Friday, January 21, 2011

Sippy Cups Revisited

It's been quite awhile since I mentioned our sippy cup battle.  I know, and I'm sorry. We started it in late October of last year, and the saga continued into November as Zack stubbornly held out.  By Thanksgiving, we'd given in.  He had his bottles back.

I didn't want to have to write something all negative, like "well we've gotten nowhere fast, Zack wins every battle hands down because I can't take his screaming."

I didn't want to bring it up, until I had some real progress to report.

So, here's what happened.

One day last week, the boys' teacher called me and said that she thought Zack was thirsty at school, because he sticks his butterfly chewy under the faucet and then licks the water off of it.  So she wondered if I could send a sippy cup into school for him.

I thought quickly - well he doesn't actually drink from sippy cups yet, but there's no way I'm sending a bottle in to kindergarten with him - and reinforcing his bottle obsession.  So I told her, sure, I'll send in a sippy cup, you see if you can get him to drink from it.  Good luck with that.

And the very next day she emails and says casually "Zack drank about half the water out of the sippy cup today."

"Are you kidding?  He drank out of a sippy cup?  He drank WATER out of a SIPPY CUP?!"  I wrote back.

So we've kept a sippy cup at school now for the past few days.  Apparently since he has never, ever seen a bottle at school, he didn't even fight it.  He seems to accept that it's the sippy, or nothing at school.  She did say the second day he was less enthusiastic about it.  She had to reinforce (that is ABA therapist speak for "bribe") him with Cookie Crisp to get him to take a drink.  But, he's doing it.

So, we have created a plan to bring the sippy success into the house.  I'm going to have him drink from sippy cups every day at school, until it's just so normal for him, he doesn't even think twice about whether to accept it or not, when it's offered to him.  We'll start putting juice in it at school, the same juice we drink at home, so it's real tasty and familiar. 

Then one day, he'll get to bring his sippy cup home on the bus.  Maybe more than one day.  He can drink from it the whole way home.  And then he can bring it in the house.  And on that day....perhaps.....there just aren't any bottles in the house anymore.  So it will, in theory, be the smoothest transition possible.  If I have my way, he won't even realize a change took place.  We'll pave the sippy cup road from school to home as smoothly as possible so that it just slides in, seamlessly.

Now, if only they would both just start casually going potty at school......

How's that for Feel Good Friday material!

8 comments:

Michelle said...

That's great. It is amazing what a child will do for someone else that they will not do for their own parent.

Kim and Steve said...

Congratulations! Some good news was in order for this day!

dollycas aka Lori said...

We are going through the potty training with our grandson right now. He does wonderfully at the sitters but for grandma and papa and mommy he doesn't say a word or fights with us when we try to get him to go on the potty here. It has been a real struggle, hopefully we will have good news in that area soon,

Bonnie@TheFragileXFiles said...

I didn't actually say "good luck with that" to the teacher. I'm not that smart-alecky.

Anonymous said...

That is fantastic! I was wondering about the sippy cups and how it was going.

I might have said "good luck with that" to a teacher. Sometimes I forget to keep my thoughts to myself.

Anonymous said...

That's great...I am hoping the same thing happens for us with our son in accepting school lunch when he is such a picky eater!

Anonymous said...

Don't you love to see progress. Best luck with this seamless transition. That is good news.

Rachael said...

