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How Visual Supports Can Help Autistic Children with Potty Training
- Autism-Talk
- Jul 6, 2025
- 4 min read
Toilet training can be a major challenge for many children—but for kids with autism or communication delays, it often brings a whole new level of frustration, anxiety, and confusion. One of the most effective tools for easing the process? Visual supports.
Whether it’s a visual schedule, communication card, or social story, visuals help children understand expectations, remember routines, and feel more confident. And when you’re dealing with something as multi-step and sometimes overwhelming as potty training, that support can make all the difference.
✅ Grab your free Potty Training Social Story Coloring Book here [insert link]🛒 Looking for more visual tools? Check out our full set of printable potty training visuals here [insert link]
Table of Contents
Why Potty Training Is Hard for Some Kids
Toilet training involves multiple steps: recognizing the urge, stopping what you're doing, going to the bathroom, pulling down pants, sitting on the toilet, wiping, flushing, washing hands, drying hands... It’s a lot!
Now add in:
Language processing delays
Sensory sensitivities (the feel of clothes, sounds, smells)
Difficulty with transitions
Anxiety around new environments (like public restrooms)
It’s no wonder many children with autism or developmental delays struggle with the process.
How Visuals Support Learning
Many children with autism are strong visual learners. They process information more easily when it’s presented through images rather than spoken words.
🧠 Research shows that visual supports improve understanding, increase independence, and reduce challenging behaviors in children with autism (Dettmer et al., 2000).
Visuals:
Provide structure and routine
Reduce the need for constant verbal reminders
Decrease anxiety by showing what comes next
Make abstract concepts (like “wait” or “go potty”) more concrete
Why Visuals Work for Potty Training
Potty training is often full of verbal instructions that can get lost or misunderstood.
Visuals help by turning those spoken cues into something the child can see, hold, and reference on their own.
Here’s how they help during toilet training:
🧻 Break down the routine into smaller, manageable steps
🪑 Show what’s expected many children with autism became prompt dependent because we use so many verbal prompts, visuals can help form a bridge so that we do not verbally prompt so much
🔁 Provide repetition without nagging or overwhelming language
🧠 Aid Expressive Language, many children with autism experience difficulties expressing themselves verbally. Picture cards can give kids an easy means to communicate when they need to go to the bathroom.
🎯 Encourage independence, especially for children who may rely heavily on adult prompting
A study by Bryan & Gast (2000) found that children with autism who were taught routines using visual schedules were significantly more successful and independent than those taught with verbal instructions alone.
Types of Visuals That Help with Toilet Training
Here are some of the most helpful tools you can use:
🔹 Visual Schedules
Show each step of the potty routine in order, from “go to bathroom” to “wash hands.” This helps children know what’s coming next.
🔹 Communication Cards
For non-speaking or minimally verbal children, communication cards can help express needs like:
“I need to go potty”
“Help, please”
“All done”
“Wipe” or “Flush”
🔹 Social Stories
Social stories explain the potty routine in a calm, reassuring way. They also help ease fears, like loud flushing sounds or using public toilets.
🔹 Adapted Books
Interactive books that help reinforce bathroom routines in a fun, hands-on way.
Tips for Using Visuals Effectively
👀 Keep them visible – post schedules near the toilet or on a lanyard
🔄 Use them consistently – repeat visuals daily for best results
💬 Pair with language – describe what’s happening as you point to visuals
🧒 Let your child interact – point, choose, move Velcro pieces, or color pages
🧩 Start simple – one or two visuals may be enough at first
🪄 Customize as needed – not all kids need the same number of steps
Free Printable Potty Training Visuals
Looking for a gentle, fun way to introduce visuals? Try this free Potty Training Social Story Coloring Book!
It’s designed for autistic children or those with communication challenges and includes:
Simple story language
Realistic steps in the potty routine
Space to color and cut out each page
A mini book you can read again and again
]
Final Thoughts
Potty training doesn’t have to be confusing, overwhelming, or filled with stress. With the right visual supports, many children—especially those with autism—can feel more in control, more prepared, and more confident.
Visuals make the invisible steps of toilet training visible. They give children something to hold onto—literally and figuratively—and help them succeed on their own terms.
You've got this. And I’m here cheering you on 💛
Related Resources
References
Dettmer, S., Simpson, R. L., Myles, B. S., & Ganz, J. B. (2000). The Use of Visual Supports to Facilitate Transitions of Students with Autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 15(3), 163–169.
Bryan, L. C., & Gast, D. L. (2000). Teaching on-task and on-schedule behaviors to high-functioning children with autism via picture activity schedules. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30(6), 553–567.
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