Progress sounds great. BTW, my friend's kid eventually transitioned from the headphones.

OP here. Thanks to you both ... I find that his fears are magnified by the number of stalls (and accompanying potential for unanticipated [by him] flushing). Today's tour of the 3-staller at the DMV was pretty easily managed ... some combo of my holding his hand and using the toilet first. I have purchased a set of sound canceling headphones though ... i figure at worst we can use them on the plane!!

My son had the same problem. I asked him what he could do while the toilet flushed and he ended up roaring like a lion every time. Now he covers his face with his shirt. I found the roaring made him feel more empowered.

Sound canceling ear phones. A friend of mine used these for her ASD DD. Worked like a charm.

Anyone have an SPD kid with some sensitivity to loud noises, then have that issue transfer to a near-phobia of public toilets? Though he has no problem when he is doing the yelling, my kid has some sensitivities to loud noises. In the last month, he has freaked out in a number of public bathrooms (on planes, at the zoo, an amusement park, a cathedral). In today's "episode" I was able to talk him down, show him that i was using the toilet and that it wasn't too, too loud, but it took at least 15 minutes.

Any thoughts/suggestions appreciated.

thanks.