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When potty training your child be sure to use the following as a guideline for success:
*Start small - baby steps toward the goal
*Positive Reinforcement is KEY!
*Three levels of reinforcement
*GOLD for voiding
*SILVER for trying
*BRONZE for dry underwear
*All reinforcers must be given IMMEDIATELY
*The instant your child gets off the toilet, he gets the reinforce.
*Reinforcer should not be "We will go to the store/zoo when you go pee pee in the toilet."
*Involve CHOICE
*Take your child to the store to pick the potty prizes
*This must happen BEFORE starting potty training
*Use VISUALS
*Make a "First, then" and tape it to the wall opposite the toilet
*Take an (appropriate) picture of your child sitting on the toilet for the "first" and leave the "then" spot blank for a picture of the reinforcer
*Remember to put a picture of the exact item (google images or part of the packaging) on the First, then chart. This MUST be in direct eyesight of your child.
*Frequency - Set your self up for success
*Do "dry underwear" checks every 15 minutes
*Give "bronze" reinforcer
*Take him to the bathroom to "try" every 30 minutes
*Give "silver" reinforcer
*When he goes, he earns the GOLD.
*Remember to give the reinforcer immediately after leaving the bathroom.
*Keep up motivation
*Approximately every hour, redo a "preference assessment" and show your child the choices of reinforcers and ask him what he would like to earn for each - dry, try, and go.
When you are CONSISTENT and FREQUENTLY use VISUALS along with motivation POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, your child will be potty trained in no time! -excerpted from Potty Party Plan: The 1, 2, 3 so he will 1 and 2 |
Parent Testimonial of the Month
"You ladies at Steinberg Behavior Solutions make our days brighter and brighter! We can't thank you enough for helping our wonderful, incredible and precious son!" -Anonymous
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Did you know Steinberg Behavior Solutions is an approved practicum site for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology?
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Welcome to the Steinberg Behavior Solutions Newsletter!
Each month features a different topic on behavior and children. This month's topic is Potty Training. Read on for more on this subject. We look forward to your questions and feedback.
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From Sarah, Our Director:
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Research indicates that stress arising from potty training struggles is one of the biggest sources of turmoil for a family and can even contribute to divorce. My hope is to help provide some understanding, strategies, and suggestions to calm the tension. When parents understand why the child is struggling to be fully potty trained, and feel a sense of power in having a plan and the confidence to know there is a means to an end, stress is dramatically reduced.
Just remember, as with nearly all of a child's behavior, the control is ours. We, the adults, have the control to shape the child's behavior through our reinforcements, visuals, and following through. If it's not working, we need to look at OUR behavior and what piece of the puzzle we can modify, before we look at our child's behavior.
Take it one pee-pee at a time and celebrate each success.
Here's to new Batman underwear!
Sincerely,
Sarah
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Teaching a child with Autism how to use a toilet can pose several different challenges. Even if you have success with potty training your child in your own home, some children with Autism have trouble adopting this new knowledge in other situations. There are also sensory issues to consider in the home and when using public restrooms. Some children with Autism have difficulty sitting on a hard toilet seat, have a hard time hearing the toilet flush, or are interested in flushing the toilet excessively, and then there are automatic toilets. There are also the noises of bathroom ventilation systems, leaky faucets, bright vanity lights, and odors from air fresheners, and daily bathroom use. At home, there are cold tile floors.
To address hard toilet seats when you are toilet training your child, you can look into purchasing soft portable toilet seats that you can use in your home bathroom and take with you when you go to public restrooms. At home, placing a step stool underneath your child's feet can help with the feeling of anxiety caused by dangling feet. If a hard toilet seat does not bother your child but a cold toilet seat does, look into warming the toilet seat. For your home, you can purchase a toilet seat warmer, or run the hair dryer over the seat before your child sits down.
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From Our Blog: Let's Have a Poop Potty Party!
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So you have decided to potty train your child? Or maybe your child will go number 1 but will not go number 2? We can help with the BM. To prepare you will need the following items: food, bathroom entertainment, reinforcers, a social story about pooping in the potty, a team of at least two adults, plenty of clean diapers (if your child asks for a diaper only to have a BM), potty visuals, and data charts. You will need to develop some very special key words such as "Its time to...", and "you need to...". Avoid asking your child "can you?", "will you?", and "do you want to?". Lastly, you will need to recognize your child's usual signs of having a bowel movement.
For the food, make sure to give foods high in fiber and plenty of fluids to help promote healthy bowel movements. For bathroom entertainment, go out and buy activities that you and your child can do together in the bathroom because your child will be spending lots of time on the toilet.
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We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Steinberg Behavior Solutions Newsletter. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter .
Please forward on the newsletter (link at the bottom) to anyone else who would benefit from reading it.
We look forward to your comments and feedback!
Sincerely,
Steinberg Behavior Solutions, Inc.
6719 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60645
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