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Toilet Training for Individuals with Autism or Other Developmental Issues
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01 September 2007

Toilet training can be a battleground for parents and children. In this book—the only one on the market dealing with the specific issues involved in toilet training children with autism—Maria Wheeler offers a detailed roadmap for success, based on over twenty years of experience. Easy-to-read bulleted lists offer over 200 do’s and don’ts presented, along with more than fifty real-life examples. Learn, among other things, how to gauge “readiness,” overcome fear of the bathroom, teach how to use toilet paper, flush and wash up, and deal with toileting in unfamiliar environments. A life preserver for parents and reluctant children!
Helpful chapters include:
Chapter 1: The Importance of Toilet Training
- Characteristics of autism that influence toilet training
- Impact on home, family and community
- Impact on school and learning
- Impact on social relationships
Chapter 2: Determining Readiness
- Chronological age as a factor
- The issue of mental age as a part of readiness
- Awareness levels in readiness
- Physiological factors to consider
- Other readiness indicators
Chapter 3: Developing a Toileting Routine
- Developing toileting schedules
- Communication structures
- Pre- and post-toileting rituals
- Fluid intake
- Undressing and dressing
- Flushing
- Handwashing
Chapter 4: Dressing for the Occasion
- Diapers or underpants
- Outerwear
- Other items and equipment needed
- Sensory issues related to clothing and other items used
Chapter 5: Habit Training
- When is habit training the appropriate option
- Determining a reasonable schedule
- Developing a routine
- Readiness for spontaneous toileting
Chapter 6: Teaching Continence
- Bladder control
- Bowel control
Chapter 7: Communicating the Need to Use the Toilet
- Alternate forms of communication
- Availability of communication
- How to respond to communication efforts
- When communication demands are a step backward
Chapter 8: When Toilet Training is Successful
- When to reinforce
- How to reinforce
- The importance of environmental structure
Chapter 9: Toileting in Unfamiliar Environments
- Locating restroom in new environments
- Communicating the need to toilet
- Adjusting toileting routines to new situations
- Survival kits for community outings
Chapter 10: Nighttime Training
- When to begin nighttime training
- How to teach nighttime continence
- Special aids
Chapter 11: Support Strategies
- Modeling Stories that teach
- Preteaching
Chapter 12: Common Problems (and Solutions) Associated with Toilet Training Persons with Autism
- Fear of the bathroom
- Fear of the toilet
- Repeated flushing
- Negative reactions to taking away diapers
- Failure to void in the toilet
- Failure to have a bowel movement in the toilet
- Urinating outside of the toilet bowl
- Smearing feces
- Resistance to using toilet paper
- Using too much toilet paper
- Resistance to washing hands
- Needs frequent cues to complete routines
- Resistance to using unfamiliar toileting facilities
- Is toilet trained at home, but not at school
- Is toilet trained at school, but not at home
- Regression or setbacks
- Data collection form for toilet training
- An example social story—Using the Toilet
Glossary
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