A Visit to the restroom at Costco with my darling SPD daughter

by Noel

We have a darling daughter that was diagnosed with SPD at 24 months... she is almost 5 now and, although we still have challenges, she is doing so well! She has made huge progress developmentally and is a source of tremendous pride and joy.

Anyway, we potty-trained her when she was about 30 months old and, of course, she had to go when we were in Costco one afternoon. Often she would react to the sound of a toilet flushing by plugging her ears and screaming... so I was not all that eager to take her to a public facility. We were too far from home to make it back so I had no other choice and we ventured in.

Right away my daughter noticed that there was someone in the stall next to us and began to describe in a super loud voice every sound she heard from the near-by stall... the more I tried to quiet her down the more excited and vocal she became. I was thinking, "Okay, maybe the woman will leave before we get done and I won't have to face her with the child that has provided a running commentary on her bathroom visit"- but no, of course it couldn't be that easy! The poor woman just had to go and pass gas, and my daughter could not contain herself. She yelled out at the top of her lungs, "Oh Mommy! Now she gassed!" All of the other people in the bathroom were laughing because of the adorable little voice that held such a tone of utter indignation!

Thankfully, most sounds (like the toilet flushing) no longer cause problems. At only 5 she is a totally "new" kid! I know being a SPD parent is hard but there is so much hope... if you feel lost or helpless then make yourself find good therapists and find ways to have your child follow the sensory diet your OT gives you- it is so worth it!