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Rigidity with Milk in A Bottle

honeylovecahoneyloveca member
in Special Needs
My autistic son is 7yrs old and we have been trying to get him to drink milk in a cup for the past 3yrs with no success.  He just can't seem to get past having milk in a bottle.  We give him milk in a bottle in the morning and afternoon only since he is underweight for his height and age.  We have tried highly reinforcers with first and then and token systems.  Also tried sippy cups and different types of cups….We even stopped giving him milk in a bottle - cold turkey - for a week but he still refuses milk in a cup.  He knows how to pretend to drink it…so bringing the cup/milk to his mouth is not an issue - it's just actually getting him to swallow it down is the problem. 
Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated.  TIA  ;)
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Re: Rigidity with Milk in A Bottle

  • MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member
    So he can drink other liquids in a cup, but just not milk? If it were me, I'd just stop giving milk entirely. To me it's not worth the stigma associated with a 7 year old with a bottle. My son is 6 and ASD and whenever I see him starting to gravitate towards unhealthy habits or routines I pull the plug. Like he started taking forever eating his cheese sticks because he insisted on pulling them all apart into a million little strings. So I started buying the cheese that doesn't pull apart. He complained, but I ignored him and he got over it.
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  • greyt00greyt00 member
    Forgive me if this is a ridiculous idea, but I'm always trying to think of ways around stuff for my own autistic DS1 who has rigidity issues especially with feeding.  Does your son accept any other liquid in a cup?  If he would drink it, could you try a flavored milk in a cup and slowly reduce the flavor until it's plain?  Or is that opening the door to him getting hooked on a more sugary drink?  Or could food coloring be added (I know for some, dyes are not a good thing)?

    I understand what it's like for milk to be a crucial diet component and to have a limit on how long you're willing to withhold it.  My son was getting the vast majority of his protein, fat and calories from milk for a couple of years.  He used to refuse to drink from anything but a tinted lidded straw cup, and if he didn't have one around that day, he wouldn't drink.  Anything.  We never worked specifically on the cup issue, but he has loosened up and I think it's due to the feeding program (they work with food only, not liquids, right now) at ABA.  

    We're trying to become less dependent on milk in general so we are working really hard on DS1's solid food diet.  If you could find other replacements for milk, even for part of it, then you might be able to withhold milk long enough to get him to accept the cup. 

     
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  • honeylovecahoneyloveca member
     @MirandaHobbes &  @greyt00 He only drinks fruit juices in a cup … he use to be rigid in drinking juice only in a juicebox and that took many years to get him to generalize to drinking that into a cup.  We tried the same method with milk, but I think he is holding his ground much more for milk to be in a bottle.  He seems to be okay having milk withheld from his diet.  However, because he is so underweight I feel it is necessary for him to still have it at his age. Again, because of his rigidity he does not adapt well with different liquids and taken in different forms. We have no big issues with feeding/foods,,,,he is a picky eater but for the most part he can pretty much eat a wide variety of things.  It's tothe point where we can walk into any restaurant and can find something that he will eat.
     @ -auntie- He has no severe impairments and because we have tried so many things his BCBA & team are thinking we should consider eliminating milk and try calcium supplements.  However, it's kind of our last option if we really have to go that route.

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  • funchickenfunchicken member
    How many ounces of milk is he drinking/day? Have you thought about working with a nutritionist to find ways to add calories to the food he does eat, since you said he eats a pretty good variety? Then you might feel more comfortable dropping the bottle.

    FWIW, my middle DD has never drunk milk. She doesn't like the taste, so she drinks water and gets calcium from other sources.
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  • thefuturemrskudlathefuturemrskudla member
    My son never drank milk after we had to take his bottle at age 3 and I had the same concerns because he is small (never been above 10%). He drinks only water.
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  • honeylovecahoneyloveca member
     @funchicken He drinks 14-16ozs a day.  He drinks Hemp milk that has alot of benefits besides the calories, that we are seeking as recommended by his nutritionist (Strengthened Immune System & heart and Increased Mental Capacity).  
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  • bliss611bliss611 member
    DS did this when I took him off the bottle over two years ago. To this day he still wont drink regular milk in a cup. BUT he will drink flavored milk, pediasure (which I dilute with regular milk), or with those flavor straws that turn your milk into flavored milk. He prefers drinking with a straw rather than directly from the cup but no bottle!
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