drink spilling

Hi,

My 5 year old son has started a new fun game where everything I give him to drink, he tips onto the carpet.. or floor.. or table. Ive tried no spill drinking bottles and he simply take a mouthful and spits it instead. I'm concerned he is not drinking enough and I don't know how to make him stop spilling his drinks.

Any suggestions, advice, shared similar experience would be great. Thank you

  • First of all, I understand how this makes you both nervous and frustrated. It's really not easy being a parent of neuro-diverse children regardless of who you are. 

    Both my children - 5 and 3 years old - are autistic. We haven't had that exact same situation, but thousands of other unforseeable situations.

    So far, we've learned that restrictions or negative feedback always make the situation worse. We are far from perfect, and we often fail, but we strive to be as indulgent, patient and caring as possible, no matter the situation. From early years, it was obvious that we were not able to stop or kids from doing something by demanding them to e.g. running into traffic. They just didn't react. 

    It has helped us a great deal to learn about PDA - pathological demand avoidance. Perhaps there are some answers for you too in this area. 

    There is a good chance that the milk spilling will only stop when he feels it is his choice.