37 Toileting IEP Goals (for all ages)

I am wildly passionate about kids being toilet trained if it is a possibility. I never dreamed I would be a passionate advocate for toilet training. But here I am.

Lack of toileting skills is one functional IEP skill that really carries a serious stigma for our kids. It’s very ostracizing for an older child when they lack independent toilet skills. You may also want to read: Toilet Protocols for an IEP

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It is one of the ways we can help our kids maintain dignity. Nothing makes you the target of bullying faster than a bathroom accident. I have a separate post on poop smearing or smearing feces on walls, if that is your child’s issue.

And, speaking of dignity, let’s talk about language for a minute. Please use the word “toilet” or “bathroom” when discussing this issue at IEP meetings or any place else. Tweens and teens do not go “potty.”

They go to the bathroom. Infantilizing our kids is another example of ableism.

Toilet Training an Older Child

However, making that happen is often a different story. Read further for tips on getting toileting or potty training added to your IEP.

Then at the bottom, I have included a sample toilet training schedule or protocol. It’s downloadable so you can print it and adapt it to your disabled child’s needs.

Let’s start at the beginning.

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Why Some Older Kids are not Toilet Trained

Before we examine examples of IEP goals, we must assume that this toilet training issue is not medical.

Have your child checked by their doctor for any possible kidney or bladder issues, anything related to incontinence or autism incontinence.

There are many reasons why some older kids are not toilet trained. And it’s not as rare as you might think. It’s also not just kids with autism.

It’s important for the IEP team to look at the whole issue because you cannot expect a child to achieve a goal if they do not have the subsets of skills to achieve it. For example:

• Functional Communication: Does the child have a functional way to communicate a desire to use the restroom?
• Motor Planning: Does the child have the motor planning skills to recognize that he/she has to use the restroom and then either go or ask to go?
• Interoception: Many kids with autism and other disabilities lack interoception. This means having a sense of what is going on inside the body. Such as, knowing when you feel hungry or when you feel the urge to urinate or deficate or vomit. Some kids may truly not recognize these internal feelings.
• Lack of Fine or Gross Motor Skills: Can the child get to the bathroom, open the door, maneuver clothing/pull bottoms down, etc.?
• Cannot sequence/plan events: When you feel a full bladder and can get yourself to the bathroom and go, it’s a skill we take for granted. But if you break down the entire sequence into task analysis, you’ll see that it’s dozens of executive function skills chained together. You have to have each link before making the chain of events.

Quick task analysis: Look at this quick task analysis of going to the bathroom. Remember, a disabled child must be able to do each of these sub-skills before they can put the chain together.

1. Feel the sense of urgency.
2. Be able to label that in your mind and identify it as “I feel like I have to go to the bathroom.”
3. Self-control skills to not go right then and there
4. Be able to problem solve that feeling I have “I should ask the teacher to leave”
5. Be able to motor plan the appropriate steps to raise your hand, ask the teacher the appropriate question, respond appropriately, get up, go to the appropriate space…and then a whole new sequence of events.

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Use Age-Appropriate Language

Preschoolers use the potty. Teenagers do not. If your 10-year-old still needs diapers or your 11-year-old still needs pull-ups, they don’t need to be doing baby talk, too. Or condescendingly baby-talked down to.

Avoid: potty, poo, peepee, little boys’ room, little girls’ room, piddle, wee wee, poopie, doo doo, etc.

Use instead: bathroom, restroom, urinate, use the bathroom, go to the bathroom, washroom, private time.

Toileting IEP Goals

First, yes, schools can add toilet training to an IEP. There is no “we don’t do that here.”

IDEA and case law have been very clear that IEPs are not just for academics.

Functional skills are to be included in an IEP if a child lacks the skill(s).

IEP Goals for Independent Toileting

These are just some examples of IEP goals for toileting. As always, an IEP goal must meet the SMART goal criteria. Of course, these will vary based on the child’s skills or lack thereof.

You have to have a good foundation before moving on. As in, you cannot put a goal of “student will remain dry for X hours” if the child is not even communicating the need. I see a lot of IEPs with “staying dry” listed as the goal.

Of course that is the ultimate goal! But with many kids, you can’t just jump right to that.

