Toilet Training

Applied Behavior Analysis
by L M Dillon

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TOILET TRAINING

There are many ways to potty train your child. This is just one possible method you may want to try. You will need a picture of a bathroom or potty before you begin. It is also preferable, though not necessary that the child have the prerequisite skill of sitting in a chair for several minutes before you begin the potty training. This method teaches the child the routine of going to the bathroom before the child is expected to void in the potty. Once the child is comfortable with the routine you can begin to increase liquids to set up a successful situation in which your child uses the potty.

Step 1. Use a hand over hand prompt so the child picks up the potty card. Immediately reinforce picking up the card with an edible. Continue to do this until the child spontaneously picks up the card when ever he sees it. (This may take minutes, hours, days or weeks. Each child is different.)

Step 2. The child must pick up the card and hand it over to the parent or therapist. The child will receive the edible for handing over the card, he does not receive the edible for picking up the card. Continue this until the child does it spontaneously.

Step 3. The child picks up the card, hands it to the teacher and walks to the bathroom. You may want to have the chair only 3-4 feet away from the bathroom. The child receives the edible after walking to the bathroom. Continue until the child does this spontaneously.

Step 4. The child picks up the card, hands it to the parent, walks to the bathroom, and sits on the toilet. Give reinforcement as soon as the child sits on the toilet. The child at this point is only sitting for a few seconds. Once this is firm wait until the child is sitting 15 seconds before giving reinforcement. After this is done spontaneously move to the next step.

Step 5. The child picks up the card, hands it to the therapist, walks to the bathroom, sits on the toilet, and washes his/ her hands. (You may want to break down washing hands into smaller steps) Reinforcement happens after hand washing.

After you child knows the routine of using the bathroom you will want to increase the chances of her urinating on the potty. If practical have your child in underwear so you can monitor for several days how frequently your child is urinating. There will be plenty of cleaning and washing of soiled clothing but it will be worth the end result of a child who initiates and goes to the bathroom independently. Once you know how frequently your child is going to the bathroom designate a few hours each day to work on potty training. During this time increase the child's liquids and work on just the bathroom routine. Once your child urinates in the potty and this will happen introduce a second reinforcer even more powerful than the first. Continue to reinforce initiation even if the child does not go in the potty.

Of course you may run into any number of issues. One I encountered recently was of a child who slapped his face when I attempted to help him pull down his pants. Now I didn't immediately associate it with the bathroom or the physical prompt until he did it again in the same way right after I helped him pull down his pants a second time. We spent the next 10 minutes in which I pulled down his pants and immediately after that he got a raisin and then immediately after that his pants were pulled back up again. Now if you combine this with deprivation of raisins which he likes during the regular day he will be more likely after he associates his pants coming down with getting raisins to let me help him pull down his pants.