An extension of commonly used toilet‐training procedures to children with autism spectrum disorder

Perez and team copied the Greer toilet plan for 11 kids with autism. The plan is simple: underwear all day, sit on the potty every 30 minutes, and give a favorite toy or snack when the child pees or poops in the toilet.

No extra machines, no alarms, no hours of sitting. Parents tracked hits and misses at home. The study ran until each child had no accidents for five days in a row.

All 11 kids reached the clean-pants goal. Most got there in two to four weeks. Only one child needed a thicker schedule later.

The simple package worked without adding bells, pads, or long sits. Parents said the 30-minute timer was easy to keep.

The result lines up with McConnell et al. (2020), who also used brief, timed practice plus escape extinction. Both studies show that short, steady sessions beat long, rare ones.

It also echoes Pubylski-Yanofchick et al. (2022). They used differential reinforcement to help an adult try new foods. Same tactic—reward the new step, ignore the old one—worked for toilet hits and for tasting veggies.

Levesque-Wolfe et al. (2021) taught safety skills with the same single-case design. Their kids learned to say “no” to strangers and kept the skill at home. Perez’s kids kept dry pants at home too, showing the design travels across life skills.

You can start toilet training with a kitchen timer, underwear, and a bag of gummies. Try 30-minute sits first. If the child stays dry and earns the prize, you may skip the fancy gear. Track for five dry days, then fade the timer. This low-stress plan saves you hours and keeps parents on board.