:)

Labels

#youmightbeanautismparentif 2012 in review 9/11 memories ABA therapy Acceptance acronyms advocacy affection aggression AJ Aliza Aliza the playwright All I really need to know... Alphabitty Moments American Girl Ann Coulter antibullying anxiety anxiety in parents of children with special needs apple orchard apps for autism AppSmitten Arbaclofen Arbitrary Thoughts ARC autism autism brushing autism portrayed in TV shows Autism Shines awareness backyard band baseball bath toys beds behavior problems being tall Birthday Boys biting blog change blog hop blogging books bottles brushing bubbles Burnsville Fire Muster bus Cabin Fever in Minnesota candy Carly Fleischmann Carly's Voice cats cats and dogs chewys Chicago childcare for special needs children childhood Children's Museum chocolate Christmas Church circumin clinical trials Clonidine CNN Hero of 2011 coffee communication comparisons computer Conference cost of special education Courage Center Curcumin daddy dance dance competition dance moms Dental surgery dentist developmental milestones diagnosis diapers Diego Disability Day dogs Dolphin Tale Doomsday Preparation Dora Doritos drug trials DVD player early intervention earrings Easter ECSE Parent Retreat electronic gadgets electronics Everything I need to know... Evil Overlord fall falling asleep at school families family fashion fear Featured Feel Good Friday field trip fireworks first day of school Flash Gordon Food Chronicles food issues in Fragile X and autistic children forms forts Fragile Face of God Fragile X Fragile X advocate Fragile X and autism Fragile X Awareness Day Fragile X carriers Fragile X in the news Fragile X presentation Fragile X statistics Fragile X Writers friends fundraiser for Fragile X funniest Funny Gabrielle Giffords Galveston games getting carsick Girls' Night Out Giving Spirit glasses global warming going home Good Morning Great Quotes guest blogs guest post haircuts Halloween hearing test Heaven is for Real hippotherapy holidays Holland Holly home life homework hotel hugging human behavior hyperactivity IEP Meeting IEPs in the news inclusion inspiration integration iPad iPad apps iPad apps for autism IQ testing Jack Jablonski January First Joke journal entry kids with Fragile X and animals Kindergarten Kindle kisses language study learning to talk leaves lemonade stand Lily Little Einsteins losing teeth Mad Gab makeup mall Mall of America marcia braden McDonalds media sensationalization medications Melatonin Miami MIND Institute Minnesota Bloggers Conference minocycline Miracle League monkeys mosquito bites Mother's Day movies MVMOM Used Clothing and Equipment Sale nail trimming names naughtiness neighbors nicknames nightmares normal off topic one thing leads to another online dating Operation Beautiful oral sensory orphan drug act other bloggers Our Wedding outside overstimulation panic attacks parade parental stress Parenthood park Partners in Policymaking penicillin people with disabilities pets pharmacy fun photography Photoshop picnic Pictures pinching pink shirt Pinterest playing outside playing with toys poem politics poop potty training Presents protecting autistic children rash reading to kids research Retreat riding a bike Robin Williams Roger Ebert routine RSS feed RUSH University San Diego Sandy Hook Elementary Santa schedules school school bus school notes school pictures screaming self image self-checkouts sensory Seroquel siblings with developmental delays sick kids sippy cups sleep smile snow pictures Snowstorm social situations speaking of the unspeakable special education special education evaluation special needs kids special needs parents Special Needs Ryan Gosling Special Olympics spelling spoon feeding spring break staying positive stimming Strep STX209 Stylish Blog Award suicide summer Sunday School Sundays sunshine survival mode swimming talking talking to kindergarteners Target teacher's aides Teeth brushing Tegretol Temple Grandin Ten Commandments textbook case of Fragile X thankful thanksgiving that window/mirror thing The Autism Store The R Word the rapid passage of time The Right Things to say to parents of special needs children The Santa Experience the Shedd Aquarium The Twin Thing The Wiggles therapeutic horseback riding therapy This is Autism topless trampoline traveling with special needs children TV twins with special needs Twitter typical Fragile X characteristics typical kids typing vacation Vacation Bible School video games videos volunteering Waisman Center water play way-back-Wednesday What I've Learned What's your song? when a special needs parent dies Wiggles Wii games Winner Winner Chicken Dinner winter wonder Wonder Pets Wordful Wednesday Wordless Wednesday Words of Wisdom World Autism Awareness Day YMCA You Tube Zack Zoloft zoo animals

Fragile X Blogs