K’ T T
T T T
Children with Different Abilities
Childre
N
o maer how
how daunng it seems to you or how many mes you may have
aempted toi
toilet training in the past, you have nothing to lose by giving your child
the opportun
opportunity to gain this incredibly life-affirming skill. I say life-affirming because
this skill gives our children who fall somewhere on the colorful spectrum of
cause skil
developmenta
developmental delays many hidden delights. An independence over their own
bodies abled abled
persons take for granted. A boost to their self-esteem and confidence.
dence.o
More opons in educaonal and recreaonal sengs. From my 30
years of helping educators and a
parents toilet train children from two-years-old to 30 and beyond,
here are my top two
ps.
yond,1. Be inspiraonal: Make it fun!
Yes, toilet training can be fun! There is so much
research that confirms we learn skills for life
when we are having fun. If our children are
having fun, they will go the extra mile to do
what is challenging. If we are having fun, we
will more likely stay with it. How do we make it
fun?
Bring the fun to the toilet
Instead of quietly taking yourself off to the
toilet, make a whole Broadway producon of
it. Announce it to the enre household. Tell
everyone what you are about to do. Aerward,
have your partner, your child’s siblings, or
whomever else is in your home come and clap,
give you a high five, or bang a drum for using
the bathroom. Create “I used the toilet today”
cerficates for each member of the family.
Present them with great fanfare at the dinner
table. Using the bathroom for everyone in your
household is now a cause for celebraon. It is
okay if your exceponal child does not seem to
noce at first—you do not have to get them to
celebrate you. The idea is to start making using
the toilet an event in your house. They will