How to keep water-obsessed autistic child from wasting water?

For a 'recycled tub' implementation, you can easily source a water pump from an aquarium supplier, if they sell gear for salt water aquariums they will most likely have large enough pumps.

Nevertheless, and I hope this sounds constructive, this is the kind of topic that you should really be discussing with an occupational therapist or child psychologist with experience in autism.

For some topics the internet can be a terrible place for advice.

My kid has autism, and exhibits a similar behavior. What he really likes is the running water, and when we introduced him to showering, oh my god, he's in love. Showers are a lot more efficient than letting the tub run full blast, and we set a timer so we're not the ones telling him when to get out -- sometimes he rages at the timer, but it subsides quickly because he knows he can't bargain with the timer.

This project seems to fit your need perfectly. It's open hardware, and designed for showers, but should be easily retrofittable for your specific faucet case.

https://showerloop.org/

Also son with Autism.

Meltdown happen when you remove the stimulus without warning. Always, Always give a countdown. Either in time or turns.

So reason - i.e. Time to eat now, 10 more seconds before water is turned off. 10..9.8..3.2.1 Turn off water.

The Autism Society do a LIFE changing course for parents on understanding Autism.

Embrace the water games. Make a clear pipe water feature and enjoy to together.

Hope this helps.

Get one of those water fountain pumps you can put in the bath so they get that flowing water vibe they crave.

Also suggest swimmming leasons and from there maybe a swimming club.

Saying this as worked for me.

Be careful your autistic son doesn't learn there's such a water shortage that you MUST save water.

In fact, compare the cost of water wasted to the cost of other inputs in his life.

Here are water-themed toys might interest you/them:

https://www.amazon.com/Romper-Room-Waterfuls/dp/B07DQNYD8Z

https://bridgestreettoys.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/HYDR...

https://www.target.com/c/sand-water-tables-outdoor-toys/-/N-...

What I was really looking for was a science toy I had as a kid, where you could build various types of pumps, siphons, etc. It only needed a sinkful of water.

Perhaps a silly idea, but how about one of those cat fountains that recycles water as a distraction?

That has the whole moving water & noise aspect without continuous water intake

If it is about a water toy that he can play with that has flowing water, consider a Heron's fountain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron%27s_fountain

There are many YouTube videos that show how to make one using low cost / household materials.

Fixing it with tech seems like an XY problem. If he’s old enough he’ll figure out eventually how to bypass it / develop another obsession. Have you entertained the idea of therapy?

You might have success with a CBT or exposure therapist. If he’s too young a play therapist might be more able to help.

Not sure if this would be the most cost effective solution but maybe some pc water cooling parts, with clear tubing it would also allow them to see it flowing through the system. With quick release systems they might (age dependent) be able to re-arrange the system to experiment with different systems and flows.

Difficulty would be keeping it safe with regards to electric.

> Also was wondering if anyone had suggestions for setting up a recycled tub, that is to say the water can be set to run back after running out, so that it does not cost excessive amounts.

Unless you actually have a cost issue (do the math on that) there already exist a really good water recycling system in many developed countries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reclaimed_water even if it doesn't exist where you are, water is not lost due to the water cycle. In many places domestic water use is a negligible part of the water supply issue, don't be guilted into messing with your childs development for that.

I would generally teach the children to turn off water after it is done, to not leave the room if water is running and how to prevent flooding and how deal with flooding.

If cost is actually an issue a simple variant to reduce that cost without reducing agency is to have a simple mechanic constraint how far the tab can be opened that is tamper obvious. If those mechanisms are damaged address that issue . Reinforcing is possible but also increases the risk of damage to faucet which is going to be a lot more expensive.

Water toys which use less water but also have an acceptable spilling risk could reduce water use. This could be anything from a digital circuit using water logic that just stops doing something interesting or an analog computer with a limited capacity before it fills up whose drain rate is small or requires adult supervision (lock) to drain. Closed containers with fluids might also be interesting. Such as non mixing differently colored fluids which in a drop proof container.

If you want change the amount of water allowed in a way depending on good behaviour a 3d printing pen would allow to construct tamper obvious mechanical constraints with different amounts of reinforcement which are unable to be removed without breaking in most tabs.

Explain to them how it's consuming a lot of water and explain why that's a problem (plants, other animals, need water etc). Then challenge them to come up with a way to solve the problem. Autistic kids are often incredibly good at solving practical problems like that and it'll give them a better understanding of how things work.

Faucet heads that are designed for saving water often are set-up to create the "feeling" of lots of water, without actually using the same volume (water saving rain style shower heads are particularly good at this).

Something like that would probably preserve any sensory elements of the experience they enjoy and would cut the water consumption by 60-70%.

