Comments on: Surviving Public Bathrooms with a Child with Sensory Issues

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 21:23:09 +0000

Thank your for this article! My son has spd and will go in his pants rather than make use of a restroom with both the dryers (automatic or not) and the automatic toilets. It is quite frustrating having to carry around a change of clothes all the time. (Thankfully, he actually enjoys the magic and power of his little hands to engage the sensor for water faucets and paper towel dispensers!)

As it is not always possible to “get it all done at home” so that we don’t have to use those noisy and sometimes unpredictable machines, I REALLY appreciate your idea to put a post-it note (or a long ‘train’ of toilet paper, as one commenter suggested) over the toilet sensor.

This will make both mine and my son’s lives MUCH simpler and happier!

BTW – I do agree with sensory integration, but, as others said, at the child’s own pace.

By: kristen

kristen — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 16:36:13 +0000

I agree, this is not the best advice.. I am a pediatric occupational therapist and I do understand what SPD is. The child is unable to process the sensory stimuli the same way that you and I do, therefore they tend to go into “fight or flight” mode. It can be very scary/overwhelming for them, BUT they can learn tools to HELP them instead of completely avoiding these bathrooms for the rest of their life. There are many ways to help children, and the one I have found most effective is having the child be in control. When the child is looking at the stimuli, it is easier for the brain to process what they are hearing/seeing. Make it fun at first… let them flush the toilet after sprinkling glitter, droplets of food coloring, sprinkles, etc.. (The child flushes and watches “bye glitter!”) You can still put something over the sensors, BUT you should take them off when the child is ready to flush. (They are still hearing it however it is not a scary surprise). Another idea to work on the blow dryers is to let your child (with your supervision or even helping hold) use a blow dryer to dry stuffed animals. It helps them be in control of the sound in a non threatening way. Hope these help! The key to sensory disorders is to allow the brain a chance to explore in a safe and fun way until it can organize and process the info in a more appropriate way 🙂

By: natalya

natalya — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 03:37:42 +0000

According to webmd, “Treatment depends on a child’s individual needs. But in general, it involves helping children do better at things they’re not good at and helping them get used to things they can’t tolerate.Treatment for sensory processing problems is called sensory integration. The goal of sensory integration is to challenge a child in a fun, playful way so he or she can learn to respond appropriately and function more normally.” Merry, I do know what its like to get stressed out about a trip to the mall, restaurant, park or the grocery store. A day long trip to a theme park was pretty much out of the question because all these places had bathrooms with automatic flushers. I realized that avoiding these places rather than exposing her to them was only doing more damage. After realizing the impact it would have on her childhood and adult life I started to look for a better approach than avoiding it. How do you tell your child they cant go on a field trip to the zoo with the class because they wont go into the bathroom? I want to help normalize things she has trouble with so that these everyday activities dont impact her psycological and social skills even more as she gets older.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 01:35:14 +0000

In reply to natalya. As a mother of a child with these issues I agree with both sides of this issue. We do not avoid bathrooms but do not use the hand dryers. There is a way to accustom them while still being understanding of their discomfort.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 01:30:18 +0000

Love the post it idea, would have come in handy when my oldest was smaller. She still dread s the auto-flush but is better at dealing with it.

By: Merry

Merry — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 16:01:32 +0000

In reply to natalya. Natalya, I would suggest you do some research on what it means to have Sensory Processing Disorder. It is a real thing and yes, it makes using public bathrooms terrifying. I have a seven year old daughter who literally cries in fear of the loud noises every time we have to use one. I have never sheltered her from loud noises, but they terrify her non the less. Please do your own research before responding like that again. If you don't understand the subject fully, if you haven't experienced it for yourself, then just leave it alone.

By: Sharla

Sharla — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 04:45:55 +0000

In reply to natalya. Public bathrooms are certainly not scary to the general population, but to children with sensory processing disorder, it can be a very scary place. I'm certainly not suggesting that all children be sheltered from the regular public bathroom experience, only those who suffer from sensory issues.

By: natalya

natalya — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 03:11:34 +0000

This is horrible advice!!!! DO NOT DO THESE THINGS!! public bathrooms are everywhere you go! Your child needs to learn that they are safe! Dont be an enabler by doing all the above, you will just be digging yourself a deeper hole. Expose your child to as many public bathrooms as possible, on a daily basis if possible!!!! Make it something fun, play a game with it, make up a song, or a potty dance. lead BY EXAMPLE! public POTTY IS NOT SCARY!

By: Meganblaire

Meganblaire — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 01:43:07 +0000

One of my favorite tips is using the family restroom whenever possible! It really limits the number of triggers you have to try and control {only one toilet, sink, etc}. Plus, they tend to be the least updated, and often have manual sinks and paper towel dispensers {and the child can leave the room before the toilet flushes!}.

By: Misa

Misa — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 23:08:21 +0000

Another tip for those automatic flushing toilets – if you find yourself without something else to cover it, take a LONG piece of toilet paper and drape it over the top, covering the sensor. It doesn’t work with the wall ones, but lots of them are on the toilets themselves now.