child when there is something stressful going on in the child's life like a move, the arrival of a new baby or starting a new daycare.
• Never punish your child for having an accident. This is completely counterproductive and will likely make the process take longer.

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