In the latest episode of Autism Labs, practical solutions for parents of severely or profoundly autistic individuals are shared. The podcast covers three key areas: bathroom hygiene, temperature control, and door security. For bathroom hygiene, the recommendation is “P Guard” from Amazon, which prevents urine leaks and odors. Temperature control is addressed through programmable thermostats, offering automatic adjustments for comfort. Door security solutions include “Deadbolt Secure” to prevent tampering. Additionally, the podcast explores programmable locks with individualized access codes and smartphone app tracking. These solutions aim to enhance hygiene, comfort, and safety for caregivers and individuals with autism, offering affordable and effective strategies for daily care.
Tech Solutions for Parents of Severely Autistic Individuals: Enhancing Safety, Comfort, and Hygiene
Welcome to another episode of Autism Labs. If you’ve been following us, you know this journey of raising a profoundly autistic child can be filled with both challenges and moments of unexpected joy. In our home, where our son is now 34, nonverbal, and living with seizures and pica behaviors, we’ve had to learn to navigate a world that’s not always accommodating of our needs. But over the years, we’ve found ways to make things just a little easier, a little more manageable—and technology has played a big role in that.
So today, I want to take you on a walk through some of the tech tools we’ve found most helpful. From solving bathroom hygiene issues to tackling safety concerns and temperature control, these are the tools that have made our daily routine smoother, safer, and more comfortable for everyone in our home
A Bathroom Battle: Solving the Hygiene Puzzle with the P Guard
There’s one area where I’m sure many of you can relate—bathroom hygiene. When our son was younger, we knew early on that potty training would be a challenge. Like many children on the spectrum, he had difficulty understanding basic toilet functions, particularly aiming when standing to urinate. So, we trained him to sit down, but this led to another issue: urine often leaked out of the crack between the toilet seat and the base, creating a mess and an odor that was impossible to eliminate, no matter how many times we cleaned.
I can’t tell you how many products we tried, from seat covers to complicated contraptions that never quite did the trick. Then, a few years ago, I stumbled across something so simple, yet so effective: the P Guard. It’s a small, inexpensive piece of plastic that fits between the toilet seat and the base. Its job is simple—block the urine from leaking out.
For us, it worked like magic. Now, our son’s bathroom routine is a lot less stressful. The P Guard keeps the bathroom cleaner and eliminates that lingering smell, which had always been such a headache. It was easy to install, and it has honestly been a game-changer. We found it on Amazon for a fraction of the cost of some of the other specialized products, and I can confidently say it has been worth every penny.
Temperature Control: The Wonder of a Programmable Thermostat
If your child has sensory sensitivities, you know that temperature control can become a constant source of stress. For our son, overheating is a real issue. He can’t always communicate when he’s too hot or cold, and sometimes it leads to agitation or discomfort. But trying to find a comfortable temperature for everyone in the house—especially when you have multiple family members with varying needs—can feel like a full-time job.
That’s where a programmable thermostat came to our rescue. At first, I was hesitant to try it. It sounded too good to be true. But after installing it for about $60, I quickly realized how much easier it made our daily routine.
We programmed it to automatically adjust the temperature at different times of day—cooler in the morning, warmer in the evening, and off during the night. No more manual adjustments, no more worrying about whether the house is too hot for our son. It maintains a consistent and comfortable environment without us having to do anything.
One of the best parts? I didn’t need to call an expert to install it. With just a simple DIY setup, we were good to go. If you’re dealing with a child who has temperature sensitivity or sensory issues, this is a must-have. It’s an affordable, easy solution that gives us peace of mind every day.
Door Security: The Ever-Evolving Need for Safety
Another area where technology has been a lifesaver is safety. As our son has gotten older and more independent, we’ve faced new challenges. One of the most worrying issues has been his desire to wander, especially when he’s upset or confused. It’s one thing to try to keep him inside the house, but when he starts fiddling with locks or doors, the stakes get higher.
I still remember the first time I realized how important door security was. Our son had managed to unlock a door during the night, and we had no idea. It was a moment of sheer panic. How could we keep him safe without constantly hovering over him?
That’s when we discovered Deadbolts Secure. This clever little device attaches to the deadbolt, preventing the lock from being turned back. It’s not a high-tech gadget, but it’s incredibly effective. For just around $20, it gave us the peace of mind we desperately needed. Now, we know that the doors will stay securely locked, even if our son tries to unlock them.
It’s not a fancy solution, but it works. Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. If you’re struggling with similar safety concerns, I highly recommend this device. It’s a quick, easy fix to a big problem.
