How to bottle break?

[Ame568]

Although we don't have an official diagnosis we believe that my nephew is autistic and/or has ADHD. He's 3 years old, non-talking (mentally behind other 3 year olds, he acts more like a 2-2 1/2 year old) and still drinking from his bottle and wants nothing to do with a cup. We tried different kinds of cups and nope, we tried filling the bottles with only so much milk/drinks and put more in a cup and gave him cups at mealtimes and still he refuses a cup. We're not going to just take the bottle away and let him suffer especially to the point where he needs to go to the hospital because of dehydration. Do any of you have some tips?

 

[tree]

Can he use a straw?

A bottle plus nipple with a straw in it works for some kids.

 

[Aspychata]

Oh dear. I had a hard time getting my little aspie daughter to let go of her diaper routine. So l offered her little bag of Halloween candy if she used toilet. It went for three days. Then it was a habit and she enjoyed being diaper free. Same problem with her pacifier. So we had a *let your pacifier be free* party. We celebrated, and attached her pacifier to a balloon. I think it's change, l think our little mini-me's just don't like any changes. It's kind of coaxing them to move on. My dad violently slapped my thumb out of my mouth to get me to stop sucking my thumb which was obviously stimming for me. I definitely don't advocate this approach.

So perhaps a small reward? My daughter had sippy cups which they can drop and nothing spills. Then we progressed onto cups. Because usually their neighborhood friends that came over to play used cups.

 

[Ame568]

Can he use a straw?

A bottle plus nipple with a straw in it works for some kids.

He can't.

 

[tree]

He can't.

Doesn't know how.

Maybe could learn.
Maybe learning to use a straw would be fun.

 

[Aspychata]

Maybe everybody drink out of sippy cups or cups with a straw at a meals for two days. That may motivate him. Bribing works at that age. The next issue l had, getting her to go for driver license.

 

[Stuttermabolur]

Oh dear. I had a hard time getting my little aspie daughter to let go of her diaper routine. So l offered her little bag of Halloween candy if she used toilet. It went for three days. Then it was a habit and she enjoyed being diaper free. Same problem with her pacifier. So we had a *let your pacifier be free* party. We celebrated, and attached her pacifier to a balloon. I think it's change, l think our little mini-me's just don't like any changes. It's kind of coaxing them to move on. My dad violently slapped my thumb out of my mouth to get me to stop sucking my thumb which was obviously stimming for me. I definitely don't advocate this approach.

So perhaps a small reward? My daughter had sippy cups which they can drop and nothing spills. Then we progressed onto cups. Because usually their neighborhood friends that came over to play used cups.

This reminds me of Freakonomics. An economist's wife had fruitlessly been training their child to use a potty for many months and nothing seemed to be working. She had been reading various books on it and tried a lot of methods to coax their daughter to use one, so he bet her that he could potty train her in less than a week. His wife agreed as she was exhausted and had tried everything, so he told his daughter that if she would pee in a potty, he would give her a large bag of M&Ms. She hesitated for a bit, and then went. Each time she went to the potty, he gave her M&Ms, so by the end of the week, she was going there every few minutes. Of course the reward was eventually phased out, but by then she knew how to use a potty so it wasn't needed.

That being said, I don't think this would have worked with me as I was (and still am) incredibly stubborn. I wish I could help more, but I think @Aspychata's suggestion is worth a try. I hope things work out as this sounds like a difficult situation. I also think it's not a good idea to completely remove the bottle if he won't drink from anything else. I was quite underfed as a kid since I was very picky, and when my mother told me that meant I would need to go to bed hungry, I just said "okay" and left, which made her feel very guilty.

 

[Aspychata]

This reminds me of Freakonomics. An economist's wife had fruitlessly been training their child to use a potty for many months and nothing seemed to be working. She had been reading various books on it and tried a lot of methods to coax their daughter to use one, so he bet her that he could potty train her in less than a week. His wife agreed as she was exhausted and had tried everything, so he told his daughter that if she would pee in a potty, he would give her a large bag of M&Ms. She hesitated for a bit, and then went. Each time she went to the potty, he gave her M&Ms, so by the end of the week, she was going there every few minutes. Of course the reward was eventually phased out, but by then she knew how to use a potty so it wasn't needed.

That being said, I don't think this would have worked with me as I was (and still am) incredibly stubborn. I wish I could help more, but I think @Aspychata's suggestion is worth a try. I hope things work out as this sounds like a difficult situation. I also think it's not a good idea to completely remove the bottle if he won't drink from anything else. I was quite underfed as a kid since I was very picky, and when my mother told me that meant I would need to go to bed hungry, I just said "okay" and left, which made her feel very guilty.

Yes, my daughter was stubborn too. But l think stubborn is a good quality so l picked very few battles. Stubborn means you are a warrior to me. Strong and independent.

 

[Crossbreed]

Maybe you could offer only basic minimums (water, unflavored milk) in the bottle and special drinks (Koolaid, juice, soda, flavored milk, etc.) in a cup...

 

[Kayla55]

He's 3 years old, non-talking (mentally behind other 3 year olds, he acts more like a 2-2 1/2 year old) and still drinking from his bottle and wants nothing to do with a cup

Why do you say 'mentally behind' one day he will be upset with you. Generally accepted to say 'development milestones' or speech delay.

I'm asd myself so for me the fact that my son wasn't verbal wasn't as big a deal, I knew he was sharp with puzzles and other things. But I understand you concerned that others will look down and see he isn't keeping up/stigma and it's going to be delays for few years and social uphill ongoing issues.

You need to learn mindfulness and how you going to cope when others are not mindful.

 

[Ame568]

He's 3 years old, non-talking (mentally behind other 3 year olds, he acts more like a 2-2 1/2 year old) and still drinking from his bottle and wants nothing to do with a cup

Why do you say 'mentally behind' one day he will be upset with you. Generally accepted to say 'development milestones' or speech delay.

I'm asd myself so for me the fact that my son wasn't verbal wasn't as big a deal, I knew he was sharp with puzzles and other things. But I understand you concerned that others will look down and see he isn't keeping up/stigma and it's going to be delays for few years and social uphill ongoing issues.

You need to learn mindfulness and how you going to cope when others are not mindful.

I used the terms that his previous therapists used and I didn't know what other words to use so thank you, really I mean it!

 

[Crossbreed]

I used the terms that his previous therapists used and I didn't know what other words to use...

Those terms are still valid. It is the basis for a "developmental disorder," which is what autism is. It is a comparison of a person's neurological development against a statistically typical standard. If there was no disparity, there would be no autism.

Not all autistics are comfortable in acknowledging that paradigm, particularly the self-diagnosed.

That is not to say that ASD1s & asynchronous gifteds are defective, just that we have developed in an unusual (but viable) fashion. It is comparable to being left-handed.

The severe co-morbid conditions of ASD2 & 3 are, in fact, defects.