Boy, 5, uses a hand dryer and his mum is celebrating an 'Olympic-sized win'
It's something we all take for granted.
When we need to dry our hands we stick them under the dryer, and within seconds you're clean and dry – no fuss.
But did you even realise that hand dryers are not for everyone?
Mum-of-two, Sara Farrell Baker, figured this out around five years ago as her son was diagnosed with autism and sensory issues.
"Having a child with sensory issues and autism is not something I anticipated when becoming a mother, but it's become my normal," Sara writes.
"The noises of flushing toilets and hand dryers especially are too much for my son to handle. They scare him, overwhelm him, can be physically painful for his ears, and he has had intense anxiety over them since he was a baby."
Becoming hyper-sensitive to restrooms was never something the mum had anticipated until August came into her life, leading mum to holding out until she gets home to use the bathroom, and you can take for granted that potty training was quite difficult in their household.
"Today, I walked to August's elementary school, holding his hand and guiding him through a tour of the different areas in this place he will be spending the bulk of his waking hours."
"We passed by the boy's restroom after we explored the cafeteria and I asked him if he wanted to flush the toilet to check out the noise level and try washing his hands on his own."
August used the restroom, and proceeded to wash his hands.
The five-year-old pulled down a paper towel, but then began to stare at the hand dryer.
Sara encouraged her son to use it, trying to let him know that everything was OK, but knew deep down August wouldn't dare go near the device.
But August is full of surprises: "He placed his hand underneath and I braced myself for the meltdown, shocked that he had done anything, waiting for the fallout. There was none."
"He liked the blue light that glowed on his skin. He giggled at the way the force of the air moved the flesh on his palms."
And that was the moment Mum began to cry, because her son using the hand dryer was a bigger milestone than the first day of school, it was something they have been working towards for five whole years.
"I started crying, staring at my son feeling fine and even laughing at something that has been a source of fear and anxiety for him for almost his entire life. It's a stupid hand dryer, but this moment meant the world to me."
"Seeing him adapting to the world around him and trying new things are small victories, but this journey makes them feel like Olympic-sized wins."
Because the every day tasks which we take for granted can be a source of anxiety and fear for others, something which may not cross our minds very often, it can be as simple as using a hand dryer.
"My son used a hand dryer today. It was one of the proudest moments of my life," concluded Sara.
Sara might be proud of August for his achievement, but so are we – nothing's impossible.