If the child is old enough, I suggest an introduction to watercolor paints. Done outside with a plastic cafe tray holding the media, messes can be easily avoided, and the process can be guided by using coloring books(some of which come in paper heavy enough to take water-based pigments). The sound and tactile feeling of whipping a brush through the water cup and then applying it to the paper and seeing things happen is an extremely satisfying, low-waste, low-risk way of playing with water. It's not exactly the same as experiencing flowing water but it provides a similar amount of sensory stimulus.

Unorthodox, in Wellington New Zealand, where I live. Water is unmetered. It rains a lot. He can waste as much as he likes here

I have friends who had a son with a similar obsession. He has a form of autism. They worked with him intensively and he's at the point where he no longer melts down. Everyone one is different and I'm not inferring anything about your child by mentioning this. Until reading this I'd forgotten about his obsessions years ago. If you met him now you'd have no idea what he was like before.

I don't even know what they did only that it was hours per day for years and year.

I was amazed at his transformation.

On a more helpful note, what about a fish tank pump and a pond or other water holding tank?

Age?

Verbal?

Can they look after themselves?

From your description I assume under 14, no, no.

Recycling water fountain somewhere near tiles or a drain if you can afford it. There’s the pot type which has water running down the sides, low maintenance and they’re very, very safe.

It would be useful to know what the attraction is, since if you try to create an alternative, it might not be satisfying enough in the key aspect. Bath faucets are quite large, maybe the water output is quite chaotic, there's a significant drop/splash, and the bath (metal, acrylic?) could be quite resonant - as maybe the bathroom if it's tiled.

For a first step, you could turn off the main house water (assume this is controlled elsewhere) briefly until your child loses interest and leaves the bathroom.

There are running sink play sets that include a battery operated or usb powered faucet that recycle water. You can also make your own for under twenty bucks.

Check out children's museums. They often have great water features, and plus they're like... The coolest places in the world for autistic kids.

Just speculating, I have never done anything like this.

I bet you could pull this off with a container (Like a clean IBC tote) and a well water pump. Have the drain go back to the tote. Setup a sink off of the well water line. It will keep the lines pressurized and usable. Then have the sink drain back into the tote. Would want to treat the water like pool water to keep it from getting gross. a little filter and some shock/chlorine.

It is not a bath tub, but would still let them enjoy a sink.

The pump might be loud if you but a cheaper one which could be an issue for the child.

Might be able to rig a sump in the tote instead (cheaper) but you would need to figure out how you want turn it on since it would always be submerged in water - the normal switch would always be on.

Good luck - would be interested in knowing what solution you come up with.

Edit - After looking around a bit, you can pick up a grey water recycling system. They have the pumps, filters, container all bundled into a kit. This seems like the easiest (but not exactly cheapest) way to go. While speculating above I was basically re-inventing one of these. Also it looks like you can scale this down to an RV sized system or up to whole house.

Part 1:

On a naive interpretation, "recycled tub" is a health hazard.

Clean water is clean because the drain is separate from the supply.

You really really don't want sewage in the water you drink.

And if you put bath water in a potable supply pipe, you will because bath water has had someone's butt in it and pressure differentials create backflows (i.e. siphoning) in the potable water pipes.

Without an air gap, you cannot prevent it.

Part 2:

Limiting the supply would be a simple matter of adding a valve, except that a bathtub has two supplies, hot and cold.

Getting the mix right is safety critical because hot water creates a really nasty type of burn...enough that can kill a person.

Part 3:

There's a reason plumbers are licensed.

It's not greed.

It's because you didn't ask "how do I prevent backflow?"

Part 4:

Putting something connected to mains power into a bathtub is a bad idea.

It sucks if your fish die from an electrical short.

But not like if it were your child.

Part 5:

You could rig up a mechanical pump and let your child pump their own bath water to their hearts delight.

Seems like the simplest thing that would work...where working means not being a health hazard.

As a bonus a mechanical pump can be put in a suitcase and taken into a hotel room.

Part 6:

Good luck.

Maybe get a hard plastic pond liner and a pond pump.

You can treat it like a pool, which would work too, and periodically clean it.

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/MacCourt-Grand-Cayman-165-Gal-...

Look to indoor garden fountains or possibly fancy terrarium type things. Home hacking something similar in a kiddie pool would be my first instinct; if you're willing to do plumbing such a thing could be a slightly more complicated bathtub / garden room.

Get a couple water fountains. There may be something very specific about the bath water/faucet to them that you will want to try to match. Maybe the sheer volume of flow is interesting, which would be hard to match with a fountain. Some fountains also don't "drop down" the water in the way a faucet does, so may need to look around. If your child likes to play with the valves and influence the flow, that can be tricky too.

My cat (before he passed) loved running water, he wanted me to have the sink running 24/7 or he would yell at me. Fountains helped there.

There are water valves/taps that can be controlled remotely using Bluetooth or Wifi... never used one of them, so I can't comment more on it. There are quite some different brands/models and having different applications (e.g. for gardening, home automation, etc.). You'll probably need a plumber to install one of them ahead of the pipes coming to the bathroom, or replacing an existing tap (often such taps are already existing, e.g. to stop the water in the bathroom for maintenance).

