Let’s Go to the Loo: Resources for Potty Training a Child Who Is Blind or Low Vision

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Toilet training is often viewed as a looming hurdle, a giant obstacle, and an exhausting feat. One requiring patience upon patience. We parents arm ourselves with a litany of literature, hoping to prepare our children for success and ourselves with realistic expectations. Still, most toilet-training literature is written for children who are fully sighted. While potty training advice for children who are sighted is useful, it’s important to consider additional factors for children who have less exposure to toilets and who haven’t observed parents or siblings using the restroom.

Approaching potty training

• Evaluating when to begin the process
• How to familiarize your child with the toilet
• When to direct your child to the potty
• How to occupy your child while they wait on the toilet
• What to do if your child is afraid of the flushing sound
• What to do if the toilet training efforts are unsuccessful

How to Maximize Your Child’s Participation, Privacy, and Comfort

• How to establish a toilet routine
• Ensuring your child is physically stable while using the toilet
• Methods for teaching the bathroom process, including removing clothing, wiping, flushing, dressing, and washing hands
• The types of clothing which ease the transition to independence
• What to do if your child can’t communicate the need to potty
• How to handle potty accidents
• Appropriate rewards for using the potty
• Modeling privacy

Perhaps, summer is the season to equip your child with increased toileting participation, privacy, comfort, and independence if your child is ready. Arm yourself with toilet training advice specific to children who are blind or low vision, set high and realistic expectations, and plan your strategy!