Automatic Flush Toilets (SPD)

[columbusdizfan]

Thank you for the info about MK and Askerhaus. For right now the paper towel trick is working for us (wet piece of paper towel stuck to the sensor) but you never know when a trick will stop working!

 

[lorijohnhill]

Is it the actual flush that she's afraid of -- worried it might flush too soon, suck her down the drain, or something? That will take some work, and lots of patience.

Or is it the loud noise that bothers her? We have this issue with DD as well. The post-its covering the sensor work to some extent, but cannot control the loud echo-y noise from other stalls, especially in cinderblock bathrooms where my own voice sounds like it reverberates. We've started using earplugs with great success! (I don't know WHY I never thought of that sooner!) If your DD uses Peltor earmuffs to "escape" too much noise-stimulation in the park, simply use those in the restrooms as well.

Enjoy your vacation!

What an awesome idea! We have been struggling with this issue for years! My DD was born with a noise sensitivity. She is now 7 and is still very sensitive. She will use the auto-flush bathrooms, but would really prefer not to. She spends the entire bathroom visit with her fingers in her ears, which makes things very interesting... I never thought of ear plugs, but will definitely be bringing some with us! Thank you so much!

 

[Simba07]

There is a website out there about Disney bathrooms. I think it is something like Cass Disney Bathrooms? My sister used it to scout out bathrooms for her sensitive daughter. I think she was looking for blow driers though. Those set my niece off more than the flushers.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is a website out there about Disney bathrooms. I think it is something like Cass Disney Bathrooms? My sister used it to scout out bathrooms for her sensitive daughter. I think she was looking for blow driers though. Those set my niece off more than the flushers.

This is the website you are thinking of.
http://cassworld.ca/bathrooms.htm

I don't think it is being kept up anymore.

I like the earplugs idea - that sounds like it would work pretty well.

 

[The Hunchback]

This has been a very good thread. I have learned a lot. Post its too the rescue again.

I dislike those self flush toilets too and I am full grown. When they first came out, I would jam my cane across the walls of the stall behind the TP holder and hang on the whole time I was in a stall. It made me feel like I couldn't be flushed away. There was really no call to worry due to my size but the idea might help for little ones too. My sister looped a strong string over the door hinge and her son held that on to keep from flushing away.

 

[quakechicago]

With my kiddo's SPD it's the sounds of the toilet and the hand dryers. It's not a fear of harm or being sucked in, the sounds to her ARE physically painful.

And you can't really desensitize them to the sounds because along with the sounds is the fear that they MIGHT come at ANY time, so it's often not just you flushing the toilet or using the hand dryer, but anyone else who MIGHT.

So you do baby steps, use headphones, or music (lately if my DD hears a song on my phone she will be brave), and lots of incentives and know that a random loud flush or those super powered, super loud hand dryers can set you back to square one at any time. My DD3 is back in diapers when we're out because she's literally terrified, but at home she's 100% potty trained. We also have square rooted in our city neighborhood every place without auto flushers and either without hand dryers or with only the small, quiet ones.

The best I can explain it to someone is I'm severely dyslexic. I've learned to compensate, I'm a writer in fact, but I will always see words and other things backwards/wrong. SPD is sort of like she hears things backwards/wrong. A sound to me that is annoying, not even a loud one necessarily is completely jarring and terrifying to her. She can't block it out like other people can or learn to expect it. The expectation in fact makes for greater fear.

So my job, the OT we focus on, is to teach her tricks to compensate and we do all the time. She's brilliant and WANTS things to not bother her. She wants to be out of diapers so she can take ballet class, but the best/closest school where her friends all go has auto flushers and hand dryers. It's a work in progress.

Music, earphones, and avoidance helps with sounds. She has other SPD things which she has learned to deal with. Textures on clothing and food, smells, being touched by strangers, other sounds (a baby crying really gets her, gruff voices, motorcycles, ambulances, some music, angry people yelling, whispering), being overwhelmed by crowds, etc.

Thanks again to everyone for a current list. Her knowing if there's something there is extremely helpful!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

something to keep in mind as older washrooms / rest rooms are renovated it is very likely they will get toilets with sensors on them or on the wall as they help save water over the manual flush ones.

 

[wilkeliza]

Tip that we use to use when I worked at the parks. If she has a favorite character buy a pack of stickers with that charcter on them (the size of the round Mikey stickers works great) fold one tiny bit over to make a pull tab and name them something fun. Then tell her the sticker will make it where it won't auto flush. Put the sticker over the sensor. The tab will allow for easy off once your little one is done.

I was actually told in my 4 keys training class this by a manger at Epcot. He said he woulf always get parents asking where where regular tolietd were due to this very common fear and he would pull out a Mickey sticker and show the little ones how to use Mickey's power to prevent it from flushing.

 

[sairell]

Thought I would update in case any one is reading this thread later. As of right now, the washrooms at the Baby Care Center at MK (near Crystal Palace) are manual flush. Akerhaus at Epcot also has manual flush toilets. We were not able to find anywhere at Animal Kingdom with manual flush toilets (asked 2 castmembers). Didn't search too hard for them at DHS. We did have some success with my daughter actually using the toilets as they are a bit different than most of the sensor ones that we have encountered before as the sensor is embedded in the wall. For some reason, DD felt that there was more control over them this way. It worked until we had an incident (thankfully almost end of trip) at Chef Mickey's where there were two sensors and it did flush before she was all the way off the toilet. She handled it fine in that moment but then had no more success on autoflush toilets after that.

Thank you so much for the update! My son is 4 and he covers his ears and starts to cry whenever we take him to auto-flush toilets. This will be helpful to us for our trip in October.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thank you so much for the update! My son is 4 and he covers his ears and starts to cry whenever we take him to auto-flush toilets. This will be helpful to us for our trip in October.

A couple of other things to be aware of - the ones in Akerhaus are inside the restaurant, so only useable if you are dining there.

Look at the sensor before covering it. All of the auto flush toilets have some kind of button to push to flush in case the auto flusher doesn't work. Sometimes, it is on the side, which is good. Sometimes, it is on the front, above or below the sensor. I found that out the hard way; I had already covered the sensor, but it still kept going off. When I took the Post It note off, I could see my daughter was hitting the button as she moved..

Also, we started using Painter's tape instead of a Post It note. The tape sticks, but comes off easily and you can put it where you need it. That's especially helpful if the sensor area is not flat. We also found that sometimes our daughter's movements either lifted the Post It note or let some light get under it" if it's a really sensitive flusher, that might be enough to make it flush.