0 - 14 Years

Expert Special Needs Potty Training Consultant Services

We Can Help You


At The Potty School we recognize that not every potty training journey is the same, especially for those who are potty training children with special needs. We understand the huge impact that diagnoses, symptoms, age, abilities and cognitive, physical and verbal differences can have on the process. There isn't one approach and that's why we focus on getting to know your family, what you've already tried, what has been helpful and what hasn't worked at all.

We primarily focus on three aspects:
1) Caregiver Collaboration:
We begin by asking, and listening, to your concerns. By sharing your wins and setbacks we will have a better picture of how to serve you. This information helps us to work together with you to create a plan of next steps.

2) Sensory-Guided Elimination: 
Our unique "special needs potty training" approach is called sensory-guided elimination. It leverages your child's capabilities by capitalizing on their dominant sense, or senses, to lay the groundwork for progress. By understanding how they perceive (receptively) and interact (expressively) with the world, we can create a toilet training experience that feels most comfortable and engaging for them, all the while making potty training progress.

3) Empowering Families: 
Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to confidently support your child's potty training journey. We believe in honesty and openness. We take a caring, and informed, approach to best serve your family.

We most often work with children who have autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, or have expressive and/or receptive language delays. But, we have worked with children including, but not limited to, those with chromosomal abnormalities, genetic conditions, post-surgical, PTSD, behavioral episodes, sexual assault victims, selective mutism and many more.

We know that even within the category of special needs potty training, there are very complicated and unique differences. The benefits of Special Needs Potty Training are:

A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
Reduce caregiver dependence
A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
Increase level of self-dignity
A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
Provide as much autonomy as possible
A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
Encourage continual learning

Choose How to Work with Us

Consultation Call

Phone or Video Chat. One-on-one pottying support to talk through planning, implementing, problem solving or finishing up. After booking, we ask you to provide basics about your family’s routines and preferences. You are then matched up with a highly trained, and caring, consultant, based on the answers of your in-take questionnaire. You can book, do your in-take questionnaire and schedule all within a few minutes, if you’d like. Or, take your time after booking and schedule when you are ready. Great as a personal investment, or a gift.

Prices:
$249 for 45-minute new client meeting
$185 for 30-minute existing client meeting

Home Consultations

Our concierge service for clients who like to have home access to an experienced professional. These clients can rest assured that what they are doing will be helpful to the process, and encouraging to their family dynamics, both present and future. This premier service is not for everyone. It is for the parent who is looking for that whisper in their ear of what to do each step of the way in order to have the most successes in the potty in the least stressful, and shortest amount of time. It can be for day #1 of pottying, in the middle, or trying to finish up the process.

Prices:
$5,000 for 2 days (16 hours) of pottying support*
$3,500 for 1 day (8 hours) of pottying support*
$750 for Virtual 1 day (off & on) of pottying support
Travel to continental U.S. included.
*
Additional travel fee applies to Alaska and Hawaii, and international locations outside of the U.S.

Membership Group

The online Diapers to Flush Membership is the best of both worlds! Gain 24/7 access to The Potty School’s only endorsed potty learning path, which includes access to videos, tutorials and articles. You will have full access to our community of families from around the world who are on this adventure with you. Our searchable database gives you instant access to specific questions from our vault. Move along on your path with others who are in similar places on the journey with you. You will have people to cry & laugh with. You will not be alone. Not only will you make connections with peers, but you will also have access to submit questions for our Q&A sessions and learn from the experts with topical expert sessions. If you’re unsure which service to invest in, we suggest you start here.

Prices:
Diapers To Flush starting at $65/month

Online Courses

24/7 access to any of our courses ranging from our most-purchased “Online Potty Training Video Course” to more specific topical themes. You can choose your own adventure based on your family’s preferences and parenting philosophies, or you can choose from set mini-courses such as Nights & Naps, or how nutrition can help with Potty Training. Your progress will be marked as you go along. You will have 90-day access to any course purchased.

Prices
Prices start at $19.95+
Diapers To Flush starting at $65/month

Want more information on Potty Training? Join our email list!

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The Potty School® is for...

Any and all parents and caregivers teaching their child(ren) to use the potty. Our team of background checked and cleared professionals truly desire to see progress in your pottying journey. The Potty School® works exceptionally well with all of the following:

A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
First time parents
A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
Parents who have already tried potty training their special needs child on their own
A video of Michelle D. Swaney CEO of The Potty School talking about the Diapers to Flush membership. A program with a 5-stage journey to pottying independence.
Children with special needs, including autism potty training specialists and autism potty training consultants
What sorts of special needs does The Potty School® work with?

We primarily work with children with autism, Down syndrome, ADHD, and those with both receptive and expressive speech delays. We have also worked with cases involving chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, diseases, sexual abuse and selective mutism, to name a few. In addition, we have worked with a variety of other diagnoses as well, some of which include, low muscle tone, cerebral palsy and neuro-typical children who are post-surgical, or in casts, or part of the foster care system.

