Awhi is still in development, we'd love your feedback and suggestions. Let us know.
Toileting
Learning to use the toilet can be really challenging for some children - and some may never get there. There are steps you can take to help your child learn this skill. One of the most important steps is reducing the pressure on them and you.
Awhi Articles
Awhi Article
What does your child need for toilet training?
Is it time to toilet train? This guide will tell you everything you need to get in order to be ready to do it.
Awhi Article
Pathological Demand Avoidance syndrome (PDA)...
Pathological Demand Avoidance syndrome can make toileting really challenging. This guide will help.
Awhi Article
My child is starting school but they’re not...
Learn how school teachers can provide sensitive and comprehensive assistance to children who need help with toileting beyond their first few months at school.
Awhi Article
How to help children with Down Syndrome use the...
If your child has Down Syndrome they may have trouble with toileting. These challenges might be unique to your child and other children like them. Here are some tips to help support them.
Awhi Article
How do I stop my child wetting the bed?
Bed wetting can be very upsetting for children and their parents. Having bladder control issues is common in children. Here is some advice and support.
Awhi Article
How do I “toilet train” my child?
Toileting might take a lot longer if your child has a disability or is neurodivergent or has a medical issue. Here are some tips for helping to develop the toileting skill.
Awhi Article
Autism and toileting - how to help your child
Toileting can be especially hard for autistic and neurodivergent children. This guide outlines the unique challenges your child might face and how to help them.
Books
Book
Willie wants to wee-wee!
When Willie woke up he knew what he wanted to do, and it was urgent! A humorous look at toilet training. Suggested level: junior.
Book
What to do about smearing :
With down to earth advice and tried and tested strategies, this supportive guide addresses faecal smearing among children and adults with autism and developmental and intellectual disabilities. It...
Book
Tom needs to go :
"When Tom is out shopping with his mother, he needs to go to the toilet. Tom knows that public toilets are different to his toilet at home. There are urinals and cubicles and he has to decide which...
Book
Toilet training success :
"From sitting on a toilet to independent use of a public restroom, Cicero leads parents and teachers down the road of success by breaking the complex task of teaching independent toileting skills...
Book
Toilet training for individuals with autism or...
"Toilet training can become a battleground for caregivers and children alike, especially if the child has autism or other developmental challenges. This book offers a detailed roadmap for success....
Book
Toilet training and the autism spectrum (ASD) :
"This book looks at toilet training difficulties for children with autism spectrum conditions, and presents practical interventions to help children overcome these problems. Packed with essential...
Book
The potty journey :
"Systematic, comprehensive and proven way to toilet train children with autism and related disorders, whose very characteristics make toilet training challenging. the author takes a humorous...
Book
The parent's guide to occupational therapy for...
"Expanding upon the award winning first edition, this essential guide for parents of children with autism and other special needs covers sensory processing, toileting, feeding, and much more. It...
Book
Steps to independence: teaching everyday skills...
Gives proven strategies for teaching the life skills children from age 3 through to young adulthood need to live as independently as possible. Provides a guide to teaching seven types of skills:...
Book
Ready, set, potty! Toilet training for children...
"Bursting with ideas on how to see past conventional strategies and adapt toilet training to suit your child, this book outlines methods that have helped even the most despairing of parents and...
Book
Potty time for kids with Down syndrome :
"The guide discusses physical, medical, and behavioral issues that can complicate toilet training children with Down syndrome and offers step-by-step instructions for teaching and motivating...
Book
Poo hoo /
Uses a story format to address the medical problem of fecal incontinence in young children. Tim has had a sore tummy for a long time, but worse, now his poo has started sneaking out without him...
Book
Liam goes poo in the toilet :
Liam learns to poop in the toilet after a little difficulty.
Book
Hygiene and related behaviors for children and...
"This book will be very helpful to many ASD parents who need a supportive, fun and effective program to help their child make the connection between his or her hygiene behaviors and how those...
Book
How to poop everyday /
A boy is encouraged to develop healthy habits by using the potty when the urge arises.
Book
Ellie needs to go :
"This visual resource helps parents and carers teach girls and young women with autism and related conditions about how to use public toilets safely. It covers the subtleties of social etiquette,...
Book
Bowel and bladder assessment pack :
"Some children and teenagers with a learning disability, physical disability, autism or complex needs remain incontinent of the bowel and bladder. This has a serious impact on their self-esteem,...
Book
Bobby can use the toilet /
"This is a social story to help children learn to use the toilet. The clear text and illustrations will help parents and carers teach the toileting routine. The story of Bobby is intended to be...
Book
Autistic logistics :
"This updated edition is based on Kate Wilde's decades of experience and the latest autism research. Tackling day-to-day issues and more, the book offers tried-and-tested techniques to help you...
Book
A wee secret
Uses a story format to address the problem of bedwetting in children. Jet and Tui are friends. They both have a secret problem with bedwetting. But with a little help, their secret will soon be a...
Ebooks
Ebook
What to do about smearing :
With down to earth advice and tried and tested strategies, this supportive guide addresses faecal smearing among children and adults with autism and developmental and intellectual disabilities. It...
Ebook
Tom needs to go :
"When Tom is out shopping with his mother, he needs to go to the toilet. Tom knows that public toilets are different to his toilet at home. There are urinals and cubicles and he has to decide which...
Ebook
Toilet training and the autism spectrum (ASD) :
"This book looks at toilet training difficulties for children with autism spectrum conditions, and presents practical interventions to help children overcome these problems. Packed with essential...
Ebook
The parent's guide to occupational therapy for...
"Expanding upon the award winning first edition, this essential guide for parents of children with autism and other special needs covers sensory processing, toileting, feeding, and much more. It...
Ebook
Ready, set, potty!
"Bursting with ideas on how to see past conventional strategies and adapt toilet training to suit your child, this book outlines methods that have helped even the most despairing of parents and...
Ebook
Ellie needs to go :
"This visual resource helps parents and carers teach girls and young women with autism and related conditions about how to use public toilets safely. It covers the subtleties of social etiquette,...
Ebook
Autistic logistics :
"This updated edition is based on Kate Wilde's decades of experience and the latest autism research. Tackling day-to-day issues and more, the book offers tried-and-tested techniques to help you...
Online Resources
Online Resource
Toilet training your child
Web page of tips and links to useful resources on when and how to toilet train your child compiled by Plunket New Zealand.
Online Resource
The 4 Most Common Potty Training Methods
There are lots of different ways to potty train your child. Some parents are super-lucky and watch as their child virtually trains themselves, others find it takes much longer than they thought it...
Online Resource
ERIC, the Children's Bowel and Bladder Charity
ERIC provides expert support, information, education and understanding to children, young people and their families, enabling parents, carers and professionals across health, early years and...
Online Resource
Continence New Zealand
Home page of Continence New Zealand. "Continence NZ was established to provide a service to people with continence problems, caregivers, health professionals and the general public by providing...
The Awhi Ngā Mātua team would like to thank Takai, the IHC Foundation and the Dines Family Charitable Trust for their generous contributions to our work. A huge thank you also to the IHC Programmes team, in particular the IHC Library which has worked so hard to make their remarkable collection available to us.