1. Student will sit on the toilet for X seconds every two hours without resistance.
2. With X level of prompt, Student will
3. Student will use (mode of communication) to request….
4. Student will cooperate with specific toileting protocol….
5. When Student is told “Let’s go to the bathroom,” he/she will….
6. Student will void successfully on the toilet…
7. When handed a pullup/key/PECS card/other item, the student will stand up and proceed to the restroom
8. Independently recognizing the need to use the toilet.
9. Independently requesting assistance for toileting when necessary.
10. Independently pulling down and pulling up pants or underwear.
11. Independently using toilet paper and wiping appropriately.
12. Independently flushing the toilet after use.
13. Independently washing hands after toileting.
14. Demonstrating appropriate toileting behaviors in a public restroom.
15. Increasing the duration of time between toilet breaks.
16. Independently adjusting clothing after toileting (e.g., zipping, buttoning).
17. Independently using a public restroom stall and locking/unlocking the door.
18. Independently managing clothing fasteners (e.g., snaps, belts) for toileting.
19. Demonstrating understanding of bathroom hygiene (e.g., not touching the toilet bowl).
20. Reducing accidents and improving overall toileting hygiene.
21. Transferring toileting skills across different environments (home, school, community).
22. Demonstrating independence in toileting routines during transitions (e.g., during recess or a class activity).
23. Independently recognizing the need to use the toilet.
24. Independently requesting assistance for toileting when necessary.
25. Independently pulling down and pulling up pants or underwear.
26. Independently using toilet paper and wiping appropriately.
27. Independently flushing the toilet after use.
28. Independently washing hands after toileting.
29. Demonstrating appropriate toileting behaviors in a public restroom.
30. Increasing the duration of time between toilet breaks.
31. Independently adjusting clothing after toileting (e.g., zipping, buttoning).
32. Independently using a public restroom stall and locking/unlocking the door.
33. Independently managing clothing fasteners (e.g., snaps, belts) for toileting.
34. Demonstrating understanding of bathroom hygiene (e.g., not touching the toilet bowl).
35. Reducing accidents and improving overall toileting hygiene.
36. Transferring toileting skills across different environments (home, school, community).
37. Demonstrating independence in toileting routines during transitions (e.g., during recess or a class activity).

Those are just some sample tasks that relate to toileting. Think of the basic foundation steps toward toilet training, and put them in the goal formula.

As always, these goals should be tailored to the individual’s specific needs and abilities and developed in collaboration with the student’s educational team and parents or guardians.

Child Excluded from IEP placement because they are not toilet trained.

This is related but also common to the problem of having an older child who is not yet toilet trained. Many schools and preschools have rules such as “Must be toilet trained to attend.” Can they do that? Well, it depends. Each situation is different.

Private schools and private preschools are generally not bound to IDEA, so they can establish these rules. Public schools that are bound to IDEA cannot. If it is a placement that was decided upon by the IEP team, then no, they cannot.

Think of it this way: Essentially, the child is not toilet trained (at a later age than usual) due to their disability.

Thus, excluding them from that school would be excluding them based upon their disability. However, some schools are allowed to do this, such as private schools and charter schools.

Toileting and Aides/Paraprofessionals

If the (public school’s) reason is merely that they are not staffed to do it, that is not a valid reason. I understand that many union contracts prohibit teachers from entering restrooms with students, or assisting them with toileting.

However, then the child needs a PCA or 1:1 to assist them with this. If the child otherwise belongs in gen ed for most of their day in order to obtain LRE, the school cannot choose a more restrictive placement based on one issue (toileting).

It can get complicated, so feel free to join our Parent Group if you have specific questions.

Adding Toilet Training to an IEP.

I was told that’s not an IEP item. It is. Case law has supported adaptive living skills on an IEP over and over and over. So, just handle it like you would any other concern. Ask them to show you where it says in IDEA or the state regs that potty training should not be part of an IEP. (They’ll be looking for a really long time) Remember, there is no “We don’t do that here.”

Toileting or Potty Training on your IEP.

• Write a letter to your child’s IEP team. Describe the problem. Include the consequences and repercussions of what is happening as a result of your child not being toilet trained.
• Ask the team to meet. State that you wish to discuss toilet training goals and protocols.
• Include success stories! What has worked at home? Are there signs of readiness that you see in your child? Be solution-oriented in your request.
• All along the way, document, document, document.
• After the meeting, write a short note that summarizes what the team agreed to do. Add in that you expect to see this information on a PWN and proceed accordingly.

Good luck and keep us posted!