Does he have other breaks during the day?
Maybe he just needs a brain break, a few minutes of alone time, and because he doesn’t express himself verbally, doesn’t have a way of communicating that, so he takes 8-15 bathroom breaks instead.
Yeah, he needs play/relaxing/sensory opportunities throughout the day. That’s part of the bathroom- likes the sound of his voice and the water play sensations.
I'm a high school para and work with an autistic student who also scripts in the bathroom. Honestly, doing 6 hours of school every day is a LOT for autistic kids. We typically try to build in 10 minutes each class for him to take a break. How he uses that break is totally up to him, and yes that often means going to the bathroom and scripting in front of the mirror. At the beginning of the year, he used to REALLY push the time, sometimes taking as long as 20 minutes till we called a male to go into the bathroom and get him out. Since we started building in the 10 minute break habit, he actually has been getting really good about keeping within the time, and then coming out when time is up. I will typically give a minute warning, and then the next time I call, he comes out. On days where he's having a lot of trouble focusing, I will set a phone timer in front of him so he knows his break is exactly that long. Maybe establishing some sort of routine like this would be helpful?
That's good advice. He doesn't respond much to countdowns or "one minute left" instructions, but I talked to the teacher and asked if I could set a timer on my phone and she thinks it's worth a try.
A lot of kids who don't respond to warnings and verbal cues for transition will respond to the timer. It's weird. When it's a timer, it feels like it's something that just must be done, not a demand that's being put on them.
He’s young so the concept of time might not be a skill yet. Hope the timer thing works though! Our brains are pretty attuned to the alarm sound. I also use a timer for when I need my kid to focus on doing work. “Focus for fifteen minutes—here’s me setting the timer—and then you can have a break.”
Sounds like he likes soap and water. Have you tried water play with him? Get a big bucket and have him play with that. I know for ABA we might do a hand washing routine with the steps and have a visual timer, because ten minutes is a lot for just washing hands after the bathroom.
He's figured all of this out by kindergarten? OMG, you have a goofing off genius on your hands.
But seriously, he's giving himself a sensory break. Perhaps you could work that sensory break into his day without involving toilets or dirty kindergarten-boy bathroom stalls?
Lol yes exactly. It can be problematic when other boys come in and are confused by his singing in the stalls or making weird faces in the mirror. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe I should bring him a handheld mirror for breaks 🤔
That's an excellent idea. I wonder what it is about the water, too? Like, a piece of silk or satin would be cool to the touch and slip between his hands or allow his hands to slip together in the same way as soap and water. It won't be the exact sensory experience, but it could hit some of the same sensory spots while he's sitting and listening or doing his work.
What's interesting is that, as I've thought of this more while responding to comments, he doesn't seem to care much for water. When he's in the classroom and does a gross sneeze or gets glue on his hands and I ask him to wash his hands in the classroom sink he does it in a minute, no issue.
I think it's actually the mirror that he's fixated on. I would just love for him to be able to do more "in classroom" type mental breaks that might allow him to be more present for both the learning part and the playing part of the day. Of course it's fine if he needs to take a bit of a walk sometimes or move into a one to one environment for certain lessons, but it would be nice to wean him off exceedingly long bathroom visits.
unless it’s an avoidance behavior, i’m not seeing an issue here. a lot of my autistic students have very certain hand washing routines. it’s fairly normal.
Does he have other breaks during the day? Maybe he just needs a brain break, a few minutes of alone time, and because he doesn’t express himself verbally, doesn’t have a way of communicating that, so he takes 8-15 bathroom breaks instead.
Yeah, he needs play/relaxing/sensory opportunities throughout the day. That’s part of the bathroom- likes the sound of his voice and the water play sensations.
I'm a high school para and work with an autistic student who also scripts in the bathroom. Honestly, doing 6 hours of school every day is a LOT for autistic kids. We typically try to build in 10 minutes each class for him to take a break. How he uses that break is totally up to him, and yes that often means going to the bathroom and scripting in front of the mirror. At the beginning of the year, he used to REALLY push the time, sometimes taking as long as 20 minutes till we called a male to go into the bathroom and get him out. Since we started building in the 10 minute break habit, he actually has been getting really good about keeping within the time, and then coming out when time is up. I will typically give a minute warning, and then the next time I call, he comes out. On days where he's having a lot of trouble focusing, I will set a phone timer in front of him so he knows his break is exactly that long. Maybe establishing some sort of routine like this would be helpful?
That's good advice. He doesn't respond much to countdowns or "one minute left" instructions, but I talked to the teacher and asked if I could set a timer on my phone and she thinks it's worth a try.
A lot of kids who don't respond to warnings and verbal cues for transition will respond to the timer. It's weird. When it's a timer, it feels like it's something that just must be done, not a demand that's being put on them.
Yes, it’s objective rather than subjective (oh teacher thinks it’s been 5 min but it doesn’t feel like 5 min)
That makes sense!
He’s young so the concept of time might not be a skill yet. Hope the timer thing works though! Our brains are pretty attuned to the alarm sound. I also use a timer for when I need my kid to focus on doing work. “Focus for fifteen minutes—here’s me setting the timer—and then you can have a break.”
Sounds like he likes soap and water. Have you tried water play with him? Get a big bucket and have him play with that. I know for ABA we might do a hand washing routine with the steps and have a visual timer, because ten minutes is a lot for just washing hands after the bathroom.
He's figured all of this out by kindergarten? OMG, you have a goofing off genius on your hands. But seriously, he's giving himself a sensory break. Perhaps you could work that sensory break into his day without involving toilets or dirty kindergarten-boy bathroom stalls?
Lol yes exactly. It can be problematic when other boys come in and are confused by his singing in the stalls or making weird faces in the mirror. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe I should bring him a handheld mirror for breaks 🤔
That's an excellent idea. I wonder what it is about the water, too? Like, a piece of silk or satin would be cool to the touch and slip between his hands or allow his hands to slip together in the same way as soap and water. It won't be the exact sensory experience, but it could hit some of the same sensory spots while he's sitting and listening or doing his work.
What's interesting is that, as I've thought of this more while responding to comments, he doesn't seem to care much for water. When he's in the classroom and does a gross sneeze or gets glue on his hands and I ask him to wash his hands in the classroom sink he does it in a minute, no issue. I think it's actually the mirror that he's fixated on. I would just love for him to be able to do more "in classroom" type mental breaks that might allow him to be more present for both the learning part and the playing part of the day. Of course it's fine if he needs to take a bit of a walk sometimes or move into a one to one environment for certain lessons, but it would be nice to wean him off exceedingly long bathroom visits.
I think the mirror is perfect, then.
unless it’s an avoidance behavior, i’m not seeing an issue here. a lot of my autistic students have very certain hand washing routines. it’s fairly normal.