The Tub in Mia's Bathroom. "kew pch pch" These are some of Mia's favorite sounds. If you're having a hard time with the pronunciation imagine making squishing sounds with your cheeks puffed out and your dimples tucked in. "Bwaaaahh" Mia cheerfully exclaims as I dump water on top of her head with the Colorado Rockies big gulp cup we got from a game last year. Bath time has historically been a high point during Mia's day. Recently she has discovered the lid to the toilet paper cannister is removable.

As part of her routine she carefully clears the lip of the tub to make the journey to grab it, tracking water on the laminate floor along the way. Typically, she spends about 20 minutes in the tub. You may ask yourself why I give her such a long bath. In the past I've used the time to fold laundry on my bed, I keep a slight eye on her through the doorway but I've been burned by too many pools of water that eventually leak through to our kitchen which is directly beneath her bathroom. So today her step stool with suffice as my chair. Mia begins carefully lining up her rubber toys on the edge. All face the same way. Mia has been lining toys up since she was 2. We often will test her to see if she notices when we turn one the opposite way, but she always sees the discrepancy and corrects it.

The more we learn about autistic behaviors in others we've seen that lining objects up is very appealing to children who have ASD. Order and routine are Mia's touchstones. I heard a teacher at a seminar once say that all the exterior stimulation a child with Autism processes daily (loud noises, interesting lights, reflections) when they have an opportunity to have control over something, they need that to remain constant as a safe place. They know just how a specific toy feels in their hand or if they put these toys in a line they can get a sense of order. Makes sense to me. Keep lining those toys up baby girl and have fun in the tub.