Effectiveness of a modified rapid toilet training workshop for parents of children with developmental disabilities.
A single-day parent workshop plus short phone coaching can toilet train most young kids with developmental disabilities within a week.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rinald et al. (2012) ran a one-day parent workshop on rapid toilet training. Parents learned the steps, then went home and used them with their young kids who had developmental delays. A BCBA gave phone coaching for a week.
The team tracked in-toilet pees and accidents for each child. They used a multiple-baseline design across six kids to see if the training worked.
What they found
Five of the six kids hit the success mark. They peed in the toilet more often and had fewer accidents. Most kids were trained within the week.
Parents said the workshop was easy to follow and the phone check-ins helped them stay on track.
How this fits with other research
Hollins et al. (2025) picks up where this study ends. Their 2025 paper says you should get medical clearance and run a risk check before any intensive potty program. Katherine’s team did not report these steps, so the newer paper adds a safety layer you can use today.
Perry et al. (2024) looked at 22 parent-led studies in Türkiye. They found parents can teach many skills at home, but most studies skip generalization and maintenance checks. Katherine’s toilet study also skipped these probes, so the pattern holds across countries.
Burgess et al. (1986) worked with kids who had encopresis, not developmental delay. They needed cathartics and sometimes punishment parts. Katherine’s kids learned faster with only positive practice, showing the rapid method can be gentler for kids with delays.
Why it matters
You can run a one-day parent potty workshop and get most kids trained in a week. Add Hollins’ pre-training checklist for safety. Track generalization and maintenance like N et al. suggest. This keeps the fast results while fixing the gaps the early study missed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with developmental disabilities often experience challenges in acquiring toileting skills, which highlights a need for effective toilet training strategies that can be readily disseminated to caregivers. The purpose of this multiple baseline study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a modified rapid toilet training workshop provided to the parents of six children with developmental disabilities. In the workshop, parents were taught to implement an instructional protocol that included increased fluid intake, positive reinforcement for correct toileting, scheduled toilet sittings, scheduled chair sittings to teach initiation, neutral redirection for accidents, and procedures to enhance maintenance and generalization. Following the workshop, parents implemented the toilet training protocol at home with their children for 5-8 days, with telephone support from a researcher. Results indicate that the workshop resulted in increased in-toilet urination and defecation and decreased accidents for the five children who completed the study. The results are discussed in relation to previous and future research and implications for practice.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.01.003