I Gotta Go! Toilet Training: Research, Trends, & Future Directions

Toilet training: one of the most socially valid skills that behavior analysts are confronted with, yet still often misunderstood and misapplied. Many families of children with autism spectrum disorder find toilet training challenging and rely on their applied behavior analysis therapy team for help.

How do we help our clients and their families with such a socially important skill? This webinar will review the most recent literature on toilet training for children on the autism spectrum. We will discuss updates to and ethical implications of the Azrin and Foxx (1971) procedure, particularly as it relates to assent. We will examine what to do when the most commonly used procedures fail and how to set our clients up for success. Finally, we will discuss toilet training in the telehealth era and ways to empower families with tools and skills necessary to carry out successful toileting programs at home.

Learning Objectives

• Attendees will describe the components of an effective toilet training program, based on current research.
• Attendees will discuss the ethical implications of the Azrin and Foxx (1971) procedure, particularly as it relates to assent.
• Attendees will identify ways to increase effectiveness of toileting programs and what to do when they fail.
• Attendees will describe how to train parents to implement toilet training programs, with special emphasis on doing so through a telehealth model.