When her son was growing up, Ms Janice Tay often had to make a beeline to nursing rooms when shopping malls or other public settings became too overstimulating for him and he needed a quiet space to regulate his emotions.
Her son Emmanuel was diagnosed with different neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and dyspraxia, which affects motor skill development and coordination.
To manage this, Ms Tay has taught her son, now 15, to independently use toilet cubicles as a “safe zone” to regulate himself, although this strategy can prove difficult in practice.
The 45-year-old, who is the founder of Bridging the Gap, an intervention centre for children with developmental needs, said that Emmanuel sometimes needs 20 to 30 minutes in the cubicle.
In male toilets, where there are often only a few stalls, other users can grow impatient, and repeated knocking from those waiting in the queue further heightens his stress.
