Teaching a child with challenging behaviour to use the toilet: a clinical case study - Brown - 2011 - British Journal of Learning Disabilities - Wiley Online Library

Teaching a child with challenging behaviour to use the toilet: a clinical case study - Brown - 2011 - British Journal of Learning Disabilities - Wiley Online Library: Learning to use the toilet is an important developmental step for a child’s independence, health and dignity. It can be particularly difficult to teach continence skills to disabled children with aggressive or challenging behaviour. This study showed how Azrin & Foxx's (1971) basic toilet training procedure could be modified to teach a 13-year-old child with learning disabilities with aggressive behaviour to use the toilet in school. Urinary continence was achieved within 2 weeks and maintained at 6-week follow-up. Long-term data showed continence was maintained at 6-, 12- and 24-month follow-up. The programme was subsequently successfully transferred into the home. There is a strong evidence base for effective continence programmes, and the challenge now is how to disseminate their findings and ensure they are systematically used.