What if you simply reduced the flow (usually there’s an external valve) as much as possible without disturbing your son’s enjoyment, and then measured the hourly volume used, and then ran the numbers on the cost per hour? We have a temporary pool we put up each year and it holds 16,000 litres, due to that I worked out water costs and for the first allotment per month (it is tiered here), water is very cheap. You may find the hourly cost to be well worth your son’s happiness and ensuing familial peace.

A "rainforest" system could help. Is a device attached to the douche

And he could enjoy having an aquarium or even better a terrarium to watch also. You can easily couple this with a small pump and faucet or with shooting waterfalls that he can touch.

Something like that should be the idea, not necessarily with frogs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWeUZxEfda0

You could have a plumber or handy person take a small sump pump some pipe and a faucet and create a pseudo faucet that just pumps the exiting water from the bath up through a faucet all for the low cost of a few cents of electricity per hour. If this is something that has been a fascination for an extended period of time already (where your child is not just temporarily fixated) you could I am sure also have the concept built in to a bathroom tub.

Fishtank water filters work really well, I used to have one setup in the sink for my kid.

Fill the sink (or a tub) up with 2-4 inches of water, put this filter in it and turn it on. You'll have a small, never ending waterfall on your hands

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Filtration-Reptiles-Waterfal...

do you know whether changing the location would affect him?

you might setup a recycling system and find that since its not the same location it doesn't have the same effect. Part of the fascination could be the snug feeling of sitting in the bath or not having to wear clothing, it could be the temperature in the room, the colours, the light level, the tiles or rugs, the smell or perhaps the mirror or the windows or the room could be a safe place for him such as memories of being bathed when younger and the water is part of that self-soothing mechanism.

You might try setting up a similar experience to the bathroom in his bedroom or another safe space as an alternative option, a bath like container with blankets (or without if he prefers to not wear clothes) you could then introduce a water flowing system or fountain and see if it has the same effect. It may be that the water is only a part of the stim and the soothing effect from the surroundings is a bigger part.

If you take a recycling water approach there are a lot of people making mini kitchens for their kids with a recycling water setup there should be youtube tutorials you can adapt to a container.

I would talk to a plumber and see if there is some sort of solenoid you could install on the pipes. I know Grainger sells them for industrial uses. But this may run up against housing codes 12 different ways. shrug

Do you have room outside for something like a splash pad or kid pool? Maybe if they're functional enough they can learn that the kid pool is for indulging their fascination but inside water is not?

You should be able to limit the water flow with the tap's isolation valve. So long as the water isn't coming out too fast it wouldn't be wasting that much water compared to running a bath, for example. Not sure how you'd go about recycling the water though.

Do you think they would be interested in an indoor water feature? That could be an option.

Consider a video, video game, or VR experience of running water. If it's that faucet in particular take an especially high resolution video that can be played on a large screen.

Also see if maybe your child is interested in digging deeper into this interest. Books and videos on fluid dynamics are extremely complex and sprawl out into other areas of physics.

I Duck Duck Go’d “child sink” “running water” and found both small water-recycling ones (like I’ve seen) and real portable ones which use separate input/output jugs. But you could of course dump back into input. Hopefully a good starting point, best of luck. You are a great parent, your child is lucky to have you.

if he doesn't need to be IN the water, a pet fountain is a convenient loop to observe/play with

A water table with a pump system might be an option if you have some outdoor space, or an area where the floor can get wet

Maybe also going out to different water attractions if thats palatable. Public spray parks may be a good option for some variation. Possibly streams, ponds or beaches.

In the UK you can install a remote stopcock, it's almost a DIY job:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/surestop-remote-stop-cock-push-fi...

Your local pet store likely has a fountain made for cats with an interest in running water. Not too expensive and rarely needs refilling as it just recycles the water. You sound like a wonderful parent and your autistic child is lucky to have you.

Not sure how tall the child is but an insulated rainwater catchbasin with a small sink attached that drains back to the basin might slow your loss rates. You’d need to make sure it was pulling from a relatively clean system (i.e. not gutters).

What about one of those water features you can get for your backyard? They come in a variety of styles, including sort of a standing sculpture/set of bowls. You just need to plug it in with an extension cord.

I’m not sure the age of your child but have you tried one of those toy sinks that continuously pump water? There’s plenty on Amazon under $30.

My neurotypical 2yo would play with it for hours at a time.

Questions like this, and also many of the suggestions provided, is yet another reason I consistently return to HN.

Amazon sells usb powered water pumps, that with a 5 gallon jug and some diy can make a reusable sink (google camping sinks or portable handwashing stations)

If you search for “play sink” there are a lot of affordable toy options that have battery powered pumps and recirculate the water.

Maybe the main shut off valve of the house

What about some kind of fountain with a motorized pump that recycles the water?

A fountain that looks like a bath ? Maybe not full sized even.

go to a lake or river