Smart Door Locks: Adding Another Layer of Security
While the Deadbolts Secure was a game-changer, as we’ve embraced more technology, we’ve upgraded our security system with smart door locks. These locks allow us to control the entry and exit points remotely, giving us greater control over who’s coming and going, and when.
We can set up unique codes or thumbprints for each family member or caregiver, and the best part is we can track who’s entering and leaving through the smartphone app. This feature has been particularly helpful when our son is with a caregiver. I can check when they leave, making sure the door automatically locks behind them. No more wondering if the door was left unlocked or if he might wander out.
We invested in a system that cost around $150-$200, and while it required a bit of setup, it’s been completely worth it. The only hiccup was the Wi-Fi requirement—our home internet runs on 5 GHz, but the locks need 2.4 GHz. So, we bought a Wi-Fi extender to solve that problem, but that was a minor adjustment.
These smart locks are an extra layer of security and give us an unprecedented level of control. They’re perfect for families who need to ensure doors are locked securely and that their loved ones can’t wander without supervision.
Conclusion: Tech Can Make a Difference
When you’re raising a profoundly autistic child, every day can present its own set of challenges. But as parents, we’ve learned that with the right tools and technologies, it’s possible to make life just a little bit easier. The P Guard, programmable thermostats, Deadbolts Secure, and smart locks have all been invaluable in making our home safer, more comfortable, and more manageable.
Each of these tools was a small investment, but they’ve made a huge difference. We didn’t need to break the bank to find solutions that really work. And while technology won’t solve every problem, it’s certainly helped us tackle some of the bigger challenges, providing us with more peace of mind and making our daily routine a little less overwhelming.
So, if you’re a parent or caregiver facing similar challenges, I hope our story has helped inspire some ideas for making your own life a little easier. Stay tuned for more episodes of Autism Labs, where we’ll continue sharing insights, tips, and solutions for families like ours.
You’re not alone on this journey. Together, we can create better solutions to make our lives just a little bit smoother.
Transcript
Mike Carr (00:05):
Welcome back to our second episode of Autism Labs, where we’re going to share a technology that’s worked for parents of severely or profoundly autistic individuals. Our son’s 34 years old. He’s nonverbal. He’s incontinent, he has seizures, he has pica behavior. Sometimes he has physically aggressive behavior. They’ll cover three areas today. The first has to do with bathroom hygiene, in particular, urine smell in the bathroom. Number two has to do with temperature control. The third thing has to do with door security, preventing him from opening a deadbolt lock. So let’s talk with the first one. Bathroom hygiene and the urine smell. So we found something on Amazon called P Guard. It’s a little plastic piece that fits between the seat of the toilet and the base of the toilet on the front. So when Michael sits down and when he was little, we trained him to go to the bathroom sitting down.
(01:02):
We didn’t want him standing up because he didn’t understand the aim for the water in the toilet. And so this P guard prevents the urine from going out of the crack, dribbling down, and sinking up the bathroom. Second solution has to do with programmable thermostats. This is about 60 bucks. I think you can program it by day for the entire week weekend, so it automatically adjusts the temperature, turns it up, turns it down, don’t have to worry about it. Highly recommended. We bought one that worked with the system we had, so all I had to do was snap it on the wall, reprogram it, and it was ready to go. The third has to do with deadbolts and basically entry and access within his area as well as outside. My wife, Kay found this little thing here on Amazon. It’s about 20 bucks. It’s called Deadbolts Secure, and there are other brands and it’s very easy to install and has this little clamp that comes over and it keeps him from flipping the lock back and forth.
(02:00):
Highly recommended. The last thing we’re playing with, and we’re still in the middle of doing this, so I’m not sure this is going to really be perfect for you guys just yet, but so far it’s been pretty cool for us is you get these programmable locks that go on the outside of your door. Every colleague can have a different code. So we’re just using their seven digit phone numbers, right? So they know their seven digit phone numbers, or you can program their thumbprint, unlocks the door when they leave with our son to go play basketball, whatever it is, the door automatically locks up to 30 seconds or a minute, whatever. It’s you can get an app that lets you on your smartphone, see a record of all this stuff, right? When are people arriving? When are they leaving? The one problem we had was it requires a 2.4 gigahertz internet.
(02:43):
Our home internet is five gigahertz, so we did have to buy another device. This thing from Wise, it’s basically a second wifi network that we’ve installed downstairs. I’ll share with you more next week how that’s gone. But I wanted to share with you today these three things which hopefully make your life simple, some of which are pretty cheap, right? P Guard, the programmable thermostat, 50, 60 bucks, and then the deadbolt cover, which is helped pretty well. Or the more fancy, more expensive. I think this one’s like 150, 200 bucks. You can get this on Amazon too. So best of luck to you and stay tuned next week for more goodies.