We have patients who find us by Googling, but we also get plenty of referrals from pediatricians, ABA therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, behavioral therapists, specialists (in numerous medical fields), hospitals, holistic providers, parenting class teachers, school districts, pre-school teachers, Regional Center(s), childcare provider classes, Educational Development Centers, public schools, private school, homeschool co-ops, non-profits, and of course just plain 'ole word-of-mouth.

Does it cost extra for special needs families?

Absolutely not, and it never will. A person is a person.

Does my child need to have a formal diagnosis before you work with us?

No. But, it is definitely helpful to get the perspective of your caregiving team ahead of time, if possible. That said, no formal diagnosis is required.

What kind of results can I expect?

We are working on progress, not perfection, when it comes to children with special needs and their families. We like to equip you with as many resources ready at the go so that you have options when different situations arise. We won't come in with a plan. (We used to do that, but learned our lesson that it wasn't the best option). We need to learn about your child and your family and what you value, so we will make a plan together.

If we do a Home Consultation do we need to cancel our therapy sessions for that time period?

Not necessarily. If they are done in the home then no. If they require numerous trips out of the house we may need to talk about the pros and cons. Generally, a therapist is willing to come to the home for the sake of Potty Training help. We do limit the amount of adults to a parent/guardian and one additional person over the age of 18. (So, two adults, one of which needs to be a guardian).

Can our therapist be part of a Home Consultation Potty Training, or Elimination Communication experience?

If they are a licensed therapist, who is background checked and over the age of 18, we trust your discretion for their presence. But, we will never be alone with your child without you, whether there is another adult or not.

My child is over age 14 and has special needs, will you help us with pottying and bathrooming?

We primarily work with children ages 0-14 years old, but we have recently changed our policy to occasionally include children up to age 17 years old. Yes, is sometimes the new answer! But, we do need additional context in order to make sure we are a best fit for your family. That said, we will ONLY work with children who have a legal guardian. Unfortunately, we are not able to work with emancipated youth. To give us some context about your child ages 15-17 years old, please to use the contact us form, or email us at help@thepottyschool.com and drop us a line.

What Our Clients Are Saying

"I would like to thank you again for our chat/consultation. We have hit a major improvement in potty training our daughter, whereby she is now asking to go toilet (which she never did previously) and also going with minimal accidents, if any at all. She has also been at nursery all day today, and not one accident. I couldn't be more proud of her, but also go glad the potty training challenge and our consultation helped me!"

- Dee (London, England - United Kingdom)

"One of the parents that attended your potty training at Mitchell Child Development Center implemented what you presented at our training and now her son is fully potty trained. She wanted me to let you know that what you shared with the parents was very effective and she wanted to thank you for helping her in the potty training process. It made my day when she approached me and I told her I would pass the message on to you. Thank you for helping our parents!"

- Lisa  (Santa Ana, CA), Mitchell Child Development Center

"Michelle is passionate about Potty Training and genuinely wants to help you!! She is a wonderful mama to her 3 littles and still makes time to answer all your questions. She is a true cheerleader on your potty training adventure."

- Nicole (Newport Beach, CA, USA)

"Michelle not only has a heart of GOLD that really cares about your child and YOUR parenting style - her information is PLATINUM in helping you find the tools and tricks that educate and support you (in my opinion) one of the hardest aspects of early childhood parenting!"

- Megan (Gilbertsville, PA)

"As a behavior analyst, I consider myself to be a lifelong learner and enjoy challenging my mind with new concepts for application both personally and professionally. However; as a mother, practical application of theories can be challenging, especially toileting, due to the intricacies of life. The Potty School®, provided a succinct yet thorough explanation of EC (Elimination Communication) methodology and how to incorporate it into our lives naturally and easily. I highly recommend The Potty School® to all those interested in elimination communication."

– Alicia (Orange County, CA)

"I just wanted to thank you. We had our consult with you last weekend over the phone, and talked about our daughter Charlotte who has been refusing to poop on the potty for nine months. We implemented your suggestions and she has been pooping on the potty all week! This is such a relief for us. We are very pleased, and I’ve already recommended you to friends. Just wanted to say thank you for the help you have given us."

– Kristen (pediatric ENT doc at a large children’s hospital)

"I am a mom of a 26 month old with Down syndrome! So many people have told me what my daughter CAN'T do! It was very encouraging to hear that while I may have to take extra time and extra steps, my daughter CAN be potty trained like a typical toddler! I've already seen her working on pushing and pulling up and down her pants, she has had success on the potty as well. Yes she also has accidents and I can't wait to talk to The Potty School® for a more tailored plan for us! Thank you The Potty School® for caring about our kids with special needs and giving us HOPE! (Which just happens to be my daughter's name)."

– Laura

"My 3 year old twins have been on a really good stretch for several days now after weeks of working on potty training. When I fully committed to following your helpful advice/suggestions, I saw success x's two!!!"

– Joanna

"I cannot even begin to tell you how much the membership helped me!! I was so nervous going into Potty Training with my son and the preparation, support, encouragement and information were key in an easy and seamless transition from diapers to undies!! Would have been a wreck without this group. Plus, Michelle is so awesome, giving of her time even tho she's a mom of three and has so many tricks up her sleeve.  I still hear her voice when I'm taking my son potty!!

– Elizabeth (Pasadena, CA, USA)