Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, My name is June I am a grandmother of a 3 yrs old Boy who is Autistic.
8 weeks ago he started refusing drinks, to the extent of not taking any fluids at all. We over come this by giving him watery foods , such as yogurts, fruit pots , puddings and Weetabix with lots of milk.
He became ill 2 weeks ago with a virus and fever, so stopped eating due to the fever , his GP sent him to hospital but nothing was done they just made sure he was not dehydrated and sent him home .
He has recovered from the virus , BUT the situation has heightened over the past few days as he is not eating his usual foods now.
We realise this appears to be a sensory issue but we do not know what to do and how to get support. the GP does not seem to know what to do.
Is there anyone out there who can give any advice or guidance , Please xx
When my son was between 2-3 he refused to eat. This went on for 18 months and was very distressing so I can understand how worrying not drinking must be.
You may well have already tried this but all I can recommend is - to get him back on track at least - let him have anything he wants that gets fluid in him. I don’t know if he likes ice lollies for example? It sounds awful but we’d bribe my son with his favourite sweets or chocolate buttons if necessary (one bite / sip = one sweet or choc button) - it didn’t always work but sometimes. You can worry about bad habits etc later as once he’s back into eating / drinking again too can slowly phase things out.
Also have you tried different vessels? My son wanted to drink from a baby bottle or beaker again even when he was really too old for it - or he likes straws in cartons. He was also very fixated on stacking cups so we’d play pouring milk with that and try and make a game where he has to drink some - we’d do it as a competition where whoever did it first was the winner etc.
We also learnt not to push it too much. Like if he ate one thing we’d probably go over the top with attention and also then trying to build on the momentum by trying to push another bite in... in hindsight that made it worse, we should’ve just left it at one and left it happy.
I don’t know if any of this helps - but you have my sympathy. Keep persevering and try and make anything food related a positive (or passive) experience even if inside you’re feeling stressed by it.
Oh I forgot to say the thing that actually did get him eating was when he started nursery and later school. something about that context got him eating (maybe there was less 1:1 pressure plus copying other kids?) - it wasn’t immediate but within a few months he would eat a small range of what they offered.
Thank you for your comments most of things we have tried and one day it works then the next not. That’s the problem of not knowing what a day will bring. Your support is appreciated
With my son we’ve often had the feeling of “1 step forward 2 back” with his progress - particularly as a toddler. The nature of the challenges change with age, but life is rarely straightened in a way it can be with my neurotypical child. With support, we have learned ways of “going with it” but we have real highs and crushing lows.
In my local area there is a small charity that provides support specifically to parents of asd children. We’ve even paid for a private child therapist who specialises working with asd before but I appreciate that isn’t an option for everyone. Keep googling away and speaking to local authority etc - you’ll need to keep pushing hard for support
I’m sorry to not offer more practical advice but know that you are not alone and inch by inch your grandson will get there x