2021 Volume 36 Issue 1 Pages 37-45
Study objective: The purposes of the present study were to create, utilize, and examine effects of a viable support plan for the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (age: 8 years 7 months at the start of the study) who was not toilet trained. Participants: A boy in the third grade of a special needs school for children with intellectual disabilities, who had autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, and his parent. The boy had wet his pants on his way to and from school and did not defecate on the toilet. He strongly resisted sitting on the toilet and, when told to do so, at times had raised his voice and vomited. Settings: For urination, the intervention was conducted on the way to and from school. For defecation, the parent intervened at home. Intervention: After an assessment of the behavior of the child and his parent, the following support plan was created: (a) for urination, his underwear was changed from disposable diapers to cloth underpants, and (b) for defecation, 2 methods chosen by the parent were used so that the boy could experience defecation on the toilet without showing any refusal behavior. The boy was given an enema in order to shorten the time spent on the toilet and ensure defecation, and, after defecation, a reinforcer was presented. Results: After the parent support plan was put into practice, the boy urinated and defecated on the toilet. Conclusions: Because the support plan had been chosen by the parent, that may have encouraged the parent to cooperate. After the interventions were implemented, the boy became toilet trained.
