help.......

[Tasha]

my son is 8 yrs old and was diagnosed June of 2015 with Moderate autism with adhd and echolalia, moderate intellectual disability, and PICA with an iq of 56. my problem is that he is obsessed with getting drinks to the point were he drinks from the toilet! The toilet drinking habit has been going on since he was probably 2! no metter what we do and how much he drinks he always finds a way to get a drink! He wets the bed at night to the point where his head is soaked. he wears a pullup and has hospital mattress. we have had him tested for diabietes 2 times but dont know what else to do about this problem!!! we have giving him water bottles at school and he drinks it in 5 minutes then is demanding more! last 2 times we have went to this office in town he has begged people to give him drinks even though i told him he didnt need one(he just had one before we walked in door both times), then oday we go to same office and i told him as soon as we got there he wasnt getting anything, so when my head was turned he went to the bathroom without telling or asking me and i caught him drinking from toilet!!!! what do we do????????????????????????

 

[Warmheart]

Firstly, welcome!

Excessive drinking can be a stim. "Stim" is short for self-stimulatory stereotypic behavior. Ironically, we do this usually to soothe and calm ourselves, although most stims can be both calming AND alerting. Stimming is a very intelligent and responsible way to cope with overwhelm. The challenge is when the stim may be self-injurious.

So, how do we help when a stim is risky or self-injurious? We can't just take it away, because
1. Behavior is communication, and
2. All stims serve a purpose.

We first try to think what is being communicated. Overwhelm is usually what drives most autistic coping skills.
Is he in a busy classroom when at school, can he be given more breaks for solitude as reasonable accommodation? Can he have more solitude (in a room by himself) at home if he wants? What about sensory sensitivities-- anyone at home wear perfume, use a carpet powder, a bathroom spray? Is the TV left on for background noise? Does he have many therapies, play dates, etc, or does he have lots of downtime to decompress? Managing his environment to be less task-demanding, less social, and have less sensory stimulation from people, noise, smells, lights, etc can help.

What purpose does the stim serve? We can try to redirect to a different activity that gives the same feelings of relief. Buy a mini trampoline for him to use under your supervision, and ensure he gets time to enjoy that. If you have a swingset, let him swing as high as he needs, as often as he needs. Don't have a swing set? Take him to the park several times per week, so he can get the movement sensory input he craves. This may lessen his sensory seeking by drinking so much.

Since he has an official diagnosis, I would get him an OT, as well as see if The ARC in your area has ideas. The ARC is a great agency with ASD-savvy professionals who help solve challenges like this often. Give them a call!
I would bet that after a few months of OT, things will ease up with his fluid drinking. Best of luck to you and your son!

 

[Tasha]

Firstly, welcome!

Excessive drinking can be a stim. "Stim" is short for self-stimulatory stereotypic behavior. Ironically, we do this usually to soothe and calm ourselves, although most stims can be both calming AND alerting. Stimming is a very intelligent and responsible way to cope with overwhelm. The challenge is when the stim may be self-injurious.

So, how do we help when a stim is risky or self-injurious? We can't just take it away, because
1. Behavior is communication, and
2. All stims serve a purpose.

We first try to think what is being communicated. Overwhelm is usually what drives most autistic coping skills.
Is he in a busy classroom when at school, can he be given more breaks for solitude as reasonable accommodation? Can he have more solitude (in a room by himself) at home if he wants? What about sensory sensitivities-- anyone at home wear perfume, use a carpet powder, a bathroom spray? Is the TV left on for background noise? Does he have many therapies, play dates, etc, or does he have lots of downtime to decompress? Managing his environment to be less task-demanding, less social, and have less sensory stimulation from people, noise, smells, lights, etc can help.

What purpose does the stim serve? We can try to redirect to a different activity that gives the same feelings of relief. Buy a mini trampoline for him to use under your supervision, and ensure he gets time to enjoy that. If you have a swingset, let him swing as high as he needs, as often as he needs. Don't have a swing set? Take him to the park several times per week, so he can get the movement sensory input he craves. This may lessen his sensory seeking by drinking so much.

Since he has an official diagnosis, I would get him an OT, as well as see if The ARC in your area has ideas. The ARC is a great agency with ASD-savvy professionals who help solve challenges like this often. Give them a call!
I would bet that after a few months of OT, things will ease up with his fluid drinking. Best of luck to you and your son!

he has always been one on one in a very small classroom. this last school he attended he went to a room by himself with teacher and still had problems. They did all sorts of different approches to his behaviors. He also had a montor that was only with him all day and also had one for after schools. he has done timer method where he works for 10 min then has 10 min break. that didnt work then he could pick his "reward" that didnt work. he had a trapoline and scooter at school that didnt work. he has such rediculas behaviors that letting him play at the park isnt even in question. even when hes grounded a small thing like helping put groceries in cart is a rewrd for him and he actully thinks of it like that and thinks hes out of trouble when he can help me. we cannot find his "triggers" they let him use headphones and that didnt work bc he broke them and ate them, hes used weighted blankets, chewys, he was in occcupational therapies for probly 5 of his 8 years. everytime he is out of troupble he does something within minutes that gets him back in trouble. at home he can play by himself when he isnt in trouble but he doesnt and acts like he doesnt know how to play. he walks around bored. we are tring to get help from outside organizations. its coming to the point that we may have to put him in a group home beacuse he in incontrollable at times. Everyone that has been involved with him his whole life has siad he is a very confusing child and none i mean noone can figure out how to help us with him and our problems

 

[Warmheart]

You sound like a Mom who has sought some good help so far! It isn't easy trying to guess what an autistic child needs. A great parent group can give you support and encouragement. I love that you've had many professionals helping! You also need to feel heard and understood. You need an agency which lets you meet parents who can offer you both understanding and a more positive way of feeling.

If by all these many interventions "not working," you mean that they did not normalize his behavior to seem less autistic, that is understandable. He will always be the wonderful autistic fellow he is, with much of the functioning challenges (and all of the strengths) that refers to.
However (here comes some encouragement), with autism, we need to throw away the idea of a developmental window. Some of us tied our shoes for the first time at age 14, or self-advocated for the first time at age ...wait for it.... 50! We continue to develop. Some things we are never going to be able to do, and parents need support as they come to accept and feel better regarding that.

If he is truly always getting "in trouble," that should be a very clear indicator that both his environment (at home and at school) as well as your expectations of him, likely will need some adjustments. The ARC is great for supporting parents in these positive changes. Got an ARC near you?

You sound like a Mom who needs an encouraging, supportive posse of parents, and your son sounds like he needs to have an agency to help guide him to getting some sense of successes to feel better about himself.
I can tell you hope the very best for your child, and have thoughtfully put so much effort into him.
I hope your little guy makes you proud in some ways.
All your son wants is to be loved and understood.

Best wishes that the next agency you find will support both you and your son, so you can both feel optimistic.

 

[Tom]

One thought I had was you and his school assistant rewarding him for going a period of time without drinking. Starting at a small interval and then if he can do it slowly increasing it. Not sure what award would be acceptable. Some ideas are a small treat (ie mini-skittle) a walk, time with a favorite toy or activity.